Chinese college students eligible for marriage could soon be
allowed to tie the knot under a new management rule.
At
present, students of legal marriageable age -- 22 for men, 20 for
women -- are prohibited by colleges from wedlock, running in
contrast with the nation's Marriage Law.
However, Qu Zhenyuan, an official from the Ministry of Education,
recently said the formulation of a new management rule for Chinese
institutions of higher learning is underway, in which colleges will
be allowed to decide by themselves whether to give the green light
to student couples who want to marry.
The current management provision was issued in 1990 by the then
State Education Commission, banning such nuptial rites.
But legal professionals complain the present rule takes away the
right to marry at the legal age, which must be protected. They
argue the 1980-issued Marriage Law and its newly-passed revision
stipulate that no organizations or individuals are allowed to
interfere in people's right to marry or to raise age limits at
random.
In
contrast, the current management rule implemented by all Chinese
colleges reads that students, once married, must quit school and
have no right to resume their studies in the future.
Yet, Yang Deguang, principal of Shanghai Teachers
University, argues the current management rule enacted in
colleges does not conflict with students' rights.
Although some university upperclassmen are old enough to request a
marriage application, most of them are unprepared emotionally and
financially for starting a family, Yang said. Marriage and
childbearing are distractions and would disturb the normal order of
schools.
Zheng Xiaomin, father of a college student, welcomed the schools'
restriction because he believes marriage of college students will
lead to a higher risk of divorce.
College student Guo Jie at Beijing University of Posts and
Telecommunication said: "Students' rights in marriage should be
protected in line with the law."
However, he added he would not think about getting married while in
college because of the pressure from his studies and the worry
about finding a job after graduation.
A
survey conducted in central China's Wuhan,
of Hubei Province, revealed half of the city's college students
prefer to postpone marriage for at least five years after
graduation; less than one-third of those students questioned said
they would marry within three to five years after leaving
college.
According to Chen Zhongkui, a teacher with the Beijing University
of Science and Technology, problems started when the Ministry of
Education cancelled limits on age and marital status of those who
sit for college entrance examinations in China.
He
said more people will benefit from the loosened requirements and
have access to higher education. "The debate on college students'
marriage right is just one of those problems China has faced or may
encounter in its gradual reform of higher education," he said.
(China
Daily December 24, 2001)