BEIJING — China's Ministry of Education has issued a circular on strengthening the management of school examinations during compulsory education, in a bid to effectively reduce the pressure faced by students.

No paper-and-pencil exams should be arranged for first and second graders in primary schools, and final examinations should be organized by schools every semester for other grades, according to a ministry press conference on Aug 30.

Midterm exams can be arranged for junior high students in light of the real terms of different disciplines, the ministry said.

It also asked schools to reasonably control the difficulty of examinations and restrict the scope of examinations to their syllabuses and teaching schedules.