Students play basketball after school in a primary school in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. [Photo/IC]

Jiangsu province will increase the proportion of the sports score in the senior high school entrance examination to over 10 percent by 2025, according to officials at a press conference held by the provincial department of education on Nov 11.

The province aims to form a diverse, modern, and high-quality school sports system and arts education system with Jiangsu characteristics by 2035.

In order to achieve this goal, the provincial department of education has released implementation advice to guide schools in the province.

First, it is encouraged that schools increase the amount of physical education lessons they offer to students. For instance, primary school students should have more than four physical education lessons per week, while junior high school and high school students should have more than three physical education lessons per week.

Second, schools should promote teaching reform, such as implementing the combined teaching modes of "sports and health knowledge + basic schools skills + special skills", as well as "basic art knowledge and skills + artistic aesthetic experiences + special artistic expertise". In addition, the province should continue to establish characteristic primary and secondary schools for art educations to serve art talents.

Third, schools should continue to keep carrying out practical activities. For instance, primary and junior high school students should have a total of more than 1.5 hours in outdoor activities during lesson breaks on a normal weather day.

Fourth, schools should explore and improve their assessment methods. For instance, assessments on the artistic quality level of primary and secondary school students, as well as the exploration of methods to assess college students' artistic literacy should be carried out.

Fifth, the province will focus on improving the conditions of running a school, such as aiming at improving the ratio of professional physical education teachers and students to 1:220 by 2022.