Read about China’s new PE mandate and why they have introduced it.
By 2027, all students in primary and middle schools in China will need to engage in at least two hours of daily physical activity according to a new national policy. Within the plan, schools will be required to provide a required number of PE classes as well ‘utilising additional curriculum hours and offering substantial activity breaks – potentially two 30-minute sessions per day.” PE will also need to be on offer as part of extra-curricular activities after school. As part of the plan, schools will need to encourage wide participation in sports by establishing clubs and teams with regular competitions in school and with other schools. Schools will also be expected to hold annual sports festivals/events so students taking part in sporting competitions is ‘the norm’.
The plan is also focused on reforming PE to make it more cohesive across all school stages. They want all students to master at least one sport and develop healthy exercise habits. To help improve teaching quality, they want to build a new sports faculty that will be a combination of teachers, coaches and part-time school members. They will also look at ways to improve recruitment training and incentivise more subject specialists, as well as ‘ensure PE teachers receive equal treatment in professional evaluation and benefits’.
Additionally, assessment in PE will change to focus more on ongoing formative assessments rather than competitive testing. Students will be assessed in physical fitness, skill development and participation. Another area of the plan is upgrading sports facilities and looking at sharing community recourses, for example, encouraging public sports venues to open to students for free or at low cost.
Why the mandate?
Key goals include:
- strengthening physical and mental health
- improving attainment and engagement in PE
- helping students maintain regular exercise habits
- tackling specific health issues affecting China’s students, such as, obesity and problems with eyesight.
The Government’s vision is ‘to establish a modern school sports system that plays a major role in student development and building a nation strong in education’.
Reference
- Shuo, Z. (2025) ‘Reform mandates physical education time in Chinese schools’. Available at: https://asianews.network/reform-mandates-physical-education-time-in-chinese-schools/ (Accessed: 25 November 2025)
