Children are playing by the Wanquan River in Qionghai city, South China's Hainan Province on February 16, 2023. Photo: VCG

 
Birth insurance services should be opened to Chinese college students, which could support young people who would like to bear a child during their university days better handle their studies, a Chinese political advisor suggested at this year's two sessions.

The reasonable marriages of master's and doctoral students should be given more support including allowing them to alter their study time, and offering financial and related services to them, He Dan, the director of China Population and Development Research Center, who is also a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said in the proposal.
 
He also suggested that college students with children should enjoy birth insurance and medical allowances.

"More often the prime years of our career development, the prime years of our education, the prime years of marriage and childbearing all overlap. So for those of child-bearing age, we may consider how to make the proper arrangements," He noted. 

Maternity insurance refers to the "maternity allowance." The maternity allowance enables insured female workers to enjoy alternative wage income during their maternity leave. But currently, college students are not covered by maternity insurance.

Official data showed in 2021, a total of 125,800 doctoral students were enrolled, 509,500 were studying and 72,000 were graduating. 

The number of undergraduate students is even larger with 4.4 million fresh students enrolled in undergraduate programs and 18,931,000 students enrolled in colleges.

Previously, a proposal of Xie Wenmin -- another Chinese political advisor -- suggested that China consider removing restrictions on marital status for the registration of newborns, allowing unmarried women to enjoy services related to fertility the same as married women.
 
In China, before women get access to birth-related services or enjoy preferential policies including birth insurance, they should register the births of their children. Being married is a premise for this registration.