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Students in China will from today be allowed to
decide for themselves whether to get married. However, a recent survey
shows that an overwhelming majority of them are saying no.
The implementation of the revised college regulation lifts a 50-year
ban on college students getting married. Students at the legal age of
marriage will now not have to struggle with the question of whether to
give up their studies or delay their wedding.
Students and scholars have hailed the new rule, saying it gives back to
the students a right they always should have possessed.
But a survey conducted by Fudan University of 2,000 students in 10
colleges in Shanghai and Tianjin indicates that 96 per cent of them have
chosen not to exercise the right.
"I'm glad schools will no longer interfere in our private affairs,"
said Yu Yingyi, a senior majoring in mathematics at Peking University.
"But being a student, I still consider studying as my priority, though
I've had a boyfriend for two years."
Yu added she will not marry until she becomes economically
self-sufficient. "I still rely on my parents for tuition fees and living expenses. Only when I earn my own
living after graduation shall I consider marriage," she said, noting that
many of her friends share the opinion.
Figures from the Ministry of Education show that less than one in every
10,000 students has registered as married since 2003, when a very small
number of universities waived
the marriage ban.
Xie Hanlin, a researcher with the ministry's Student Department, said
the figure shows college students are becoming more mature.
"We are neither for nor against student marriage, but it is certain
that colleges won't see a sharp increase in the number of married students
under the new rule," he said. "Facing pressures from studying and
employment, they're unlikely to rush into marriage."
For the 4 per cent who said they might get married on campus, problems
lie ahead: where to live, how to apply for marital leave in case of pregnancy, and
whether to inform colleges about the marriage.
Currently no college in China offers special housing to married
students, and "we're not going to," said Zhang Chunsheng, deputy director
of the Student Office of Tsinghua University.
"Colleges don't shoulder such an obligation," he said, quoting ministry
officials.
However, Zhang said pregnant students may interrupt the four-year
period prescribed for getting their degrees by suspending their studies
for a year.
Universities in provinces including Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang
have specified in new student regulations that marital leave will be
granted if necessary.
(China Daily) | 
Updated: 2005-08-31 15:25
