The government is being urged to establish more boarding schools to take care of left-behind children in rural areas.
"Considering more than 60 percent of left-behind children are taken care of by their grandparents, who are elderly and physically weak, the government should build more boarding schools in rural areas to better look after the kids," said Luo Ning, a female deputy to China's 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from Southwest China.
"The grandparents are incapable of attending to them, and the boarding school will serve as a better platform for their growth and education," Luo Ning said.
The left-behind children are mostly rural children whose parents are migrants workers in urban areas far from home.
The rapid progress of urbanization has resulted in a massive amount of left-behind kids. The lack of guardianship, nutrition and family love may cause lifelong psychological damage, said Luo.
"For provinces like Guizhou, a mountainous area, the key to getting rid of poverty relies on education," she said."The province witnessed some 7 million people heading for cities for work, leaving some 1 million children back at home."
Many organizations, including the women's federation, and NGOs, have extended their help to the kids, including throwing birthday parties, sending them books and arranging video calls with their parents.
Luo also suggested the government provide more job opportunities close to families to strengthen kinship between kids and parents.
