Now ‘Love Education’ in Chinese universities to check population decline
The Chinese universities and colleges have been asked to introduce ‘Love Education’ as a subject as the country fights the declining population
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The Chinese universities and colleges have been asked to introduce ‘Love Education’ as a subject as the country fights the declining population.
China one child policy
China was once proud of having a small family and forcibly enforced one child policy. The country however asked couples to have more children, even announcing sops for families having two children and announcing in 2021 that the government will support couples if they wish to have a third child.
The change of policy was intended to balance population development and address the challenge of an ageing population.
Despite this the Chinese couples refused to lure into having more children. Despite the government putting too much emphasis on the issue, China's marriage rate is plummeting as its youth increasingly reject the idea of tying the knot.
In fact, a recent poll by China Population News revealed that around 57% of college students reported are not wanting to fall in love, as reported by Reuters citing the Jiangsu Xingua newspaper group.
According to the research, the number of marriage registrations fell from a record high of 13.47 million in 2013 to 8.13 million in 2020. The report also highlighted regional variations in marriage rates, which were negatively correlated with GDP—indicating that more prosperous cities tend to have lower marriage rates.
Why Love Education?
Alarmed by this trend, Beijing has been promoting various measures to try to make having children more attractive to young couples – the latest being introduction of ‘Love Education’ in schools and colleges.
“Colleges and universities should assume the responsibility of providing marriage and love education to college students by offering marriage and love education courses,” China Population News, an official publication, said.
Also Read: Jain sect announces cash reward for couples having more children
The aim of the initiative is to foster a “healthy and positive marriage and childbearing atmosphere,” according to Reuters.
The plan suggests that universities should educate junior college students about population trends and national conditions, as well as new concepts surrounding marriage and childbearing.
China was the most populous country till 2023 when it fell behind India. The country's population declined for the first time since 1961 in 2022 when the national birth rate fell to a record low of 6.77 births for every 1,000 people.
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