毕节留守儿童之殇

The recent deaths of four siblings whose migrant-worker parents left them unattended for more than a year has focused attention on the high price rural families are paying to support themselves and China&`&s economic development. Police say that four children committed suicide together on the night of June 9 in their home in Tiankan, in the Guizhou Province city of Bijie. Death, one of the children wrote, had been his "dream." The nation was shocked, and Premier Li Keqiang called on local government officials nationwide to re-examine social security efforts in hopes of preventing similar tragedies. Officials in Tiankan were dismissed, and inquiries have also been launched into other local officials. The Bijie government said that about one-tenth of the city&`&s school-age children live in homes without parents. In other words, the "left-behind children," so named as their parents are forced to search for jobs in the cities, are 164,000 large. And while some are cared for by relatives, others are left to fend for themselves. Since 2010, the number of “left-behind children” has grown by 150 percent. Some experts are calling for change in the system. Many academics are arguing for residency permit rule changes so that the children of migrant workers might be able to take full advantage of public services like education and health care, in the cities. Currently, those without an urban residency permit do not have access to public services in urban areas. Others are calling for more money invested in rural development, with a focus on education. Ye Jingzhong, a development studies expert at the China Agricultural University in Beijing said the government should allocate more investment for rural development centered on upgrading education resources in rural areas. For Caixin online, this is Samuel Liu 死亡就像杠杆，撬动默默无闻的贵州少年张启刚成为中国留守儿童的代表。 6月9日，贵州省毕节市七星关区田坎乡，在自家的三层小楼内，14岁的张启刚服毒身亡。一起喝下农药的还有他的三个妹妹，年龄分别为10岁、8岁和5岁。 他选择在子、亥相交之时行动，此时农村里已是夜深人静。喝下农药后，他用最后的力气爬起来，继而从窗口坠下，加重伤害。自杀这件事，他酝酿了很久，“死亡是我多次的梦想”“今天终于实现了”——他在遗书中写道。 在6月12日下午，即田坎乡的孩子们死后第三天，国务院总理李克强批示：要求有关部门对各地加强督促，把工作做实、做细，强调临时救助制度不能流于形式。“对不作为、假落实的要严厉整改问责，悲剧不能一再发生”。 当天下午，七星关区人民政府副区长杨黔、教育局局长叶荣和田坎乡茨竹村包村领导薛廷猛被停职检查；七星关区田坎乡党委书记聂宗献、乡长陈明福被免职。 贵州省政府办公厅也于6月12日下午紧急下发通知，立即在全省范围内对留守儿童进行全面排查，通知要求：“要坚决做到不漏一户、不少一人、不留死角、不走过场，做到政府尽责、社会尽力，彻底发现、排除存在悲剧隐患的死角，并以村为单位建立农村留守儿童台账”。 据共青团毕节市委的统计数据，毕节全市共有18万名外出打工人员，其中父母双方均外出打工的留守儿童共有164608名，占适龄入学儿童的10.6%。