Unintended consequences
When some things change and others don't, a planned system begins to break down. That's what's happening with the household registration system in China. Here's one of the consequences.Millions of Chinese rural migrants denied education for their children
Chinese children are entitled to a state education, but not all of them get one. And the tens of millions born to migrant workers… are among the most vulnerable, owing to a registration system that divides the country's citizens into rural and urban dwellers, and dictates their rights accordingly…
The contradictions of the hukou system, designed for a 1950s planned economy, become more painful with every year of China's development. About 140 million rural migrants are now working in the cities, where average incomes are more than three times than those of the countryside. Migrants have fuelled the country's spectacular growth but not reaped the benefits. And once they become parents, they face an unpalatable choice.
Fifty-eight million children are left behind in the countryside by parents who hope that relatives will raise them lovingly. Another 19 million remain in the cities – where they are, in effect, second-class citizens. Both groups have poorer academic performance and more behavioural problems than their peers…
State schools receive no funding for migrant pupils, so often claim to be full. Others charge illicit "donations" of as much as 6,000 yuan (£590) a term, said Zhang Zhiquan, from the Friends of Migrant Workers group…
Teaching Comparative blog entries are indexed.
Find out What You Need to Know
Labels: China, civil society, economics, policy
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home