SCHOOL regulations might say that college students are not encouraged to hang out with boyfriends or girlfriends, but most students are immersed in campus romances.

　　While a local college is claiming to punish those who have been seen kissing in public, condom vending machines have also appeared on campus.

　　"Chinese universities have lots of behind-the-times regulations which have affected the relationship between schools and students," said Sun Baohong from the Institute of Youth at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "Some unreasonable policies that affect students' marks and credits have really strained the relationship."

　　Insgroupsto prevent college students cohabiting, teachers monitor them and check student dormitories in the evening, according to a college student director, who preferred not to be identified.

　　With an increase in the number of students renting houses off campus, colleges require written, signed approval from parents in advance and out-of-town students are forbidden to live away from campus.

　　If caught staying overnight with someone of the opposite sex, the student involved will record a demerit; if they get married, undergraduate students face expulsion and can never apply to enter college again. The latter regulation is enforced by the Ministry of Education.

　　Campus marriage debated

　　Junior and senior college students have generally reached the legal age for marriage - 22 years for men and 20 years for women.

　　After China introduced its new policy of allowing citizens of any age to sit for college entrance examinations, older undergraduates began appearing on campus and the "no-marriage" policy came under challenge.

　　Wuhan University in Central China's Hubei Province late last year became the first to announce that undergraduates would be permitted to marry and this triggered hot debate.

　　"Since Chinese universities have strict regulations in managing dorms (females and males have to live in separate buildings and guards keep the sexes segregated), there will be some problems aboutswheresmarried couples can stay," Sun said.

　　According to chinanews.com, students' families who are against the new policy would take steps to constrain their children's behaviour and remind them of their responsibilities to complete their degrees.

　　Students at Wuhan also remained calm about the news of the new policy. One student said that although marriage was now permitted, she would not be taking advantage of the change.

　　She said it was an improvement in China's education system but that college students also had to cope with many pressures affecting their future development and marriage was not the most important thing for them at present.

　　A white-collar worker who had studied in Japan said few Japanese college students chose to get married although they were permitted to do so after weighing up the advantages and disadvantages.

　　A local case

　　However, most universities in China are too cautious to follow Wuhan University in giving the go ahead for students who want to marry.

　　A student management staff member at the Shanghai International Studies University declined to provide an explanation for the expulsion of a sophomore student who had married her 30-year-old boyfriend who was leaving for study abroad.

　　This was because the local education commission had ordered the university not to say anything about the matter.

　　However, the head of the Student Union told the Shanghai Star the student's story.

　　After gaining the consent of her parents for the marriage, the student failed to budge the school authorities who said they had to take into account the effect their decision would have on both students and the university.

　　A university teacher said college was not a proper time in life for students to get married because they were not mature enough to have any idea about what marriage was like.

　　"College students are not financially independent, so that it's too early for them to consider marriage. However, the tough action of the school was not proper either," Sun said.

　　Love or education

　　The failure of a student couple in Chongqing who tried to sue their university over their expulsion seems to have answered the question as to whether the right to be educated can be denied because of a breach of school laws covering romance and sex.

　　A woman student, surnamed Ma, was found to have had sex with her student boyfriend and to have become pregnant.

　　The couple were notified that they could continue to study at the college as long as they provided written self-criticism admitting they were wrong and had illicit sex. But, the college said, they would not be allowed to receive their degrees.

　　After Ma's father argued with the college over its attitude, the student lovers were asked to leave the school.

　　The students sued claiming the matter was a private issue, that they had not harmed the college or other students and that the college have no right to expel them.

　　In a recent CCTV programme, several experts, students and interviewees were sympathetic to the students and said it was "improper" for the college to expel them.

　　However, they failed to convince the court.