Learning unfair for children of migrant workers

• Source: Global Times
• [10:01 June 12 2010]
• Comments

Illustration: CFP

By Chen Xiaoru

Two years after municipal education authorities vowed to enroll all children of migrant workers into public schools by the end of this year, the city has almost fulfilled its promise - but learning opportunities for these students remain severely disadvantaged.

As of last year, over 97 of children of migrant workers or kids without a Shanghai hukou, or permanent residency - accounting for some 400,000 students - were enrolled in public schools, up from less than 60 percent in 2007.

But as the city works to make room in public schools for the remaining less than 3 percent of this demographic, the lucky children of migrant workers, who attend public schools in which the majority of the population is made up by local Shanghaiese, are not facing a brighter future.

These children without a Shanghai hokou, are without access to next week's zhongkao, or the National High School Entrance Examination; or the gaokao, the National College Entrance Examination, which finished this week, meaning they have limited options in continuing the learning curve. Many return home, or enroll into a vocational college, with a brim outlook on the horizon, despite having in some cases, like Wang Yan's, been educated in Shanghai for years.

Like a slowly increasing number of children of migrant workers, Wang managed to get into his school after it loosened requirements a year ago in response to the government-led mandate to give more chances to kids of migrant workers.

"I have always had the dream of going to university," the Grade 9 student at Zhelin School in southern Fengxian district, a child of migrant workers, who grew up in Shanghai, told the Global Times Friday. "I have worked hard; my scores rank among the top 10 in my class, but I will never get the chance to pursue my dream since I'm not allowed to take part in zhongkao."

According to several teachers at the school, who spoke with the Global Times, the majority children of migrant workers often perform poorly academically, and are misbehaved, which is the cause of the hardships they face.

"Teachers aren't willing to mix kids of migrant workers with their classes for local students," said Zhou Lingping, a teacher at the school. "They are bad-mannered and have a negative influence on others, and they can't keep with the kids who have been in the local school system from the start."

Meanwhile, discrimination remains another reality for these children, segregated by class from local students, who are victims of bullying from local peers - and even teachers who should be impartial.

"Our science teacher doesn't even tell us his name, and he doesn't care to learn any of our names either," Huang Xiaozhen, a student at the same school, also a child of migrant workers, told the Global Times Friday. "He sometimes criticizes us by telling us that we are stupid because we are outsiders."