The message has been criticised as sexist by many online users - but some say China's male celebrities are partly to blame, reports BBC.

For a while China's government has signalled concern that the country's most popular male role models are no longer strong, athletic figures like "army heroes". Even President Xi Jinping, a well-known football enthusiast, has long been seeking to cultivate better sports stars, reports the British news channel.

The Proposal to Prevent the Feminisation of Male Adolescents called on schools to fully reform their offerings on physical education and strengthen their recruitment of teachers, BBC reported.

The text of the notice also advised  authorities to recruit retired athletes and people from sporting backgrounds.

The notice also directed in "vigorously developing" particular sports like football with a view to "cultivating students' masculinity", reports BBC.