The University of Missouri at Columbia will not put condoms in residence hall restrooms as had been reported last month, said university officials.

Chancellor Brady Deaton has decided not to move forward with the initiative, a university spokeswoman said, so the university can hold public forums and decide how best to educate students about health issues.

“It is important to educate students about healthy decision-making, including the option of abstinence,” a university statement said.

University spokeswoman Mary Jo Banken said the condom program had not been approved.

“It was never really official,” she said.

The idea came from a student fraternity that approached various university departments with it. The Department of Residential Life, the Student Health Center and the Columbia/Boone County Health Department liked the idea and were in the process of discussing details of starting such a program, Banken said.

“Unfortunately, what happened is that it was reported in the media and reported on prematurely before it could be reviewed by all university leadership,” she said.

She said Deaton commends students for coming up with the idea. She said the university wanted to find ways to address the broader problem of sexually-transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.