The protection of the rights of returning children deserves attention
Psychological and academic problems are common among returning children who experience mobility and stay behind
□ Trainee reporter Zhang Shoukun
□ reporter Wang Yang
Xiaomei is 15 years old and is currently studying in a private middle school in a certain county where she is registered.
Before September 2016, she had been studying with her parents in a private elementary school in a certain district of Shanghai.
Later, because her parents did not have local household registration and social security, Xiaomei could not enjoy the educational resources of the locals and had to return to her hometown to study.
Her parents continued to stay in Shanghai to work and provide Xiaomei with living expenses and tuition.
Surprisingly, after Xiaomei, who has always had good grades, returned to her home school, she failed the exam. She also became reticent in her lively and cheerful life.
Children like Xiaomei who have lived or studied with their parents in the city at least once, but returned to their hometown for various reasons are called returnees.
A few days ago, the "Blue Book of Migrant Children: China's Migrant Children Education Development Report (2019-2020)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Blue Book of Migrant Children"), compiled by the 21st Century Education Research Institute, was released. "Returning children" group born.
Han Jialing, editor-in-chief of the Blue Book, chair professor of the Institute of Economics and Social Studies of Jinan University, and researcher of the Institute of Sociology of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the reporter of the Rule of Law Daily that this type of group has seen a new trend after the State Council introduced the reform of the household registration system in 2014.
Compared with left-behind children and general migrant children, the characteristics of returning children are more complex, and the academic and psychological problems they face are more serious, which has become a universal problem worthy of attention.
Affected by multiple factors
Large numbers of children forced to return
In recent years, affected by factors such as the depopulation policy of mega-cities, the wave of migrant workers returning to their hometowns, and the restrictions on the college entrance examination policy in some regions, groups of returning children have emerged.
Han Jialing told a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily that research has shown that due to policy barriers in local public schools and high school entrance examinations, generally speaking, migrant children who need to enter school will turn into returnees.
According to the 2015 national 1% population sample survey data, the proportion of left-behind children in high school who have experienced migration is about 15%. “Although specific data is difficult to count, the total amount is still quite large.”
"In 2014, the State Council implemented a'differentiated settlement policy' across the country, requiring strict deregulation of the population size of megacities with a population of more than 5 million. In this context, cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have introduced depopulation policies. A round of returning children and relocated children due to education." Han Jialing said.
Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, told a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily that the direct cause of returning children is related to the inclusiveness of a city.
Their parents cannot find a job in the city, or because of the city’s related policies, their original jobs have disappeared, and many children have to go back to their original places to study.
Song Yingquan, an associate researcher at the Institute of Educational Finance of Peking University, investigated more than 17,000 students in 137 rural boarding schools in 5 counties in Hebei and Sichuan. His research results are also part of the report.
According to the survey results, Song Yingquan found that from the perspective of the reasons for the return of children, being unable to go to public schools and returning to their hometown together with their parents not working are the main reasons for children returning. The two accounted for close to 60%. It can be seen that academic development needs and family development needs are There are two main reasons that affect the return of children.
The adaptation of children and their families to life in other places is also an important factor affecting the return. Some return children are caused by "higher pressure in living in other places" and "not adapting to school life in other places".
In addition, the “closing of schools for migrant children” is also the reason for the return, but it accounts for a relatively small proportion.
Han Jialing said that in recent years, returnees and children who have relocated have shown the phenomenon of "returning as soon as possible". Many children return or relocate in the lower grades, and many of the returnees’ parents did not go back with them, but continued to stay. After working outside, most of the children became left-behind children after returning.
Xiaomei’s parents said that if it were not for failing to meet the enrollment standards, they would not want their children to go back to their hometown to study. “The child grew up in Shanghai and has adapted to life in Shanghai. Let her return to her hometown in the countryside to study. In fact, we are not sure whether it is good or not."
Return to the hometown
Psychology is affected
What Xiaomei's parents worried about eventually happened.
When Xiaomei went to school in Shanghai, her grades were always good.
After returning to her home school to study for a period of time, her head teacher discovered that Xiaomei often lost her mind in class, and even failed the math test.
Her classmates also said that every time when get out of class is over, only Xiao Mei is lying on the table alone, and other classmates are playing together.
In addition, according to Xiaomei's teacher, Xiaomei rarely used chopsticks when eating at school at noon.
Xiao Mei's grandma said that when Xiao Mei returned home, she just stayed in the room and didn't talk to herself. She would only come out when she had a meal.
Xiaomei's experience is not alone.
According to Han Jialing, because many returnees have little or no experience of living in their hometowns, they often face different problems from migrant children and left-behind children.
Most of the returning children return to their hometowns from big cities, which are prone to psychological gaps.
Many children will "regret" after returning and want to return to the big city and their parents.
