"Many people treat PE as a less important subject and think it does not matter whether students learn it or not, or whether they excel in the subject. We must change this mentality," he said.

Zhao Yang, deputy director of Beijing Jiaotong University's PE department, said that from 2018 to last year, only about 1 percent of its undergraduates scored more than 90 points in the PE tests, which were failed by some 10 percent of candidates.

To change this situation, the university has made PE tests compulsory for undergraduate students since last year, meaning they need to pass the tests to get a diploma, Zhao said.

Scores in the tests have also been included in the students' grade point average, which determines their eligibility for scholarship awards or a recommendation by the university to pursue postgraduate studies without taking enrollment tests, he added.

Students failing the PE tests are allowed to retake them as many times as they need, and the department has launched special training courses for such candidates to help achieve a pass level, Zhao said.

Since 2017, to encourage students to be more physically active, the university requires them to run distances at least 30 times each semester. Each time, male students should run at least 2 km, while the standard for females is 1.6 km, he said.

"PE is not simply about having a healthy body. It can help students deal with mental problems and manage stress," Zhao said.

By taking part in group sports, they can learn to cooperate and compete with each other. Mastering sports skills also teaches students the importance of perseverance and helps them develop a competitive spirit, he added.

Cui Yingchun, director of the department, said that while the PE test requirements should be strictly implemented, exceptions should be made for students who show significant improvement in PE but still fail to meet the requirements.

While primary and secondary schools have long overlooked PE and made such tests less important than academic ones, this puts too much pressure on universities to make tests the overriding consideration in student evaluation, she said.

Students with really low fitness levels when they enter university should be entitled to receive a diploma as long as they put plenty of effort into fitness training and show significant improvement, she added.

Zhai Ziqi contributed to this story.