Expert urges easier access

Greater efforts must be made to ensure migrant children's rights to receive a good education in the cities in which their parents work, especially against the changing backdrop brought about by urbanization, an expert said.

According to Xiong Yihan, professor of International Relations & Public Affairs School at Shanghai's Fudan University, there are still some blind spots in the government's attempts to help migrant children attend local schools, although breakthroughs have been achieved.

The latest statistics released by the Ministry of Education show that in 2014, nearly 13 million migrant children were studying at primary and junior middle schools in the cities in which their parents worked. About 80 percent - a high proportion - were enrolled at public schools, which are run and supported by the government, and therefore offer better conditions than those for migrant children.