An academic race at this Chinese university, literally

University students at Nankai University in northern China's Tianjin city not only have to focus on getting good academic results, but also have to work on their physical fitness, in order to score well in school.

Local media China Youth Daily reported on Tuesday (Sept 12) that a scheme was introduced at the end of last year (2016), to issue every student with a scorecard, to measure their physical fitness level.

The aim is to get students to take part in at least two sports, and become more active.

The scores are calculated based on a physical fitness test, a health check-up and the frequency of a student's exercise routine.

Apart from academic results, the scores are factored into whether a student can move on to the next academic year, reported China Youth Daily.

When offering scholarships, the university also takes into consideration the physical fitness scores.

The first batch of 1,206 graduates were awarded their physical fitness certificates this year, together with their academic certificates, of whom 57 received special commendations for outstanding fitness levels.

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