More universities in China have started to strengthen academic requirements for students, with unqualified students facing delays in graduation or degree downgrades.

Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Hubei province, had 18 students downgraded from a bachelor's degree to an associate degree, since they could not meet academic standards.

According to a regulation issued by the university last year, undergraduate students who cannot meet the requirements would receive a warning. After two warnings, they would be transferred to an associate-level school.

In most of universities in China, students who don't achieve enough credits are given a final chance to attain a degree before graduating. They will attend the exams they failed one last time, which are usually easier than previous ones.

Among the 4,119 graduates in Yunnan University this year, 220 have delayed graduation because they did not have enough credit. Six were expelled from the university, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Hunan Polytechnic of Environment and Biology has expelled 22 students for failing to get high enough scores. Forty other students were asked to repeat their senior year.

It is necessary for universities to weed out or postpone the graduation of unqualified students, Wu Yan, director of the Ministry of Education's department of higher education, said on Wednesday in an interview with Wuhan Evening News.

"We cannot have 'happy' universities where students just play computer games, have relationships or idle away the time," he said.

The country should increase academic pressure on college students to increase the quality of university education, since they are the backbone of the country's talents, he added.