Chinese migrant workers can't afford higher education for children
By admin on 2014-12-26

Most children of migrant workers do not enter high schools after they graduate from junior middle schools, but chose instead to go to vocational schools or work full-time, the China Youth Daily reports.

A newly released report by students at central China's Wuhan University surveyed 300 senior students at junior middle schools, who are children of migrant workers and had moved to urban areas with their parents. According to the survey, only 18 percent of the students said they planned to attend high schools, while 72 percent said they would enter vocational high schools or technical schools. The remaining 10 percent indicated they would directly enter the job market. high

The article points out two main reasons for this phenomenon. First, the incomes of most migrant workers are too low for them to afford higher education for their children. Instead, the children have to master some kind of skill or technology to be able to find a job as soon as they can and contribute to their families' incomes. This means that they will likely have no chance to ever enter a university.

Second, many students have lost interest in further study by the time they graduate from secondary schools.

The survey also found that the academic performance of many migrant children is average or below average. At the same time, the students do not demonstrate a desire to advance their education.

Those who conducted the survey say they believe that migrant children do not aim high because they lack good learning environments and teachers seldom communicate with them. They also are unaccustomed to different teaching methods used in city schools.

At present, there are more than 130 million migrant workers working in Chinese cities.