1597.7.1 Migrant Children
Migrant children living with their parents in receiving areas have become a serious
problem as a result of large scale movement of labour and ambiguities over how
rights to education are to be delivered and by whom. Actions which can be taken
to ensure the right to education and improve the education quality of migrant chil-
dren include several steps.
First, the Outline (2010–2020) which guarantees the equal right to education
of migrant children should be implemented. Local governments and schools in
receiving areas are responsible according to the Outline (2010–2020). They should
make equitable provision for all migrant children and resolve the issues around
access to secondary education and University. The education equality of migrant
children is more than an education problem, it is a social problem that has a close
relation with the harmony and stabilization of the whole society. China has made
many policies to guarantee the compulsory education equality of migrant children.
The period of loose policy rules, weak enforcement, lack of monitoring mecha-
nism, and slow movement to more equity should be replaced by full implementa-
tion of the existing policies.
Second, there needs to be a better match between rights to education and the
way the household registration system works. This is fundamental so that ambi-
guities in responsibilities are removed, and anomalies are rectified. Only then will
access to education for migrants be equitable.
Third, if migrants children are to have equitable access to education then
reforms may be needed that strengthen the finance and transfer payment systems
so that money follows where students are being educated. There are needs to give
more attention to economically backward regions since this may reduce child
migration. In any case it should narrow the gaps between developed regions and
undeveloped regions in school building, equipment, faculty and cost per student,
and achieving standardization and more equal distribution of equipment and the
quality of teaching.
Fourth, migrant children are poorly served where schools and curricula are not
adapted to recognize their learning needs especially in periods of transition from
sending to receiving area. Where there are significant numbers of migrant children
investment is needed in problems of transition and pedagogies that accommodate
differences in language, culture and capacity.
Fifth, improvements are needed in the teachers’ consciousness of educational
inequalities. Migrant children appear to suffer various marginalisations and exclu-
sions, and have special needs that should be recognized. These include language
issues, cultural and social capital, parental resources, and peer group pressures.
Teachers should be sensitive to inequalities when giving individual coaching,
interacting with students and raising questions in class, and distributing education
sources.
7.7 Conclusions and Policy Insights