TIME-PRESSED PARENTING: Two boys play next to the vegetable stalls where their parents do business at a market in Jinan, Shandong Province, on July 13 (CFP)

A similar study was conducted by the People's Procuratorate of Qingpu District in Shanghai based on 253 cases of juvenile delinquency that it handled between 2009 and 2011, which involved a total of 343 suspects. Among them 293, or 85.4 percent, didn't have a local hukou and 208, or 60.6 percent, were children of migrant workers.

The study revealed that children of migrant workers are more likely to commit offenses involving impulsive behaviors and violence, such as assault and robbery. Compared with their local peers, children of migrant workers are also more likely to form gangs. The same study shows that children from families of migrant workers also have higher reoffender rates.

A report by Shanghai-based magazine Xinmin Weekly in 2013 said that the rate of delinquency among children of migrant workers was dramatically higher than that of their local peers as well as their parents' generation.

Comprehensive solution

Inadequate parental care should be considered the main culprit in the sufferings of both the juvenile victims and offenders, said Zhao Deyun, a senior judge who deals with juvenile cases with the Beijing Higher People's Court, in an interview with China National Radio.

Zhao said that in many of the cases he handled, the parents work in a different locality, have separated or divorced, or are unable—and sometimes even unwilling—to fulfill their parental responsibilities. He said that sometimes he, and other judges, were unable to reach the custodians of the plaintiffs during proceedings, presenting a major obstacle.

A recent seminar hosted by the All-China Women's Federation studied the possibility of drafting a law on domestic education in China. "The law could give support to special families, such as migrant workers' families, and regulate the behaviors of parents and educational institutions," said Lin Jianjun, a law professor specializing on women and human rights issues from China Women's University.

The white paper by the Beijing Higher People's Court suggests that the local governments in places with a large community of migrant workers strengthen the administration of the juvenile population by documenting their schooling and employment information. Juveniles who have dropped out of school, cannot find jobs, are former victims of crime or have records of delinquent behavior should be informed of related organizations that can give them the necessary help.

Policies should be put in place to ensure that children of migrant workers can be admitted by public schools in cities of their current residence and the Central Government should set up funds to subsidize the educational expenses of cities with a large migrant population, said Cheng Jing, a lecturer at China West Normal University in Nanchong, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

In a commentary in Guangming Daily, a Beijing-based newspaper, Cheng also stressed the need for local educational authorities to strengthen the supervision on private schools to ensure they have qualified teaching staff and facilities.

"Related departments should provide vocational training programs for migrant workers so that they can earn a better income and afford educational expenses of their children," Cheng added. "Such experience can teach these parents the value of knowledge and education, and encourage them to voluntarily invest more in their children's school education."

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