"Look! Grandpa Wen gave it to me." Flourishing his little
schoolbag, Yan Tianci is still thrilled with the present handed to
him by Premier Wen Jiabao half a month ago.
Tianci is in the second grade at Xingzhi Experimental School for
Transient
Students in Beijing's Haidian District. On May 29, 110 of the
students were invited to celebrate International Children's Day
with the kindergarten class of a school for kids of government
officials. Premier Wen Jiabao and Mayor Wang Qishan were among the
leaders who attended the event.
Xingzhi Experimental School was established in 1994 and
currently has a total of 2,790 transient students. The increasing
"floating" population in Beijing and other big cities has led to
the establishment of growing numbers of private schools catering to
migrant workers' kids. At present, some 50,000 of the 240,000
school-aged transient children in Beijing attend one of 280 schools
for migrant children. Fewer than 10 of them are licensed, and local
education departments are caught on the horns of a dilemma as to
what to do about them.
Transient students: normal kids in a special
situation
The migrant workers think the schools help a lot. Paying for
their children to study in public schools has long been a luxury
far beyond the means of most. That problem is being resolved in
accordance with a directive of the State Council issued last
September, which requires the reduction and eventual cancellation
of extra tuition fees for non-resident children. But there are
other considerations as well.
Many migrant-worker parents fear that their children might be
looked down upon by the urban students. Everyone has a strong need
to belong to a group or a community, but the transient children may
have trouble forming relationships in schools where the other kids
have often known each other for years. In a migrant-operated
school, at least all the children have similar lifestyles, although
they may have come from different parts of the country.
Some migrant farm workers also point out that many public
schools have long, involved registration procedures that are highly
impractical for families that must move frequently.
But the urban public schools and education departments want the
migrant children. The one-child policy has led to a steady decline
in student populations and public schools are feeling the loss.
Private schools siphon away potential sources of tuition.
On the other hand, many of the private schools are no more than
moneymaking machines for their owners. They lack qualified
teachers, equipment and other facilities; and all they really have
to offer is low tuition.
To resolve the problem, departments of education nationwide have
initiated extensive rectification campaigns against illegally
operated private schools. But therein lies the conundrum: simple
closure of the schools may leave the migrant kids who were
attending them with no place to study at all.
Migrant workers: Nowhere to go
Liu was a farmer in Jiangsu Province. He came to Beijing to earn
more money and now sells vegetables at a market in Changping
District. Liu's son and several other migrant children have been
attending Zhenxing Elementary School, located near the market. When
he heard that the city would start a cleanup campaign targeting
illegally operated schools, Liu said, "I have no idea what to do if
the school is closed. My son's grandparents took care of him before
we came to Beijing, but they are in poor health." No one had the
time or ability to see to the boy's studies.
Liu's story is very common. A survey of ten migrant families by
the China Economic Times indicates that nine of the families sent
their children to schools for transients. Most of them believed the
closure of these schools would "greatly affect" the children's
studies.
School operators: Not in it for the money
Wang Zhenchao is the headmaster of Zhenxing Elementary School.
He and his wife came to Beijing from Zhangjiakou, a smaller city in
Hebei Province. He says they make almost no profit on the
school.
More than 300 students are currently enrolled in Wang's school.
The tuition is US$54.40 per semester, and many families who have
two kids are allowed to pay only US$48.30 per child. Several
students attend for free because of family hardships. The school's
annual income from tuition is US$28,996. In addition to the
US$8,457 Wang pays to rent the classrooms, he has to pay US$15,706
for the teachers, drivers, administrative staff and other office
expenditures. The couple earns about US$4,832 annually, or about
US$200 per month each for Wang and his wife.
Education departments: Beset by problems
The Tongzhou District Educational Committee Development Planning
Section has just begun trying to straighten out the situation. They
had originally hoped to assemble all the migrant students in one
public school, but that has proved far easier said than done.
The migrant-operated schools are obviously reluctant to give up
the transient students, since it is their business.
More importantly for the students, the private schools generally
do not use the same textbooks that local public schools use.
Transferring will disrupt the continuity of the children's
studies.
And significant to both parents and children, most private
schools for transient children provide transportation between home
and school, a service that public schools do not offer.
The regulations now being enforced to rectify the private
schools are quite demanding. For example, they require legal
representative to have local permanent residence registration. The
school must procure US$60,400 to US$120,800 in registration funds,
and it must provide the children with a playground that includes a
200-meter track.
Cui Chuanyi, a researcher at the State Council Development and
Research Center Rural Economic Research Department, said that
private schools for transient students must be regulated, but some
of the existing standards are unrealistic. Cui added, "The average
school for immigrant students cannot meet the requirements."
Central government: Assistance, not
elimination
The State Council directive issued in September 2003 is intended
to resolve these thorny issues. It requires that equal treatment be
extended to all students, which means canceling additional fees for
non-residents. It also calls for support to be given to the private
schools for migrants. Simply and non-selectively closing them down
is prohibited. Local governments are urged to establish special
educational funds for migrant workers' children.
Zhao Shukai, a researcher with the State Council Development and
Research Center, inspected 114 schools for transient students in
Beijing. Zhao believes that the separation of transients from
residents is a form of social divisiveness that will have a future
impact on society and the economy.
"The existence of schools for transient students is reasonable
as China deepens its urbanization policy," said Professor Shi
Bonian, of the China Youth College for Political Sciences. Help
should come from all walks of life and the government should also
provide support by offering classrooms, teaching staff and
equipment, he added. Shi himself has offered training at Beijng's
Capital Normal University for teachers of transient students.
Shi said, "Now that they have been recognized, they must be
standardized as well. We need audit and supervision authorities to
ensure that they are not seeking excessive profit."
Fu Mingzhi, the Young Pioneers counselor at the Xingzhi
Experimental School for Transient Students, thinks back to the day
that little Yan Tianci got his schoolbag from "Grandpa" Wen
Jiabao.
"It was charming to have the migrant children invited to
celebrate their holiday with the local kids in Beijing. But we
didn't expect that the event would draw attention from the top
leaders."
Governments at all levels have recognized the existence of the
schools and the needs of the children. Initial moves toward
resolving the issues in the way that best helps the children may be
tentative or fumbling at this early stage, but the solution will be
found.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiao, June 23, 2004)
