China's educational authority has banned primary and junior middle schools from making public students' marks or ranking them accordingly.

Primary and junior high schools are also prohibited from using exams, assessments or tests to enrol students, or scores in other competitive evaluations, according to a circular issued by the Ministry of Education.

As part of the central government's push to provide nine years of free compulsory education, the ministry instructed local authorities to ensure school-age are admitted to nearby schools during their nine-year-old compulsory education.

The frequency of exams held in schools was also restricted in the circular.

Schools in China have been accused by some experts as putting too much emphasis on the exam scores of students, which could stifle their originality and hinder their development.

Schools should adhere to the national curriculum program by neither adding class hours for exam subjects nor cutting class hours for non-exam subjects, such as recreation, sports and field trips, the circular said.

Each student should be guaranteed one hour of physical exercise (PE) everyday. Primary school children should have at least ten days of field trips every year, and junior high students 20 days, the Ministry said.

The ministry has also forbidden schools from give extracurricular classes during holidays or organise them to attend tutorial classes.

Teachers were also prohibited from insulting and physically punishing students after a recent survey showed teachers often humiliated pupils.

Aiming to improve China's exam-oriented education system, the ministry launched a curriculum reform in primary and middle schools throughout the country in 2000, including adding another hour of physical exercise time.

(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2006)