A middle school in East China has issued a list of rules aimed at preventing puppy love among students -- including no talking alone in secluded areas, no walking beside the opposite sex and strictly no intimate behaviour between boys and girls.

According to an online news report, Yueqing Yucai School in Zhejiang province even banned youngsters of the opposite sex from talking alone in secluded areas, such as in dark corners or under trees, and from giving each other expensive gifts.

Holding hands, hugging and kissing are strictly forbidden, while boys and girls are not allowed to walk side by side on the playground.

And the rationale behind all this? The school hopes that this will allow their students to "stay restrained when it comes to adolescent love" and remain "entirely devoted to their studies".

A notice listing all these rules and restrictions put up around the school also warned students that falling in love at an early age disrupts academic study, can cause physiological and psychological harm, and produces no result. Any student found breaking the rules will be punished and their parents will be informed.

Most parents with children at the school are in support of the new rules -- apparently, many had been calling for measures to prevent adolescent romances.

STOMPer UnicornPoop wrote:

"Can you believe that such measures are being implemented in China?

"Honestly, it shocks me that such restrictions are still being imposed in the 21st Century.

"The school should be guiding students' behaviour and educating them about boy-girl relationships, instead of simply trying to pose restrictions and rules against such activities."