WUNRN
"The
obstacles faced by migrant families severely limit the future options for
China's migrant family girls."
A
Better Future for China's Girls
April 22,
2008—Fourteen
year-old Jiang Hua, daughter of a migrant worker from the Chaoyang District in
Beijing, wants to be a reporter when she is older. Her classmates, also
daughters of migrant workers, want to be teachers, police officers and
journalists, too. These all seem like achievable aspirations, but the reality
is that the majority of these girls will never make it into senior high school.
In
China, girls typically receive only seven years of education despite laws that
make nine years of education compulsory for all children, according to the 2000
national census. Migrant girls face even greater odds. Because the migration of
their family is often unauthorized, the girls and their families lose access to
many of their public benefits when they relocate from the provinces to Beijing.
The high barriers to becoming registered make access to public schools in
Beijing nearly impossible for these families.
Many migrant parents, with no other options, leave their children behind with relatives in other provinces so that they can continue with school. Others send their children to one of the hundreds of migrant schools, including an estimated 300 unregistered schools, scraping together school fees out of their meager incomes.
With funding from the Goldman
Sachs Foundation, CEDPA staff interviewed migrant girls between the ages of
12 to 16 to identify key social and educational issues inhibiting these girls’
educational attainment and development during a March 21 to April 9 visit to
China. Staff also interviewed a number of educational professionals and
organizations concerned with the girls’ well-being, including teachers,
community leaders and government officials.
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CEDPA
staff interviewed girls in the migrant schools surrounding Beijing to
identify key social and educational issues. |
The obstacles faced by migrant families severely limit the future options for migrant girls. According to CEDPA’s interviews with educational professionals in Beijing, very few migrant girls in the city pass the required entrance exams for senior high school and university. If they are lucky, officials stated, these girls will be able to attend a trade school to become a hairdresser or learn some other trade.
Despite these obstacles, CEDPA’s interviews with several classes of migrant girls revealed a strong commitment to continuing education.
CEDPA held discussion groups with girls at three migrant schools in Beijing suburbs and a boarding school in Hebei province, which neighbors Beijing. The discussions explored their attitudes toward education, their future opportunities, and social and health issues. These girls overwhelmingly recognized the importance of education, but also expressed concern about their ability to continue. “Learning is the only tool I have to a future,” one middle school girl said. Another stated that she needed to continue her education so that she could have options beyond her mother’s profession as a street sweeper.
The discussions also confirmed that lack of knowledge about health topics especially HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, put migrant girls at risk.
Girls revealed much misinformation about reproductive health, explaining that they get most of this information from their friends or television. For example, some of the girls believed you could be infected with HIV from a breeze. When asked about reproductive health, many girls reported that they never discussed the topic with parents or teachers. Some were told when they asked their parents where babies come from that they are found in scrap heaps or gardens.
The lack of knowledge about reproductive health is especially troubling in China, where reported HIV and AIDS cases have increased at a 30 percent annual rate since 2001. Young people ages 15-29 make up sixty percent of the total HIV population. Yet, most schools in China do not include any significant reproductive health education in their curriculum, denying young people the information that would enable them to make lifesaving choices for their future.
China’s school curriculum also has deemphasized lessons in ethics, social responsibilities and life skills, according to published reports. This skill-building instruction, which provides increased confidence and decision-making, is especially important for migrant girls who are more likely to transition directly into the workforce after limited years of schooling.
Through interviews with educational leaders, CEDPA examined the possibility of adapting its Better Life Options non-formal education program to build confidence, self-esteem and lifeskills for young girls, particularly migrant girls, in China. Working hand-in-hand with community leaders, parents and educational officials, CEDPA has implemented the program for over 20 years in countries worldwide.
The global program guide, Choose a Future!, includes sessions on setting goals, decision making, interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, self-esteem, civic responsibility, leadership and sexual and reproductive health. It is adapted to address local conditions and to respond to local concerns. In Nepal, for example, CEDPA introduced information on trafficking and girls. In Southern Africa, the curriculum has been expanded to include a greater focus on gender-based violence.
CEDPA’s interviews and research in China confirmed that the Better Life Options program has potential to improve leadership and life skills of migrant girls, and that educational stakeholders would welcome the program in their communities.
Learn more about CEDPA’s Better Life Options and Opportunities model.
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