控辍保学(kòngchuò bǎoxué):Prevent dropout and ensure compulsory education

The General Office of the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a document recently saying local authorities should take measures to prevent students from dropping out of school at the compulsory education level. The goal is to ensure 95 percent of the children complete the nine-year compulsory education by 2020.

The document requires the local authorities to establish a working mechanism to prevent dropouts, and help those students who have stopped attending class to go back to school.

For example, the local authorities should improve the quality of education, by allotting the needed resources for compulsory education, and provide the necessary assistance to poor students.

Also, employers have been warned to not hire juveniles below 16 years of age, and parents and statutory guardians advised to help children complete the nine-year compulsory education.

The local authorities have also been urged to intensify poverty alleviation work, in order to ensure students from poverty-stricken families do not drop out of school, and make efforts to solve the transportation problems of rural students as well as guarantee compulsory education for children of migrant workers.