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Statistics on Child Workers in China
(Child Labour Bullettin n. 25, april 1996)
Although there are no comprehensive statistics, estimates published in various newspapers and magazines provide a starting point for constructing the picture. In addition, the extent of child labour can be inferred from indirect information on the enrollment and drop-out rates among school-age children.
It is estimated that half a million children migrated to the southern coast and Guangdong Province in 1991 alone (Asian Labour Update, No. 16, July-September 1994, Hong Kong). Most of them are believed to be engaged in some kind of in come-earning activities (Child Workers in Asia, Vol. II, No. 1, Jan-March 1995, Thailand). It is obvious that they will take up some jobs, notably in the mushrooming small-scale rural enterprises (town ship-and-village-level enterprises, TVEs, and private enterprises) where law en forcement is much less effective than in foreign-invested enterprises. It has been reported that in some rural enterprises, child workers make up as much as 20% of the workforce (Workers' Daily, 1993.08.27, China). It has been reported that the coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, where rural enterprises are booming, are the regions with the largest number of child workers. Most are around 13 and 14 years of age, and are working in various rural enterprises (Legal Daily, 1995.05.02, China).
The actual number of child workers in China far exceeds half a million if we take into account the number of non enrolled school-age children and drop outs, and their 'career paths'. As shown in the following calculation, the number of child workers nationwide is estimated at around five million.
As stated in the Report, in 1993 a total of 2.61 million school-age children did not enroll in primary schools, representing 2% of the country's school-age children. The drop-out rates among pri mary andjunior secondary school students in 1992 were 2.19% and 5.7% respectively.
Discounting the reliability of official data, these percentages alone represent an enormous number of children who stay out of school. The number is even greater if we include those who do not go on with their studies after primary school. Calculations based on official data reveal that in 1993 there were about 10.66 million minors staying out of school (4.94 million primary school students and 5.72 million junior secondary school students).
Out of school, most of these children are expected to take up jobs to help alleviate their family's financial burden. Taking this into account, the current number of child workers throughout the country is estimated at around five million, assuming that 50% ofthe minors who stay out of school take up work. This tends to be a rather conservative estimate, as much higher percentages have been reported.
The educational authorities in Sichuan conducted a study on 58 secondary and primary schools in a certain county and found that in the first term of 1993, there were 5,260 drop outs (19% of the total number of students). 85% of these drop outs went to work outside the province. (Dapeng Bay, June 1995, China)
Among the drop-outs and non-enrolled children, girls make up a marked majority. In 1993, more than 2/3 of the 2.61 million non-enrolled primary school children were girls (Sing Tao Evening Posl, 1995.02.09, Hong Kong). Hard-hit by rural poverty and the increasing school fees, rural families invariably force girls to quit school so that they can take up income-earning sideline jobs at home. Some parents simply do not send their girls to school. In gen eral, the rate of school enrollment for girls is lower than that for boys. It is also not uncommon for families to send their daughters to work in the TVEs or as babysitters and domestic servants in the cities. Some girls follow their neighbours all the way to look for jobs in the coastal special economic zones. Factory bosses are eager to recruit these young hands, as they cankeep their wages at a minimum. A 1991 study of six prov inces including Guangdong, Shandong, Liaoning and Hebei recorded 1,217 child workers in some of the counties and villages. Among them, 880 were girls (73.5%) (Iron Rice Bowl, Black Rice Bowl and Golden Rice Bowl, 1993, China). This is just one of the myriad examples of the deep-rooted discrimina tion against girls in China.
Setbacks in China 's Educational Policy
While the Report states that rural poverty has held back the implementation of compulsory education in poor areas, it fails to face up to the role of the educational policy in creating the problems of non-enrollment and dropping out.
Education in China is provided on the basis of a three-level system whereby senior secondary schools are run in counties; junior secondary schools, in towns; primary schools, in villages. Administratively, local governments at different levels are responsible for school management at the corresponding levels. Financially, the central government pays for the wages of state teachers (centrally allocated and on state payrolls) and part of the capital expenses. In other words, local governments have to take care of the rest of the capital expenses and other recurrent expenses. This is what the Chinese government describes as 'education run by the people'. In practice, this istantamount to 'limited education for the people' as education is given a low priority, especially in poor areas. Ironically, the poor villages, to which the central government should commit more resources, are granted the precious 'decentralisation'.
Educational expenses from village governments are minimal. Villagers have to bear the major financial burden. In poor villages where people can barely support their basic living, little can be collected for educational purposes. Moreover, the government only pays half of the wages of 'collective teachers' recruited by the schools themselves (as against those allo cated by the state). The other half is to be paid by the schools themselves. In practice, the burden is shifted to the students who are required to pay for various kinds of expenses. Even though basic education in China is free for all, students still have to pay miscellaneous charges to cover the schools' operating expenses. There are various fees and charges such as application fees, examination fees, extra lesson charges, examination paper fees, library charges, insurance charges, health care charges, heating charges, water charges, electricity charges, and fundraising for various campaigns. Such expenses place a great burden on families in poor areas. In view of the financial burden and the bleak prospect of higher education, many school-age children, especially girls, are forced to drop out of school. Some stay at home, helping with domestic chores; some get into sideline jobs; some work as child workers in local enterprises or even in distant regions along the coast.
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