A Chinese student learns how to put on a condom at an AIDS awareness event at Tsinghua University in Beijing. (Photo : Reuters)
A recent proposal to include sex education into college syllabi during this year’s “Two Sessions” legislative meetings has raised serious concern and discussions on whether to introduce policies to promote sex education among college students, a report published on Women of China said.
A survey conducted by Peking University in 2006 showed that college students learn about sex from books (68 percent), from the Internet (54 percent), from movies (50 percent) and from schoolmates (38 percent). Only 11 percent of the students said that they learned about sex from secondary education, and only 17.6 percent from their parents.
The report said that after nearly 10 years, the results have not changed much, with the Internet surpassing books to top the list at 65 percent now.
However, based on research in 2010, more than 80 percent of people believed schools should teach about sex education, but since schools and parents both avoid teaching sex education, students were forced to learn on their own, becoming secretive about it.
An article in the Qingxin Times, the campus newspaper of Tsinghua University, written by Shy Tsinghua said "sex and related issues still make students flush with shame."
According to the report, some teachers strive to enhance sex education despite the difficulties, where some of them face abuse and boycott of classes.
The teaching of sex education or the so-called Treasure Class in Peking University has been successful, which had gained more than 10,000 listeners in nearly 20 years since it was started in 1996.
It has also become one of the most popular courses at Peking University for providing students with knowledge not only on women's physiological features, contraception and birth control, but also on the subject of sexual fantasies and the perplexities of the sexual act.
Yao Jinxian, a teacher of the Treasure Class, told the media that he believes sex education for college students is a social responsibility.
"Once the students have been told the correct ways and protective methods, they face fewer problems with sex," Yao was quoted as saying.
