[originaltext] On the 15th of February, 1989, an instant survey was carried

On the 15th of February, 1989, an instant survey was carried out among 18 overseas postgraduate students. 11 students were male and 7 were female. The purpose of the survey was to discover the views of the students on a number of matters of personal concern. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire given to the students to complete. There were 5 questions. The first question concerned favourite colour and the second, favourite number. The next 3 questions were all concerned with aspects of marriage. No. 3 looked at the ideal age to get married, No. 4 examined the qualities looked for in a partner and No. 5 asked about the ideal number of children. The main findings were as follows. Blue was the most popular colour. This was followed by Green and Purple. There was no real significance in the choice of lucky number. About one third of the students said that they had none. 61 percent of the students selected the age group 26 to 30 years as ideal for marriage, followed by 21 to 25 years. In looking at the most important qualities in an ideal partner, some hoped the person to be Intelligent, others chose Natural, still others indicated Attractive and Honest. The ideal number of children was 2, followed by 3. It is not easy to reach any definite conclusions based upon such a small sample of students from such widely different backgrounds. However, it is clear that the majority favour 26-30 as the ideal age to get married to an intelligent partner, and producing 2 children.