BEIJING -- The Ministry of Education (MOE) of China has issued a statement warning the country's middle and primary schools against unauthorized selections and rankings.

The statement, made public on Thursday, was based on several lists of so-called "top 100 middle and primary schools in China" recently released by some institutions.

The MOE has never authorized any organizations or institutions to carry out such selections or rankings, according to the statement.

While educational evaluation has an important role of guidance, such roughly generated and lame evaluations cannot objectively reflect the real conditions of schools, and have severely disrupted education activities, the statement said.

The MOE will therefore continue to regulate such activities in accordance with law and regulations, according to the statement.