National universities penalized 16 teaching staff in the 2000 academic year for sexual harassment, a sharp increase from the three instructors punished a year earlier, according to documents released Saturday by the Education Ministry.
The rise was attributed to the growing awareness of the issue, as evidenced by an increasing number of schools encouraging victims to report harassment and the introduction of government regulations to curb such incidents.
Documentation on the penalties imposed on teaching staff between 1996 and 2000 was released by the ministry after a request under the information disclosure act.