Child Development Outline of China (2011-2020)

Children and education

Main goals:
1. We should promote the early and comprehensive development of children between the ages of 0 to 3.

2. Preschool education should be basically universal. The gross enrollment rate of 3 year preschool programs should reach 70 percent, and 1 year programs should reach 95 percent. We should increase the number of urban public kindergartens and establish a well-run public central kindergarten and village kindergarten in every township.

3. The retention rate of nine-year compulsory education should reach 95 percent. We should ensure that migrant children and disabled children have equal access to compulsory education.

4. We should popularize high school education so that the gross enrolment rate reaches 90 percent.

5. We should expand the scale of secondary vocational education, and improve its quality.

6. We should guarantee fair education for all children, balance and configure educational resources, and narrow the urban-rural gap, regional gap and inter-school gap.

7. We should improve the standard construction of schools, and reduce the instances of inferior quality.

8. We should continuously improve education and students’ capacity to absorb it.

Children and welfare

Main goals:

1.We should expand the scope of children’s welfare, and promote its transformation from a type of compensation to a type of appropriate universal care.

2. We should ensure that children have access to basic medical and health services, improve the provision and protection of basic medical care for children, and provide medical assistance for poor and seriously ill children.

3. We should meet the basic public service needs of migrant and left-behind children.

4. We should meet the basic needs of orphans in life, education, health care and fair employment, and increase the rate of foster care and adoption of orphan families.

5. We should increase the emergency rehabilitation rate for disabled children aged 0 to 6.

6. We should reduce the number of homeless children and the amount of repeated vagrancy.

7. We should increase the number of specialized service institution for orphan care, protection of street children, and rehabilitation of disabled children. A welfare institution for children with comprehensive functions and a homeless children relief and protection agency of maintenance, medical rehabilitation, education and skills training must be established in every city above the prefecture level and in key counties and cities throughout the country.

8. We should protect the education, health care and fair employment rights of children affected by AIDS and of children under the age of 18 of prisoners in the judicial system.

Children and the social environment

Main goals:

1. We should create a social atmosphere of respect and care for children, and eliminate discrimination and harm against them.

2. A basic family education guidance and service system adapted to urban and rural development must be completed.

3. We should raise the quality of parenting, and improve family education levels.

4. We should provide rich and healthy cultural products for children.

5. We should protect children from harmful information on the Internet and mobile phones, or in games, advertisements, books and movies.

6. We should develop children’s reading habits, and increase their reading time. We should make more than 90 percent of children read at least one book a year.

7. We should increase facilities for children’s education, science and technology, culture, sports, entertainment and other extracurricular activities in counties and townships, and improve their utilization rate and service quality. At least one full-time or part-time child social worker must be assigned to each district, county and township.

8. We should build a children’s home for children and their families in more than 90 percent of urban and rural communities, and provide games, entertainment, education, health, psychosocial support and referral services for them.

9. We should guarantee children’s rights to participate in family life, school and social activities.

10. We should guarantee children’s rights to leisure and recreation.

Children and legal protection:

Main goals:
1. We should improve the laws, regulations and legal protection mechanisms for the protection of children.

2. We should implement laws and regulations on child protection, and prioritize protection of the best interests of children.

3. We should guarantee the children receive birth registration and identity registration according to the law.

4. The rising trend in the sex ratio of birth must be curbed, and the sex ratio at birth must be reasonable.

5. We should improve the child custodial system so that the effective custody of children is guaranteed.

6. Primary and secondary school students must receive general legal education to enhance their legal consciousness and awareness and ability in self-protection.

7. We should prevent and combat illegal and criminal acts that infringe upon children’s personal rights and all forms of violence against children must be prohibited.

8. We should protect children’s legitimate property rights and interests according to the law.

9. The use of child labor and economic exploitation of children (under the age of 16) must be prohibited.

10. We should ensure that children receive timely and effective legal aid and judicial assistance according to law.

11. We should prevent juvenile delinquency, and reduce the proportion of juveniles as criminal offenders.

12. We should enable the judicial system to further meet the special needs of children’s physical and mental development.

Chinese source: scio.gov.cn

Note: The English translation is for reference only, for detail in Chinese, please click:http://www.scio.gov.cn/ztk/xwfb/46/11/Document/976030/976030.htm