SHANGHAI'S first all-boys public high school classes open in September as a small, 60-student pilot project to build the confidence of pampered boys and make them more manly. Wang Jie reports.

There's a lot of talk in China today about a "boys crisis" in which young males are pampered and smothered by mothers and turn out to be weak, helpless around girls and generally socially inept in later life.

Much has been written about the problem and what should be done. Some experts dismiss it as overblown, some say boys' problems begin at home and some saying the super-competitive educational system is largely to blame because it puts too much of a burden on both boys and girls.

In a pilot attempt to help boys become better adjusted and more masculine, the city's first boys-only high school is under planning and discussion at Shanghai No. 8 High School. Recruitment begins in May for two pilot classes, totaling 60 students. They will be closely monitored to see whether the whole idea of boys-only school is necessary and feasible.

The pilot class plan approved by the Shanghai Education Commission will start in the coming new semester in September and will be an experimental program to pay greater attention to their development as confident, outgoing young men.

There will be more "manly" courses, according to Shanghai No. 8 High School Principal Lu Qisheng, such as wushu, Chinese chess and electronic music, than in ordinary coed schools. Several professors at Shanghai universities will design programs suitable for boys.

"I am interested and I want to take my boy for a try," says a 42-year-old mother surnamed Sun, "because now he seems too timid and shy. I hope that the high school for boys can instill a more masculine character.

"Also, I won't be afraid that he might fall in love with a girl classmate who might distract him from studying," the mother adds.

Many parents live in terror of what is commonly (and rather dismissively) called zao lian or "puppy love," an inappropriate attachment that can stand in the way of academic and career success.

Although the idea of a boys' high school is new to Shanghai, it's common in many Western countries and quite common in Taipei, where there are jokes about monasteries for boys and convents for girls. Girls schools are also common elsewhere.

But the activities in Taipei boys' and girls' schools are varied, and the boys and girls do interact in exchange programs and activities.

The Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School (for boys) now has 80 student activity teams including its famous basket ball team.

"This boys' high school is not an innovation, but a naive practice," notes sociologist Gu Xiaoming, from Fudan University.

"True, a boy might not have a chance to fall in love with a girl classmate, but instead he might fall in love with his female teacher! Various studies have already proved that whether it's a boys' or girls' school, single-sex education hinders healthy psychological development of teenagers. Today the separation of boys and girls in an education setting should be rejected," he adds.

Shanghai has only one public girls school, the famous Shanghai No. 3 Girls' High School with a history of 110 years, famous for nurturing Madame Soong Ching Ling.

"If I had had a choice, I wouldn't have studied at that school," says Ren Peiwen, a 38-year-old professional. "My parents sent me there for six years, which adversely affected my communication with men at university and later in society, since I didn't have any experience in getting along well with boys, compared with my peers."

But many parents, scholars and education officials are concerned about boys' development.

"Due to the one-child policy, many boys are pampered not only by their parents but grandparents as well," says Wang Ronghua, former president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "What they lack is boldness and an outgoing manner. Anyway, the high school for boys is a beneficial experiment that provides more choices for them, though single-sex education will not become mainstream."

Professor Gu contends that setting up a boys' high school "is just a waste of the taxpayers' money. If it's so important, then why not start this experiment earlier in kindergarten, say with boys' kindergarten or primary school?" he asks.

"We have to admit the fact that today sexual preference becomes more obscure (meaning men are less manly and women are less feminine). Look at the clothes girls and boys are wearing today - the whole society and environment are different from the past," says the Fudan professor.

Gu cites the example of Zhangjiang nan, referring to male IT workers at Pudong's Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park. "Their working environment is filled with men, and many even don't know how to date or court a girl," Gu adds. "This becomes a social problem."

But Feng Yalan, a psychological consultant in Shanghai, says criticism of boys' education is blown out of proportion.

"It's not new in the West, and there are a number of top boys' high schools in the UK," she says.

"The school is not 'an isolated island.' Boys can still meet girls after school and even date them. It is not appropriate to exaggerate the negative side of a boy's high school."

However, the heavy academic workload on all Chinese students takes up most of their time, leaving little time for socializing after school.

"Although I understand that entering a top university doesn't guarantee a bright future, I still push my son every day to study," says Rebecca Wu, whose son is 13 years old. "Sometimes I feel that both he and I are so stressful. From Monday to Friday, he has to deal with all the homework at school. During weekends, I have to take him to sessions in English and mathematics. Every parent follows the same track. Send him to a boys' high school? Certainly not, then he has no color in his school days."

Xu Guangxing, a psychology professor at Shanghai East China Normal University, says: "Establishing a boy's school cannot solve the boys' crisis without accompanying changes in the current education system, such as emphasis on highly competitive testing, high scores and awards that decide everything for a student."


Different views on boys' classes


Zhang Li, 36 mother of a 5-year-old boy

The good thing is that it provides more educational opportunity for boys, since nowadays girls are usually working harder than boys.


Christine Wuprofessional in her 40s

I have no comments. I don't have a child but the education situation in China is very bad.


Zhang Minghan38-year-old lawyer, father of a 10-year-old boy

Sounds new. But I want to wait to see the results of the first graduates, then I could make my judgment.


Bi Yu56-year-old retiree

I know the city used to have universities for men before the founding of the Republic of China (1911-1949). In ancient times, only boys were entitled to be educated at school, and girls were not allowed to go to school.


Xu Wenwena 12-year-old boy primary school student

Sounds cool! Could I have more time playing football or basketball at the playground?


Wu Sihana 11-year-old girl primary school student

I am interested in going there to have a look.