Schools ready to hire coaches to improve sports education

Schools and universities can establish positions for sports coaches to offer guidance to students and alleviate the shortage of sports teachers, a new guideline said on Friday.

The guideline, issued by the General Administration of Sport and three other departments, said primary, middle, high schools, secondary vocational schools and universities can all establish such full-time or part-time posts.

School coaches are responsible to train specific sports skills of students, conduct physical training and select future sports talent. They are also in charge of organizing school sport competitions, managing school sports teams, teaching students how to prevent and recover from injuries and establishing and managing school sports clubs, the guideline said.

Local governments can reserve a certain number of school coach positions for retired high-level athletes. After obtaining teaching certificates, school coaches can transfer to sports teachers, while sports teachers can also become school coaches after obtaining coaching certificates.

Based on their conditions and needs, schools can hire the coaches openly and find the best candidates based on merits, said the guideline, which does not require all schools to hire coaches.

An official with the administration said setting up coaching positions at schools is an important way to integrate sports with education and can promote the all-round development of students and their physical and psychological wellbeing.

A revision of China's sports law, which was passed in June, also stipulated the establishment of such posts at schools.

School coaches should work closely with sports teachers and complement each other, the official said.

The guideline is another step in a slew of government efforts to promote sport education for students.

A guideline issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council required efforts to be made to ensure one hour of sports activities in school and after school every day.

The guideline asked primary and middle schools to open one sports class every day and make sure the sports courses are not affected by other academic subjects.

It also stipulated that the high school entrance exam should gradually increase the weighting of sports exams while starting to research including sports quality into the college entrance exam.