BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Education officials are investigating a school in central China's Hubei Province that hooked students up to intravenous drips to improve their performance in exams.

Xiaogan City No. 1 High School said each student was subsidized 10 yuan (US$1.6) by the provincial education bureau for amino acid drips ahead of National College Entrance Exams.

It was believed the intravenous drips would improve memory and allay anxiety.

But the Hubei Province Education Bureau denied giving any such subsidies and has launched a probe, the Beijing Times reported yesterday.

Photographs posted on microblogging site weibo.com last Friday by web user "CHImushroom," who claimed to be a student at the school, showed almost 30 senior students apparently hooked up to intravenous drips in their classroom.

Some web users claimed this proved there is a tradition to administer intravenous drips ahead of the National College Entrance Exams.

A school official, surnamed Xia, said students volunteered for the drip, and in order not to disturb their exam preparations it was administered in the classroom.

Sun Zhongshi, an expert with the State Food and Drug Administration, said there was a danger of cross-infection as a classroom was not the appropriate environment for giving intravenous injections, and was skeptical of the benefits of amino acid.

"Whether amino acid can improve memory remains a question," said Sun.

"Some of the students might just have ended up feeling dizzy and nauseous."