Survey facilitates targeted help for kids

THE MINISTRY OF CIVIL AFFAIRS said last week that around 9.02 million children aged 16 or under have been left behind in their rural hometowns by their migrant worker parents, marking a major decline compared with the All-China Women's Federation's previous estimation of more than 60 million. Sznews.com commented on Thursday:

The sharp decline in the number of left-behind children has raised doubts that the survey results are genuine, and there have been suggestions that the figures have been beautified or understated on purpose. But the truth is, it is how left-behind children are defined that has worked the magic.

The latest research by the Ministry of Civil Affairs has narrowed the group to include only children aged 16 or under, whose parents either both work elsewhere, or one is absent while the other is incapable of taking care of them.