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The majority college students who took a recent survey support their school offering a course on how to have and keep a romantic relationship, which sparked a heated debate on social media.  

According to a report by China Youth Daily on Monday, 88.23 percent of the 1,028 college students who responded to the survey were keen to learn about how to handle college romances. The survey result showed that more than half of the students (55.54 percent) believe that such a course could help them form a positive attitude toward love. 

Many students expected to learn how to get along with the opposite sex through the courses, as heavy schoolwork had been their only focus before going to college.

"The course told us how to better communicate while dating and develop a positive attitude toward dealing with problems. Unlike pick-up artists' tricks, who seek to gain others' trust through manipulation and deception, our teachers focused on teaching us how to respect each other and to express our feelings," Zhang Junhao, a junior student at Tianjin Foreign Studies University who once took Psychology of Love told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Before he went to college Zhang had no romantic experience, but he's been with his girlfriend for two years.

Courses in romance are not new China. East China Normal University in Shanghai started its "marriage and love" course in 2013, and Southwest University of Political Science & Law in Chongqing teaches students to write love letters since 2015.

China University of Mining and Technology in East China's Jiangsu Province also has a course called the "Psychology of Love." One of the speakers, Duan XinXing, told students that romantic tussles are often the biggest influence on college students' mental health. The course offers positive guidance and psychological care for students who have had a difficult time with love.

Some netizens questioned whether a course on how to develop a romantic relationship belongs in a formal curriculum setting, and whether the topic should be a university course.

Chu Zhaohui, a research fellow at the National Institute of Education Science said many college students are in need of "relationship education." 

"Colleges students are young adults and have normal needs. It's reasonable schools offer a common sense course on romantic relationships," Chu told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Chu noted that since love-related problems are very complicated, maintaining a relationship between lovers constantly needs adjusting, and can't be easily 'taught' in a classroom.

"This requires us to spend more time thinking about, planning and setting up the courses prudently," he said.