‘Equality of Opportunities’ in Education for Migrant Children in China

Abstract

China’s economic growth over the past 30 years has been possible partially due to the particular system of household registration known as hukou or huji. This system, distinguishing between two different types of citizens, i.e., between those with rural status and those with non-rural status, created what some scholars have called a de facto apartheid; a brand of dual-class citizenship. Since hukou status is actually quasi-permanent, a new category of urban workers has appeared in China in the last couple of decades. The expression “rural migrant workers” (nongmingong) identifies a specific category of urban workers—still registered under a rural hukou despite having lived and worked in the cities for many years. They are excluded for this reason from many kinds of benefits that local governments provide to urban hukou-registered citizens. One of the most controversial aspects of this issue is that concerning the schooling of rural workers’ children. The scope of this research is to evaluate the “equality of opportunities” for migrant children and, through the case–study of the City of Hangzhou, governmental policies to reduce the causes of social exclusion at least for future generations. Through literature review, analysis of documents, and semi-structured interviews, we attempt to assert some predictions about the general trends in China on this matter and the expectable outcomes.