BEIJING: Rapid economic development in China has created a rich-poor gap that has forced millions of workers to move from rural areas to cities. This has caused about 60 million children to be left behind in rural areas under the care of grandparents or other relatives, often with no proper supervision.
The problem is particularly prevalent in China’s poorest regions such as in the northwest and in the southwest. According to a recent report, 10 million children in rural China go a full year without seeing their parents.
Said Dr Wang Zhenyao, dean of the China Philanthropy Research Institute: “Actually the problems they face are complex, but the main issue is psychological. I think that the psychological problems are very important. They miss their parents. Sometimes, when I look at them, I shed tears. All they want is to live with their parents, even if it is just the mother or the father. So to meet this minimum requirement, we have to change it through the system.”
He said that one way to do it is to establish a child welfare system which helps to protect children and takes care of their educational, medical and psychological needs.
“In China, we used to rely on the family to protect children, but now, we need to build a public system to protect children and take care of them. So this public welfare system is an urgent priority which must be established,” said Dr Wang.
“In China, we used to rely on the family to protect children, but now, we need to build a public system to protect children and take care of them. So this public welfare system is an urgent priority which must be established,” said Dr Wang.
But before any such system can be set up, some experts said the number of social workers in the country will have to be increased.
Mr Ron Powells, chief of child protection at UNICEF China, said: “The profession of social work, for example, was only reintroduced in China in 2006. We are only nine years down the line, so there is still an enormous challenge in not only increasing the numbers of professionals who can work with children, but also to train them sufficiently and continue to train them and keep their knowledge up to date.”
Mr Ron Powells, chief of child protection at UNICEF China, said: “The profession of social work, for example, was only reintroduced in China in 2006. We are only nine years down the line, so there is still an enormous challenge in not only increasing the numbers of professionals who can work with children, but also to train them sufficiently and continue to train them and keep their knowledge up to date.”
However, to tackle the issue of “left-behind children”, there have been calls to tweak China’s household registration system or hukou. That is because the system deters parents from bringing their children to the city as they would not be eligible for schooling or other social benefits.
But besides tweaking the hukou system, experts said there is also a need to ramp up the economy in the rural areas.
Said Dr Tong Xiaojun, a child protection expert at China Youth Political College: “As the ‘left-behind children’ are from those rural areas where the economy is not very well developed, their parents want to find jobs to live a better life in the cities. If we have a very balanced economy, then the parents would not have to live this way - working in the cities and leaving their children in their rural homes.”
But besides tweaking the hukou system, experts said there is also a need to ramp up the economy in the rural areas.
Said Dr Tong Xiaojun, a child protection expert at China Youth Political College: “As the ‘left-behind children’ are from those rural areas where the economy is not very well developed, their parents want to find jobs to live a better life in the cities. If we have a very balanced economy, then the parents would not have to live this way - working in the cities and leaving their children in their rural homes.”
But until some of these problems are addressed, the issue of “left-behind children” looks set to plague China for years to come.
- CNA/ms
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