Debate Question: Children of migrant workers should be eligible to take a college entrance examination in the city where they stay with their parents?

Debate Question: Children of migrant workers should be eligible to take a college entrance examination in the city where they stay with their parents?

Over the last three decades, the education issues of migrant children in China have led to a raging debate (Li, 2010). As the population of migrant children continues to increase, the Chinese education sector faces the challenges of improving the standards of education for migrant workers. Despite the government’s efforts to improve the primary education for migrant children, current studies have shown inequalities in the access of education, especially how most migrant children in the rural areas cannot attend public school education in urban areas. The findings of a study by Li (2010) indicated that the attending rate for rural migrants attending public schools in urban areas stands between sixty-five percent to eighty-five percent. This implies that about fifteen percent to thirty-five percent of this population do not access public school education in urban cities(Li, 2010). As a result of these inequalities, the government must allow children of migrant workers to take the college entrance examination in the city where they stay with their parents.

Recently, the government has recognized a great need and urgency to solve the schooling concerns of migrant children in urban areas. The government has set requirements for the local municipal governments to address this issue by enacting various legislations and regulations(Kwong, 2011). Nevertheless, these legislationshave not been effective at absorbing more migrant children in rural areas into the urban public-school systems. Considerably, to enhance the effectiveness of these laws, the government has made a requirement for local municipal governments to make it eligible for migrant kids to take college entrance examinations in the cities where they live with their parents. This initiative has resulted in more migrant students being admitted to public schools within the urban cities(Li, 2010). Consequently, making it eligible for the migrant to take college entrance examinations in the city where they live with there parents will be effective in solving the problem of unequal employment of migrant children..

Current literature in urban development shows that migrant children face discrimination issues within the education system. For example, they denied the opportunity and the right to access the legal nine years of compulsory training in urban areas. The Chinese government offers free nine years of compulsory education for kids who have reached the schooling age of five to six years (Kwong, 2014). The Compulsory Education Law of China stipulates that the initial nine years of mandatory education should be the responsibility of local authorities through the leadership of the State Council. In other words, the law obliges local authorities to implement measures to ensure that children have equal access to compulsory education (Kwong, 2011). Nonetheless, this law does notrecognize the challenges migrant children face, especially those who temporarily settle in urban cities as a result of their parents’ migration into the cities.

In conclusion, following the failure of the law to meet the needs of the migrant children, the education system must make it eligible for children of migrant workers to take college entrance exams in the cities where they stay with their parents. This will not only increase e enrollment of migrant children in the urban public-school system but also increase education inclusivity and solve the unequal treatment of the migrant children.

References

Kwong, J. (2014). Research report: education migrant children: Negotiations between the state and civil society. The China Quarterly. 180, 1073-1088.

Kwong, J. (2011). Education and identity: the marginalization of migrant youths in Beijing. Journal of Youth Studies. 14(8), 871-883.

Li, Y. (2010). Progress in education for the children of rural migrant workers. In Yang Dong Ping & Chai Chun Qing (Eds.), The China Education Year Book 2010, volume 2 (pp.175-187). Leiden Boston Publishing Company.