BEIJING -- 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.