With the number of AIDS cases rising among post-secondary students in China, the National Health and Family Planning Commission has called on all Chinese schools to establish a comprehensive AIDS reporting system.

The Commission has recommended that health authorities inform education departments of any new HIV cases among students at schools within their jurisdiction at least every six months. Additionally, the proposed system will provide students with free counseling and testing while ensuring the protection of their privacy.

According to the National Center for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease Control and Prevention, last year nearly 2,200 new HIV cases were reported among students over the age of 15, compared to 1,772 the year before.

Wu Zunyou, head of the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention, said that although the number of reported HIV cases among students last year accounted for less than 3 percent of the total number of new cases in China, infection among college students is rising faster than any other demographic, particularly among college men. “Since 2008, the number of HIV/AIDS cases among male college students has increased much faster than those among females… About 80 percent of newly detected cases involve sex between men.”