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Why College Students Can't Get Married on Campus
The Ministry of Education (MOE) issued a circular to lift restrictions on age and marriage status of college students not long ago and this has aroused wide concern about the issue whether college students can get married in their schooling years. It is reported that the educational authoritative department has specifically ruled out the possibility.
Why? It is claimed that pursuant to the provision of Article 33 and Article 35 of "Regulations on College Students Management" (hereinafter referred to as"Regulations") promulgated in 1990, any such students as have got married on their own decision without going through procedures of quit shall be treated as dropouts and all dropouts shall not be permitted to go back to campus.
As everybody can see, what a treatment like this means to those college students who have experienced the "dark July" of college entry examination and stand on tiptoe to await the advent of a bright future as is being now presented. Facing such an impelling situation, any people with a sober head won't make such a senseless decision during his or her college years except that he or she has no other alternative but to get married.
However, whether the "Regulations"as an institutional law only are in conformity with relevant provisions of the "Marriage Law" ?
Article 2 and Article 4 of "Marriage Law"implemented since 1980 provide that marriage liberty shall be practiced and marriage shall be on a voluntary basis without coercion of either party or intervention from a third party. "Marriage Law" does not have any special provision on the principle of marriage liberty. When two individuals parties going to get married have reached the legal age and met related requirements stipulated for marriage, and if they apply for marriage, the authoritative departments in charge of marriage registration shall offer registration. Besides, any collective or individual shall not interfere with or raise demanding conditions on marriage age ad arbitrium.
Thus it can be said that the "Regulations" are clearly contradictory to "Marriage Law"as the former undoubtedly have raised demanding requirements on marriage age in a disguised form and set restraints on marriage liberty. Interestingly, the provision on"dropouts"in "Regulations"is so much like arranged marriage in old China, in which parents usually threatened their children with cutting off set blood ties when the latter should disobey their marriage arrangement. Besides,"getting married on their own decision" particularly affords food for thought. Actually, does not any couple with their marriage on a voluntary basis"get married on their own decision?"
Some one might say that since "Marriage Law"is general while "Regulations"are special, on this issue, in accordance with the principle that "special laws are superior than general laws", priority should be given to the latter. Nevertheless, this opinion ignores an important precondition, i.e., special and general laws should both be formulated by the same department, otherwise they cannot be put together for comparison.
It is reported that there are few regulations providing that college students are forbidden from marriage in developed countries. Educational authorities in China worked out such a regulation probably under the consideration that marriage by college students might affect the country's education order. As a matter of fact, marriage is only a kind of legal action of two individuals engaged to establish a marital relationship in accordance with the requirements and procedures set by law. The departments concerned may be in a way to set limits on childbearing or building family but have no right to restrict the holy marriage liberty at all. Moreover, with the spread of a flexible educational system among colleges, marriage and childbearing by a few students can be solved in other ways as suspension of schooling.
There are also quite a few other regulations on marriage as are known to people. For example, apprentices in some factories will have no right to get married during their training years. Marriage by athletes from some special events and leading dancers in some troupes also has age limits. These so-called regulations, obviously for their contravening "Marriage Law", null and void, will be amended or revoked.
By PD Online staff member Deng Gang
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