More Chinese migrant workers (进城务工人员) bring their children to the city for better education, rather than leaving them behind in the countryside.
Luo Yong, who has worked hard for 9 years as a worker in Nanchang, Jiangxi's capital city, finally managed to find a seat for his son at a well-known primary school in the city.
In September, the boy was sent into a crowded first-grade classroom at the primary school which belongs to Nanchang University.
"Whatever the cost, I want my son to live a better life than mine— better schooling and better work in the city," says 32-year-old Luo.
"I was not well educated, and that's why I can only find low-paid jobs here," he adds.
The move by a growing number of migrant workers to take their children to cities has led to losses of students for schools in the countryside.
Located 35 kilometers away from Nanchang, the Dazhuang Village Primary School in Luo's hometown has seen the number of its students drop by more than half in the past four years, according to Principal Xiong Guilian.
With 22 students now, the school has been changed into a “teaching spot(教学点)” that only offers the first three grades. Most rooms in the two-floor schoolhouse are left unused. “Every time a new term starts, I find a few children missing because they have been taken to the town or city by their parents,” Xiong says, describing her feeling as “bittersweet”.
More children are brought to cities for better
Luo Yong |
1. He has been a worker in Nanchang nine years ago. 2. He found his son a seat at a famous primary school in Nanchang 3. He didn’t a good education when he was young. 4. He hopes that his son can a better life than him. |
Luo Yong’s son |
1. He was taken to the city of being left behind in the countryside. 2. He studies in a primary school in the of Jiangxi. |
Xiong Guilian |
1. He is the of the Dazhuang Village Primary School. 2. The students in his school has become even over the last four years. 3. In each new term, he feels bittersweet when he finds several children . |