160 7 Marginalised Children and Universal Basic Education
7.7.2 Left-Behind Children
Left behind children are the result of labour mobility and parents relocating with-
out their children who are most often left in the care of grand parents. This is now
a firmly established pattern amongst many communities. The need is to work to
improve the quality and appropriateness of the education that left behind children
receive. The Outline (2010–2020) proposed that a children’s care service system
and dynamic monitoring mechanism should be set up for left-behind children led
by government and supported by the whole society. Several developments may be
helpful.
First, increases in the investments of central and local funds to infrastructure in
rural primary and middle schools which have left behind children to improve qual-
ity, improve the accommodation conditions, and make more effective use of the
schools’ and the teachers’ educational functions since the left behind students lack
family support.
Second, increases the opportunities for left-behind children to experience pas-
toral support from teachers and other adults, and implement one-to-one support
systems among teachers and left-behind children so that the children can obtain
more love and care. More home visits should be promoted for the non-residential
left-behind children, with more care about students’ life and thought, and guidance
to set up a positive attitude to face life, to help in healthy growth.
Third, establish the fail safe mechanism of caring for left-behind children as
soon as possible so that all children are supported. Every primary and middle
school should establish a reliable contact method and emergency mechanism
locating left-behind children, schools, legal guardians and government responsible
agents.
Fourth, the fundamental solution to the education of left-behind children is to
develop the small and medium-sized cities and small towns, narrow the economic
development levels between urban and rural areas, and make more balanced the
distributions of resource in the aspects in science, education and culture. This
should reduce the volume of migrant labour if job opportunities and economic
conditions are more evenly distributed.
7.7.3 Girls in Remote and Poor Areas
Girls have seen their status improve but a journey remains to be travelled. Major
progress has been made in terms of gender equity in the school system in China
and in most developed areas there is now little difference in enrolment rates
between boys and girls. In less developed areas differences persist and preferences
for boy children still result in imbalances in the sec ratio in the population. Several
observations stand out