15,000 migrant school children face an uncertain education after
37 schools in Beijing's Haidian District were ordered to close
their doors, leaving their students facing uncertainty with no
certain places for the upcoming term.
The local education commission issued a circular ordering 37
schools catering to migrant workers' children to close due to
safety concerns and a lack of qualified teachers.
"There are over 50,000 migrant children in our district and one
third of them are studying in private schools. A lot of these
schools are not well-equipped and are liable to suffer from food
poisoning outbreaks, gas leaks, collapsed roofs, fires and traffic
accidents," said Zhu Jianxin, section chief with Haidian Education
Commission.
The statement came as a "major surprise" to Wu Jijun, a maths
teacher at Hongxing School, one of the schools required to shut
down.
"The Haidian Education Commission has checked on migrant
children schools every year since our school was founded in 1999.
They have only found some minor problems with the school in
previous years and asked the schools to improve the facilities as
best they could. No serious accident has been reported for seven
years," said Wu.
The education commission's circular said the students will be
allocated places in local public schools. To allay fears, the
circular stated that all students affected would be allocated
places in local public schools.
"Parents of these children will not be expected to pay extra
tuition fees," said Zhu.
But the decision has riled parents and teachers, who believe the
children will struggle to find places in public schools before the
start of this academic year.
"Public schools usually charge migrant parents high fees," said
Wu Jijun. Other public schools refuse to take in migrant children,
citing a lack of space, according to a letter signed by 43 migrant
parents last Friday asking the education commission for a
solution.
Parent pressure has forced Haidian Education Commission to hold
a public meeting today to deal with cases of migrant children being
turned away by public schools growing ever more frequent.
"We have ensured them that their children will have a school to
attend," said Yan, a commission officer.
Some public schools have been left with no choice but to refuse
students. The principle of Yishi primary school, surnamed Wang,
said that around 100 migrant parents have tried to enroll their
children since August. Some class sizes have expanded to 45, almost
exceeding the school's capabilities, he explained.
Social concerns are also obstacles to the relocation plan. "I
will not go to a public school even if my school is actually
closed," said 12-year-old schoolgirl Zhang Yue from Hongxing
School. "My friends at public schools told me the local children
don't want to play with them. The local children know we are not
from Beijing and that we are not one of them so they treat us
differently."
Xie Zhenqing, principal of Hongxing School which receives 1,400
students each year, is ignoring orders to close the school. She has
promised parents the school will be open for the first day of the
new semester today.
(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2006)