According to a survey released on Tuesday almost 80 percent of the children of China's migrant workers study hard "to make their parents lives better."

 

In total 44 percent of the 1,650 rural children surveyed wished to receive a college education through which they could change their futures and the lives of their parents.

 

The survey, conducted by the China Youth and Children Research Center, found 22 percent of rural youngsters had an aversion to the work their parents did and almost eight percent disliked their mothers and fathers.

 

The survey found the educational level of migrant workers was generally low with most receiving only primary or junior middle school education. They were mainly employed in the construction and service sectors or ran small private businesses in large cities, according to the survey.

 

They spent most of their days earning money and had little time to spend with their children, said the survey. More than 45 percent of children questioned said their parents didn't take them out even on holidays and birthdays. Parent-child communication was identified as being low.

 

An earlier survey of 745 children in cities discovered more than 14 percent of rural migrant children said their parents often beat or scolded them. It also found almost 70 percent of migrant families lived in shabby homes and 41 percent disliked their accommodation.

 

Forty percent of rural children noticed discrimination from city dwellers and 34 percent identified urban residents as being unfriendly to migrant workers, the survey found.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2007)