Jiangsu to carry out dynamic management for left-behind children
(ec.js.edu.cn) Updated：2016-08-30
A database of left-behind children is to be created in Jiangsu province as part of new measures to provide better protection and care for vulnerable members in the community, jschina.com.cn reported on Aug 24.
Left-behind children refer to rural children whose parents have been forced to move to the city in order to find work. They usually live with relatives, often their grandparents, while their parents work away from the family home.
According to a census conducted between April and July this year, Jiangsu is home to 242,000 left-behind children, accounting for 2.9 percent of all children in rural areas.
At present, there is little support and care for them. Reports about juvenile delinquency or suicides committed by such children have only added to the bleak picture.
In order to tackle the problem, Jiangsu provincial government has issued a guideline aimed at establishing a comprehensive protection mechanism for left-behind children by 2020, including an information database, service stations and hotlines for left-behind children.
The guideline also highlights the significance of reducing numbers of left-behind children by allowing migrant workers to become permanent urban residents, eligible for social welfare or even encouraging them to start their own business from home.
Zhu Weiguo, deputy director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, said that the province has rolled out related policies allowing the left-behind children to attend public schools across the province since 2013.
Currently, there have been 1.5 million left-behind children reunited with their parents in cities across Jiangsu, with 87 percent of them eligible for public education.
