The couple stands in front of a train of black horses in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality on their wedding day of March 7. [Photo/IC]

A lecturer at Xidian University in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, has called on students in her female-only class to sign a pledge that they will not have sex before marriage.

According to a student who took the optional course, only two students signed the card.

The student, who didn't want to be named, was not comfortable saying whether she signed the promise.

"The course was mainly about how to establish healthy concepts of relationships and marriage," she said. "It was open only to female students."

She said the guarantee also included a promise that the students would not have extramarital sexual relations.

The lecturer didn't force anyone to sign. However, many students still disliked being faced with such a promise.

Li Yuan, a college student at another university in Xi'an, said the lecturer's behavior violated privacy, and she would never sign anything like that.

Nevertheless, parents showed their understanding of the school and the teacher.

Chen Jin, the mother of a college student, said that as a science and technology school Xidian University has many more male students than females, so it is understandable that the school wants to protect female students by strengthening moral education.

"Both the school and teacher have good intentions. Even though the students who made the promises may not follow through, it is a good reminder," Chen said.