Multi-Layered Chinese Citizenship: Policy Analysis on the Educational Rights of Internal Immigrants’ Children

Sammanfattning: Internal immigration in China has experienced a huge increase since the economic reform was launched in the late 1970s. While contemporary Hukou (household registration) system has contributed to stop the immigrants from sharing the local welfare benefits, especially the public education resources. This research focuses on the children of all immigrants, more precisely, on the non-local hukou children. Combining approaches of structured, focused comparative study with document analysis and multiple case study, this research investigated the citizenship status of non-local hukou Chinese children in terms of educational rights in three study periods: compulsory education, high school study and higher education. Relevant public policy documents from the central government and three city governments have been examined carefully with a focus on who is excluded institutionally from the educational rights. It is found that the educational rights of non-local hukou children are better fulfilled in the compulsory education period, compared with the other two. Multi-layered citizenship status exists not only among urban and rural hukou citizens, local and non-local hukou citizens, but also among the non-local hukou children in terms of educational rights. Non-local hukou children’s right to high school study and higher education depends on the socioeconomic status of their parents, instead of being the Chinese citizen themselves. Equal citizenship has not yet been the core value of policy making in China.