Sept 7, 2012
Translated by Zhu Na

China's Ministry of Education has announced a new general policy outline in relation to the vexed issue of whether the children of migrant workers are able to take the college entrance exam in the cities they have traveled to with their parents.

The detailed policy implementation will be handled by cities themselves.

The children of migrant workers who want to sit the college entrance examination or gaokao in the city in which they reside - but are not officially registered - need to meet three requirements, China's Minister of Education Yuan Guiren (袁贵仁) announced at a press conference yesterday.

Currently, most cities in China require students without a local household registration or hukou to return to the place where they are officially registered to take the exam.

According to a report in today's Beijing News, at a press conference hosted by the State Council Information Office, Minister Yuan said both parents and the students themselves need to meet certain requirements.

The basic requirements for parents are a stable job, stable place of residence, a steady income and they also need to have paid all the compulsory social insurance fees that most stable jobs in China require employees to contribute to.

The requirement for students is that they need attend a school in the city where they reside.

There is one other additional requirement which is related to the demand for certain kind of employees in particular cities. Local authorities can decide whether or not the development of the city requires people of a  particular profession to migrate to that city.

The minister also emphasized that detailed policy formulation needs to be based on the perceived need of city development and the capacity of the city.

Minister Yuan also said different cities and regions can set their own policies according to the specific situation of migrant workers. The minister said that the implementation of such policies should take place before the end of 2012.

As of the start of the Autumn term in 2011, the number of children of migrant workers attending schools in Beijing reached 478,000, an historic high.

The precise settings of Beijing’s policy in relation to whether the children of migrant laborers can sit the gaokao is still under discussion, according to an official from the Beijing Municipal Education Commission.

Links and Sources
State Council Information Office: Press Conference
The Beijing News: 随迁子女高考须满足3条件
Economic Observer Online: Why Migrants’ Kids Dread Exams
Economic Observer Online: Fujian To Pioneer Gaokao Reform