Care for migrants' kids

Updated: 2012-02-15 07:57

(China Daily)

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The migrant worker shortage in big cities after the Spring Festival exodus has once again stirred a national debate about their right to become city residents.

In fact, this debate should be broader and also include the children they leave behind, as these stay-at-home kids are frequently the main reason their young parents do not return to where they worked.

Estimates put the number of stay-at-home kids at 58 million. They suffer from loneliness and a lack of parental guidance and they are often malnourished and the victims of accidents. The public's donations and volunteer help are far from adequate to provide the nurturing environment these kids need.

For young migrant worker parents their identity as rural residents is determined by their hukou, or household registration, but they want more than a rural hukou offers for their children.

They would like to provide their children with the best environment for growing up as well as the quality of education urban children enjoy.

But while migrant parents can look after their children better if they stay with them. They can hardly do anything to improve the quality of education available in the countryside, which is the biggest obstacle to rural children entering college.

The central government should improve the conditions for teachers working in the countryside and divert more resources to raise the standard of education in rural areas.

This must be carried out step by step as a long-term national strategy. With the development of the economy at the county level, the authority can attract more teaching talent to county-level schools first and then proceed to the village level.

A mature and prosperous education system at the county level will help the country tap the potential of its rural population, which can only benefit the local economy in the long run. If the talents of the 58 million stay-at-home kids can be realized, they will be an important generation promoting county-level urbanization.

This will be a strategic transition for China, enabling it to balance its current city-centered urbanization which has caused many social problems.

The stay-at-home kids should no longer have to repeat the lives of their fathers and grandfathers. They deserve the opportunity to study for a better life.

(China Daily 02/15/2012 page8)