The Chinese government has started its first general survey on left-behind children in rural areas to help authorities create better policies to assists them. (Photo : Reuters)
The first general survey on left-behind children in China’s rural areas is being conducted by relevant local governments, which will complete the survey from the end of March to the end of July, the Global Times reported.
The report said that the general survey, the first of its kind in China, was conducted to help the government formulate the proper aid plan for the group.
The survey will cull information, not only about the basic personal information of left-behind children, but also about their educational and health situation, the family's source of income, workplace of their parents, and information about their entrusted guardians.
According to the report, there are more than 60 million left-behind children in rural China, which account for more than 20 percent of the total population of children in the country.
In many respects, left-behind children are vulnerable, Professor Guan Xinping at Nankai University said.
"In the process of urbanization, many rural residents migrate to cities for a job," Guan said. "Though they have made great contributions to economic development and people's well-being, their low-income and the lack of supporting public services hinder them from taking their children to the city and taking care of them. Without parents' care, left-behind children face many problems in education, safety and mental health."
Statistics show that accidental injury has resulted in the death of nearly 50,000 children in China, most of them left-behind children, while 70 percent of under-age crimes in the country were committed against left-behind children.
Last year, poor living conditions drove four left-behind siblings in Guizhou Province to commit suicide.
The general survey on the number and distribution of left-behind children is urgently needed as it would help to improve public services and financial aid to the group and help them integrate into society, Guan stressed.
Schools and local authorities were also asked to protect and take care of left-behind children.
