BEIJING -- A growing proportion of teachers in Chinese universities have doctoral degrees, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Education.

In 2018, 38.21 percent of teachers in universities held doctoral degrees, up 1.5 percentage points from 2017, showed the 2018 national undergraduate education quality report.

Teachers with professional backgrounds in sectors relevant to their teaching areas accounted for 17.68 percent of all university teachers, up 5.8 percentage points from the previous year.

The report said notable achievements have been made in strengthening the professional ethics and competence of teachers.