Beijing: Shanghai may soon have its first boys school if a plan by an education official gets the go-ahead.

The single-sex school solution is being proposed in a bid to improve the academic performance of boys who are consistently outperformed by girls.

"I felt it's an educator's responsibility to solve the 'boys crisis'," said Lu Qisheng, president of Shanghai No.8 High School.

Girls mature faster than boys, which may give girls an edge in academic studies but boys with poor exam scores may become discouraged, Shanghai Daily Friday quoted Lu as saying.

There are more female students in top universities, and women graduates perform better in the job market, he added.

Lu believes boys and girls should be educated differently according to their different characters in order to reduce the new gender imbalance.

Currently, Shanghai has one girls school - Shanghai No.3 High School - but no boys schools.

Lu said two trial classes may be launched by September. IANS