教授:男孩应该比女孩晚入学

Wu Bihu, a professor with the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University, suggested in his microblog, that girls should be enrolled into primary school at age 6 or 7, while the age for boys should be 7 or 8.

Wu says the opinion was inspired by his observation of fewer male students entering Peking University in recent years.

"When it comes to the time that the first year students enter college, Gaokao high achievers from lots of provinces come to Peking University and most of them are girls. Also, every year among the students recommended for admission to postgraduate study, the majority are girls. This makes me think a lot."

In fact, several colleges, including prestigious ones in China, have lowered their minimum entrance-exam scores for boys.

Authorities say the move is in an attempt to provide more male applicants with educational opportunities, as girls usually outperform boys during the national college entrance exam, called the Gaokao.

Professor Wu says his appeal is to compensate for the slower development of intelligence in boys and to give them a greater chance of success in school.

"Boys tend to perform at a level of intelligence that is behind girls of the same age, which in the long term may cause great pressure on boys, leading them to give up working hard as a result. Considering this, having boys enrolled one or two years later may be better for them in terms of both efficiency in learning and psychological health."

Wang Xiuge, a mother of a 14-year-old boy, hailed the appeal, citing her son as an example.

"I think it's a good idea. My boy started learning piano when he entered primary school at seven years old, which was pretty late. But he liked it, so he learned really fast, and he has persevered with it until now. What's more, he's enjoying it more and more."

However, some parents, like Li Jinfang, say they believe academic performance should not be the only thing to be taken into account.

"As our only child, my child lacks the social ability that's developed when spending time with peers. If he is old enough, I think letting him integrate into a new environment will benefit his physical and psychological health as well as comprehensive development."

According to an online survey carried out by China's popular social networking website Sina Weibo, nearly half of people supported professor Wu Bihu's suggestion, while merely less than 5 percent disagree with it.

The rest of the 42 percent believe the choice should be up to the parents.

Chu Chaohui, a researcher with National Institute of Educational Sciences, adds to extend the age for school entrance to 8-years-old, no matter boys or girls, will contribute to children's personality development.

In addition, he suggests more work needs to be done.

"Children should not be judged by a unified standard such as academic scores, as they all have different potential and strong points. On one hand, we should apply various standards, and on the other hand, it requires schools to introduce different approaches towards teaching that better suit their students."

For CRI, I'm Zhou Jinnan.