Education of migrant workers' children

In today's episode of "My Migrant Life", our reporter Liu Ming examines the difficulties facing migrant workers for their children's education.

When migrant workers move to big cities to make a living, their children face many problems in education. Some have to drop out, while others have to deal with interruptions to their schooling.

13-year-old Wang Defu came to Beijing from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China a few months ago. He enrolled in this middle school specially for children of migrant workers.

Students come and go often. Some stay for only a few days, and then have to leave when their parents move on. It's hard for these children to concentrate on their studies.

Cheng Jianfang, andmin. director of Pugongying Middle School, said, "Poverty is the main reason for dropping out. And some parents think boys have the priority for school. So lots of girls have to quit halfway and start working when very young. In addition, high mobility of migrant workers also leads to their children moving frequently from one school to another."

Wang Defu wants to continue studying in Beijing as long as his family can afford it. Although he's young, he understands well how hard life is.

He's recently been named a "Thrift Star" in his class.

Wang Defu, child of migrant worker, said, "My parents are getting old. It's hard for them to find a job. Their workload is very heavy and they work very hard. But they don't earn much."

Wang Defu has two wishes, one is to go to university; the other is to repay his parents' hard-work one day.

His proud mother is behind him all the way.

Li Fengying, migrant worker, said, "I'm thinking we'll try our best to back him as long as he has the ambition of going to university. So all he needs to do is study hard."

There are many stories to tell behind every child of migrant workers. They should be enjoying their childhood. But the reality they face is a harsh one.

Some say that children in poor families grow up faster and understand what life is at earlier age. We can see that with children of migrant workers. They experience instability, poverty and hard work starting from a tender age. On top of all that, they have to deal with all kinds of psychological pressures on the way to adulthood.