Hua'ao School is a private school for children of migrant workers situated in the westernmost part of Beijing. The students studying there are active and energetic, no different from those who come from native Beijing families.

However, Shi Jing, a teacher who teaches the Chinese language in the school described her students this way.

"They lack self confidence and few of them want to express themselves. Due to relatively poor, basic living conditions, they are usually uncontrolled in their behavior and manners. And even worse, they have no ideals at all."

Shi Jing is one of the 42 teachers who now work in Hua'ao School where around 900 students receive their education. However, according to Wang Guiyun, headmaster of Hua'ao School, teacher resignations complaining of low income are very common, so without new teachers, they face a teacher shortage almost every semester.

The frequent change in teachers is a huge challenge to tackle, and it has a negative impact on the students. But it is not the only difficulty that Hua'ao School is confronted with. Wang Guiyun said they are often forced to move from one place to another.
"Before our school moved here, we hadn't settled down. In 2001, we moved again in line with city planning regulations ahead of the Olympics, and in April, we began to give lessons in the Babaoshan Funeral Home."

Four months later, Hua'ao School moved to a more comfortable location where it remains today. According to Wang Guiyun, the school obtained official approval for its operation in 2004, the only one among 21 such schools in Shijingshan District then.

The capital city saw its first privately-owned school for children of migrant workers in 1993. And the launching of schools for children of migrant workers became more common than ever in 1998. Since then, the number of such schools has increased by 15 percent year-on-year.

Beijing Mingyuan School was the first to get a nod from the local authorities 2003. As of now, a mere 60 schools are eligible for providing public school education.

Wang Guiyuan revealed that a key factor in the success of her school is the legal and safe school building where they have been since 2004.

"Other schools have classes in a house they rent or they build themselves. The municipal education commission staff in charge of school security believes these buildings are unsafe after their inspections."

As the rural workforce flow more and more into the city, children who come from these families usually face a dilemma, either to be left behind in their hometown and given less care from their parents or follow their parents into the city where they are usually denied entrance to local public schools.

Zhang Xiaoling, a professor and director of the Human Rights Studies Center of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee said the problem is a result of China's household registration system, but she also added that she noticed some positive changes had taken place in some cities.

"In recent years, progress has been made in some southern Chinese cities where publicly-owned schools are open to all children no matter where they come from and would never charge the disadvantaged groups extra tuition."

She expressed the belief that equal access to education will finally be achieved in China, along with a widening of reforms.

Obviously, the rural students remain at a disadvantage in terms of equal access to education, which can lead to them falling behind in the competitive city.

Wang Guiyun gave an optimistic example of how this is not always the case by recalling one of her students who came from Guizhou.

"His name is Wu Yanlin and his academic performance is very impressive. Though later he returned to his hometown for continued studies, he still remembers me and once came to visit me in 2008, the year he got enrolled in Tsinghua University."

As Wang Guiyun said this, her eyes were clearly full of pride and joy.