I asked my language partner about this. She attributed the existence of children working (especially in large cities) to the Chinese hù kǒu or household registration system. If a rural family moved to a large city, they would have to pay fees for their children to attend school because they are outside of their hu4 kou3. While the fees are not necessarily exorbitant, they might be enough to discourage a family from sending their child to school.
Posted on: Noodles and Child Labor
March 24, 2011 at 3:27 AMI asked my language partner about this. She attributed the existence of children working (especially in large cities) to the Chinese hù kǒu or household registration system. If a rural family moved to a large city, they would have to pay fees for their children to attend school because they are outside of their hu4 kou3. While the fees are not necessarily exorbitant, they might be enough to discourage a family from sending their child to school.