NANNING - As the first month of the Lunar New Year passes, the country's 200 million migrant workers each have to decide whether to return to work in the big cities for another year. As for Yang Xueqing, he has decided to return to Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, more than 2,000 kilometers away from his hometown.

But his wife, who worked beside him for three years at a Nanning factory that produces glass products, has decided to stay in their hometown in northwestern Shaanxi province. She will stay at home to take care of their 10-year-old daughter.

"We found that she was unhappy and didn't want to talk to us when we came back home to celebrate Spring Festival with her. We were worried that she may have psychological problems in the future if we didn't live with her," said Yang, who returns home only once a year to save travelling expenses.

Young rural parents have become increasingly concerned about their children. Like Yang's wife, many of her fellow villagers who used to go to other parts of the country for jobs now stay in their hometowns to look after their children.

Some 58 million children lived in rural areas with their parents out working in the cities in 2011, 28 percent of the total children living in rural communities, according to All-China Women's Federation. Most of the left-behind children live in inland provinces such as Shaanxi, Anhui, Henan, and Sichuan.

In 2007, the government rearranged the layout of rural primary and secondary schools and dismantled many of those education institutions that could not recruit enough students. Since then, many children can longer attend schools nearby while living at home looked after by grandparents. Instead they must attend boarding schools in densely populated town tens of kilometers away from home.

"Although school staff look after them in and out of class and doctors provide timely treatment when they are sick, I'm still worried that she may not be able to live on her own happily and healthily," said Yang.

He and his wife wanted to take their daughter with them to Nanning at first, but gave up the idea due to costs.

Yang earns 2,000 yuan ($317.6) and spends about 200 yuan each month while his wife makes just enough to support a family of four by farming at home.

"We make less money, but it's worth it. In this way we can better look after her and give her the love that she didn't get in the past few years," Yang added.

Experts say left-behind children is the most vulnerable group that needs special attention in the course of rural economic restructuring. Providing better education for them is key to ease labor shortage in coastal cities.

"Education for rural left-behind children has been a major concern in our society. To retain migrant workers, city governments should make it easier for their children to study in the cities," said Lou Wei, researcher at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Children of migrant workers have been able to study in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai since 10 years ago, but only a handful migrant schools can accept these children.

Coastal enterprises have noticed the problem and have sought to resolve it.

In Shaoxing city of eastern Zhejiang province, where private enterprises are struggling with a severe labor shortage after years of enjoying cheap, plentiful labor, employers offer to arrange for children of their workers to transfer to a nearby primary school as part of the benefit package.

Education Minister Yuan Guiren said last Wednesday that China will make further efforts to improve compulsory education for the children of migrant workers in 2012.

He said that children who follow their parents to study and live in cities will be included in the financial security system and considered in the regional education development plan.