The Implementation of China's New-Type Urbanisation Plan to Reduce Educational Inequality of Migrant Children in Changsha

The difficulties of rural migrant children of gaining access to education in cities have attracted extensive attention in China. Educational laws and policies in China have tied children’s school enrolment with their residence, specifying that the possession of accommodation in certain areas is required when applying to schools in respective districts (The Standing Committee of the Sixth National People’s Congress 1986). Thus the housing situation of migrant families has been connected with the educational problems experienced by rural migrant children. Under such circumstances, the central government of China has taken actions accordingly, in order to address this education inequality in urban China. The central government believes that through an integration-oriented Urbanisation Plan, including related policies/reforms in the hukou system and educational policies, this problem will be relieved, if not resolved completely (Central Government Portal 2014). The whole programme and related policies have been proposed and come into effect in 2014, with a planned duration of six years (Central Government Portal 2014). Yet the existing literature provides little understanding on how this programme has been implemented in practice, and to what extent the education problems of rural migrant children have been relieved through this integration-oriented Urbanisation Plan. The absence of data relating to gaps between the policy goals and policy results of the New-Type Urbanisation Plan in terms of reducing educational inequality perceived by migrant children in China may reflect a lag between the policy formation and policy implementation. This research attempts to provide an understanding of the policy process of New-Type Urbanisation Plan from 2014-2020 (Central Government Portal 2014). on local level in urban China.