It was love at first sight for 22-year-old Wang Xiulan when she met her would-be Mr Right Cheng Zhigang, then 21, at a gathering of first-year students at a university in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province four years ago.

They quickly fell in love and tied the knot in the ivory tower the following year, to the envy of their classmates. They were lucky indeed, because the new Marriage Registration Regulation that became effective that year for the first time allows college students to get married.

But this Thursday they came under the media spotlight as a local court in Nanjing the Xuanwu District People's Court approved their divorce, reportedly the first of its kind in China. The broken marriage prompted a media debate over whether college students are psychologically and financially mature enough to marry.

"They both suffered a lot, and they didn't want to become reconciled even after court mediation," a judge surnamed Zhang told China Daily, adding that the court proceeding started in early May has greatly affected their study and job hunting.

Both regretted getting married so rashly, Zhang said.

"Most students are still too immature to deal with marital responsibilities even though they are grown-ups. They get married out of impulse, but the passion fades away with daily trivialities," said Gao Jinyun, a middle-aged woman in Nanjing.

Lack of money was reportedly one of the reasons behind the constant spats between Wang and Cheng, who both came from poor families in the countryside.

An extramarital affair of Cheng, which was discovered by his wife on the spot, was the last straw.

Some people even suggested that lawmakers should reinstate the law to ban marriage for university students.

But others hold that the student status shouldn't matter, and their divorce is just an ordinary case out of some 1.8 million in the country every year.

"An increasing number of divorces are reported in recent years, including many filed by newlyweds. The individual case of Wang and Cheng doesn't mean that university students are incapable of having a successful marriage," said Liu Yuan, a student of Nanjing Teachers' University.

"University students are adults and they can make their own decisions, including whether to marry or divorce," Liu said.

According to Wei Guihong, a psychology lecturer of Nanjing University, marriage is not only a basic human right, but also entails a sense of trust, responsibility and commitment.

"The students should better prepare themselves for marriage, which means much more than just living together," Wei said.

Also, how to balance marriage and academic study is another concern. "It's a pity that there is not enough education on these aspects on campus," Wei said.

(China Daily July 15, 2006)