Chinese students to have 2 hrs of daily physical activity

Students attend a sailing class in Suzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 24, 2020. The Suzhou Linhu No.1 Central Primary School, which is located by the Taihu Lake, included sailing in physical education from 2017. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Education (MOE) has called for appropriate school scheduling to ensure that students at the compulsory education stage engage in one hour of physical activity both during and after school hours every day.

Physical education (PE) classes and campus exercise activities should not be squeezed out in favor of other programs, said the MOE in a circular, which asked schools to offer guidance on PE homework and offer quality exercise resources.

PE classes should focus on teaching students health knowledge, basic exercise skills and special sports skills and enable every student to play one or two types of sports, said the circular.

The MOE also encouraged the establishment of youth sports clubs where students can make use of their extracurricular time to practice soccer, basketball and volleyball, among other sports.

The MOE said at a press conference Sunday that 95 percent of schools had ensured students took an hour of physical exercise every day during school hours.

Chinese students showed a gradual improvement in physical fitness as 33 percent were evaluated as being in good shape in 2020 compared to 26.5 percent in 2016, the MOE said.

Incidence of being overweight and obese among students at various schooling ages was on a downward trajectory during the period, the ministry added.