A candidate shows her admission document at an independent recruitment examination only open to rural students. [Photo/IC]

A MOTHER IN HEBI, Henan province, Central China, was recently detained on charge of beating her 13-year-old daughter to death because of the girl's poor academic performance at school. Efforts are needed to help less academically gifted and rural children, People.com.cn argued on Wednesday:

Studying hard is a widely believed way for rural students to change their fate. However, differences in talent and interest mean not all children will eventually become straight-A students no matter how hard they study. Yet students with poor academic performance are often stereotyped as bad kids, some becoming victims of domestic violence because of such prejudice.

Although the country suffers from a serious shortage of trained workers and there have been calls for more emphasis on vocational education, in reality local governments have invested far less in secondary vocational schools than in regular high schools, let alone advanced vocational education. As a result, students and parents, who are fully aware of the unreasonably fierce competition in the college entrance examination and the difficulty in job hunting after graduation, still choose this single log bridge.

Besides, some parents in rural areas have failed to shoulder their responsibilities, perhaps a result of the harsh reality of being a migrant worker or a lack of knowledge. The situation many rural children, especially left-behind children, have to endure at home is seriously worrying.

Efforts should be made so these children can live with their migrant worker parents and receive education in the cities where their parents work. In the meantime, all parents, urban and rural, should understand and realize it is a lifelong process to learn how to be a qualified parent.