China urges on universities to teach ‘love education’

BEIJING: China is urging colleges and universities to provide “love education” to emphasize positive views on marriage, love, fertility and family, in a bid to boost the country’s impressive birth rate.

After China’s population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023, Beijing is promoting various measures to make it more attractive for young couples to have children.

China has the world’s second-largest population at 1.4 billion, but it is aging rapidly, which will increase future demands on government spending and put pressure on the economy.

College students will be the biggest drivers of fertility but have significantly changed their views on marriage and love, Jiangsu Xinhua Newspaper Group reported, citing China Population News, a state-run publication.

“Colleges and universities should take on the responsibility of providing marriage and love education to college students by offering courses on marriage and love education,” the publication said.

The measures will help create a “healthy and positive marriage and childbearing cultural environment.”

The State Council, or cabinet, rallied with local governments in November to provide resources to address China’s population decline and spread the message of having children “at the right age” and respect for marriage, though population experts said the move is unlikely to resonate with young Chinese.

About 57 percent of college students in a survey by China Population News said they did not want to fall in love, mainly because they did not know how to allocate time to balance their studies and love relationships.

“Due to the lack of systematic and scientific marriage and love education, college students have a vague understanding of emotional relationships.”

It said universities could focus on educating junior college students about population and national conditions, new marriage and the concepts of having children.

College seniors and graduate students could be taught through “case analysis, group discussions on maintaining intimate relationships, and communication between the sexes.” The courses would help them “correctly understand marriage and love and improve their ability to manage romantic relationships.”