"After returning home, there is a phenomenon of'unaccustomed to water and soil', and it is quite common." Han Jialing told a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily. Showing various maladaptations to the living environment and diet, some students even have problems such as eczema and fever."
In addition to physical discomfort, the more far-reaching impact is psychological difficulty in adapting.
In Chu Zhaohui's view, a child's social experience will directly affect his development. This kind of return experience has a more complicated impact on the child's growth, and the impact on different children is different.
Chu Zhaohui said: "First of all, there is the problem of academic adaptation. Studying in a city and returning to the school where the registered permanent residence is located are completely different experiences. There may be differences in teaching methods and teaching levels, which may lead to academic convergence. Difficulties and other issues. In addition, in terms of interpersonal communication, whether communication with classmates can be accepted and whether they can form a more harmonious relationship with current classmates is also an important aspect. Different children have different personality characteristics and the results of the interaction It's not the same. But according to the survey results, some children, especially younger children, have poorer interpersonal relationships."
Song Yingquan’s analysis results show that the overall risk of depression in returnees is relatively high. Compared with other children, returnees are less concerned by teachers and have a higher percentage of bullying to varying degrees.
All these make them prone to psychological problems and difficult to adapt to school life.
Improve the educational household registration system
Insist on teaching students according to their aptitude
Chu Zhaohui believes that the issue of returning children is, in the final analysis, a question of rights protection, that is, whether migrant workers have equal rights with citizens, and whether children of migrant workers enjoy equal rights to education like children of citizens.
However, according to Article 12, paragraph 1, of the Compulsory Education Law, local people’s governments at all levels shall ensure that school-age children and adolescents are enrolled in the nearest school where their household registration is located; paragraph 2 stipulates that parents or other legal guardians who work or live in places other than their household registration For school-age children and adolescents who receive compulsory education at the place of work or residence of their parents or other legal guardians, the local people's government shall provide them with equal conditions for receiving compulsory education.
Specific measures shall be formulated by provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.
A reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" found that although the Compulsory Education Law clarified the policy of nearby enrollment in compulsory education in legal form, it did not provide clear and definite regulations on how to implement this policy from the legal level, which also led to the fact that the nearby enrollment policy is realistic. Difficulty in implementation.
A reporter from the Rule of Law Daily searched the China Judgment Documents website and found dozens of cases involving parents of migrant children suing the education department, but they all ended in losing.
"Let migrant workers and citizens enjoy equal rights. Once this problem is solved, the specific details behind will be solved, but the reform of the household registration system and education system is not something that can be accomplished overnight." Chu Zhaohui said.
Han Jialing believes that in the short term, the compulsory education law will not be revised, the tightness of degrees in big cities will continue, and the phenomenon of left-behind children, returnees and relocated children will also continue.
Therefore, Chu Zhaohui put forward his own suggestion: At this stage, parents and school teachers may be the main decisive factors for the problem of returning children.
As far as parents are concerned, after being unable to allow their children to stay in the big city to study, qualified parents can no longer send their children to rural schools, but should be sent to county schools, so that the gap is relatively small and may be more conducive to the development of children ; For teachers, they need to know more about the specific situation of these children, they need to be more tolerant and concerned about these children, learn more about their academic and psychological conditions, and teach students in accordance with their aptitude.
In addition to parents and teachers, in Han Jialing’s view, in addition to the reception of returning children and relocated children, schools can help return children and relocated children through after-school tutoring and reorganizing targeted teaching materials. Academic convergence; social organizations should carry out preventive intervention and continuous follow-up before returning, strengthen the exchange and cooperation between non-profit social organizations in the destination and the destination, and better track and support the growth of returnee children in the destination.
"In addition, the current enrollment policy for migrant children in cities in my country is based on two major categories: the'point admission system' and the'material access system'. Scores such as'social security contribution years and years of residence in the city' account for the points system in the admission policy. The main proportion should be the future reform direction of the admission policy." Han Jialing said.
In 2019, the "Key Tasks for New Urbanization in 2019" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the "Opinions on the Reform of the System and Mechanism for Promoting the Social Mobility of Labor and Talents" issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council have triggered widespread social Concern and hot discussion.
Both of these two policy documents outline the outline of a new type of urbanization with fewer restrictions on settlement, better public services, and more complete supporting policies.
Recently, the Suzhou Municipal People's Government Office issued the "Implementation Opinions on Further Promoting the Settlement of Non-registered Population in the City", which stipulates that renting houses can be settled, and the promotion of salary and education equality can be seen as the implementation of these two policies.
Han Jialing commented that this is indeed a big breakthrough. Migrant workers have contributed a lot to a city. Their children should have the same education as the children of local residents. This helps to artificially reduce the return of children from the system level. produce.