Migrants fight for equal access to college(2)

THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY

The massive migration of rural laborers began after China turned from a centrally planned economy to a market economy in 1992. No longer tied to the countryside by a residence-based rationing system for food and other basic supplies, farmers began to take jobs in cities.

A 2003 regulation allowed migrant workers' children to receive nine years of compulsory education in cities where their parents work, removing former restrictions and scrapping extra fees.

But China's compulsory education covers only primary and junior high schools.

"Many of these children are old enough to attend senior high school and wish to enter college," said Yuan.

Migrant children like Gui are often reluctant to leave their parents and the city they love for a strange new environment.

"These teenagers often feel lonely and are very rebellious when left in the care of grandparents or other distant relatives," said Zhu Xiangyan, a teacher at the Dandelion School.

But those who have stayed are in no better condition, said Wang Yan, a school clerk who handles graduation affairs.

Half of Dandelion's graduates have joined their parents in taking low-paid jobs or engaging in vocational training, she said. [ About 40 students were accepted to a private school that promised to exempt tuition for top students, but the competition was very tense.

Many migrant workers have been fighting for equal access to education for their children by signing petitions and visiting education authorities, hoping to negotiate the issue with officials in person.

The Ministry of Education's promise of a policy change came in the wake of repeated pleas from migrant parents and under the pressure of experts, scholars and lawmakers who have sympathized with the migrants.

The new policy, however, has several prerequisites and may not benefit their children after all.

It requires parents to have stable jobs and income, a fixed place of residence and insurance against illness, according to the ministry.

"The threshold is too high -- maybe four or five out of my 600 schoolmates can qualify," said Li Jinting, a third-year student at the Dandelion School.

Li, a top student, will obtain further schooling after returning home to Wenchuan, a county battered by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, because his parents cannot meet the regulation's requirements.

In fact, most parents are temporarily employed by construction sites, restaurants, marketplaces or farms and fall short of the ministry's criteria, said Dandelion's principal and founder Zheng Hong.

"Their jobs are never stable and their employers rarely pay for social welfare programs. They have taken hard, dirty and poorly-paid jobs detested by city dwellers. They deserve respect and their children deserve equal access to the city's education resources."

Many parents worry that the new policy, instead of helping migrants in need, might prompt a flood of new "gaokao migrants": students from wealthy, well-connected families who move or use fake documents to cities where college matriculation is easier.

Urban parents also fear their children may fail in a much more competitive environment, now that nationwide students are ready to share school resources in cities they once considered their own.

Experts say such local protectionism may hinder or postpone the new policy from taking effect.

"Local governments, who care mainly for the interests of local residents, will likely set strict terms and conditions to exclude migrants," said Xiong Bingqi, vice head of the 21st Century Education Research Institute.

Xiong called for deeper reforms in the college admission system at the national level to close the education gap for migrants, including the implementation of universal testing, evaluation and matriculation.

"Fairer matriculation criteria should be worked out and colleges should be encouraged to recruit ideal candidates in a transparent manner. Where a student is from should not matter so much," Xiong said. Enditem