Wang Yi has struggled to improve the New Century School for children of migrant workers ever since he founded it in 1999.

In seven years, the school has been transformed. It had only four classrooms in a farmer's old house when it started, while today it has more than a dozen classrooms, an activity room, a computer room and a small sports ground.

Despite the improvement, Wang received a notice in early July from the Education Commission of Beijing's Haidian District, where Wang's school is located.

The notice demanded that the New Century School be shut down by law, because it did not meet the municipal requirement for primary and middle schools as stipulated in the local government regulations.

Wang Yi was not alone. In the first week of July, 30-some schools like the New Century received the same shutdown notice, according to People's Daily.

That means some 10,000 children of migrant workers have to look for new schools when the autumn semester starts in September.

On the surface, the Haidian District Education Commission was following the law and carrying out its official duty.

The media has quoted an unnamed municipal commission official as being sympathetic, saying the conditions of those schools were too poor to get official licensing. A district education official was quoted as saying "sympathy did not represent the law."

There is no question that government officials should uphold the law.

But I believe government officials are duty-bound not only to govern and supervise by law, but also to serve.

How much service have they rendered and how much help have they rallied to improve those schools that they deem "not up to requirement and illegal?"

They seem to have done very little.

None of the schools has received financial assistance from the local commission's coffers.

A search for the key Chinese phrase "schools for children of migrant workers" on the websites of the Beijing municipal government (www.beijing.gov.cn) as well as the Haidian district government and education commission (www.bjhd.gov.cn and www.hdavec.org), yields a number of new regulations putting in new health and hygiene and other codes for those schools.

There are also news articles about various activities that lend assistance to those schools. But the municipal education commission and the Haidian district education commission are not among the activity sponsors.

Moreover, the notice was delivered to the schools after the summer vacation had already started.

The migrant school headmasters had no way to get to all the parents or their students, even though an accompanying notice informed the parents that they should bring "five certifications" to local neighbourhood committees to get official certification for their children's entry into local public schools.

In fact, most migrant workers have had no idea what the five certifications actually are.

Many migrant workers are reluctant to send their children to public schools. They cannot afford extra money charged on them. Many also fear discrimination from urban kids or from teachers.

Apparently the officials have no patience to go to these workers and listen to their grievances.

It is ironic that the commission notices were delivered a few days after the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted the revised Law on Compulsory Education, which aims to give equal compulsory education to children in cities and in the countryside.

In fact, top municipal education chief Liu Limin vowed on July 31 that Beijing must adopt several measures according to the revised law. One of those measures is to ensure the children of migrant workers enjoy equal education rights as urban children in Beijing.

Now only three weeks are left before the new semester starts. The public has to wait and see what actual actions the local education officials will take to help out the 10,000-some children of migrant workers.

Email: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/10/2006 page4)