Officials at Yangzhou University in Jiangsu Province have denied that the school is offering an astrology program and have clarified that astrology-related activities on campus are run by students and are for entertainment purposes only.

Wei Wanhong, dean of the College of Bioscience and Biotechnology at the university, told the Yangtze Evening Post Thursday that astrology is not promoted at the school and that it does not fit the principles of higher education.  

The announcement came in response to reports online that the school had opened an astrology-related program.

According to the reports, students have been divided into 12 groups according to their astrological sun signs, and each sign has its own course content. For example, because Scorpios are thought to be intuitive and insightful, lectures on the top 10 unsolved mysteries in the bioscience field are being offered to these students. Tauruses are mature, quiet and cautious, so they will have lectures on genetic engineering, according to the newspaper.

Xu Shuiyu, head of the school's student organization which is behind the program, told the newspaper that it was adopted to dissuade students from skipping classes.

The newspaper reported that students have responded positively to the lectures, and that university authorities have no intention of using astrology as a tool in higher education.

Global Times