Liushou ertong, or left-behind children, has become a catchphrase epitomizing all the problems rural children face when one or both their parents work away from home. However, the concrete help they get is far less than the attention they have received.

Such help should be the focus of the document the Ministry of Education is to draft.

The ministry is expected to make specific requirements about the education of such disadvantaged children. Vice-minister of Education Liu Limin once said that such children should be registered, and teachers need to give them special attention since a lack of parental care results in problems.

There were more than 22 million left-behind children in rural primary and middle schools in 2011, while the total number of children left behind by their parents who work as migrant workers in cities is about 58 million, according to the Ministry of Education.

In 10 years, more than 22 million children will come of age and their development will have a bearing not just on their own future but also on the future of this country. It should be ensured that these children receive the care, attention and education needed for their healthy development.

Of course, the integration of migrant workers into the cities where they work as registered residents will be the solution once and for all. And from a long-term strategic viewpoint, this is something the central government must do gradually in the near future.

However, if it is not realistic for the time being for these children to live with their parents in cities, detailed arrangements must be made for them to live and study in a proper way to make up for the lack of parental care. Perhaps teachers can organize after-school activities for these children, and particular teachers can be appointed to supervise their life both in and out of school.

It will be no easy job. But for both the future of these children and for the future of this country, such efforts will be worthwhile.

Hopefully, the Ministry of Education will soon bring concrete help to these rural children.

(China Daily 11/27/2012 page8)