There are 13 children living with their migrant worker parents in cities for every 100 children in China. Compared with the so-called "left-behind children" whose parents have left rural areas to work in cities, migrant children appear to be luckier since they can at least live with their parents. However, it's not necessarily so in reality.

Most of these children can only attend schools for migrant workers' children, which are often of lower quality. Owing to restrictions on them attending high schools in cities, they often have to return to their hometown to go to high school. They are caught in a dilemma: On the one hand, they have got used to the urban way of life; on the other hand, their social circle is limited to migrant workers' children like themselves, and they often lack a sense of identifying with urban children, resulting in psychological problems.

A five-year survey of 1,493 students from 50 schools for migrant workers' children in Beijing reveals that less than 6 percent of the students are now enrolled at universities.

It's urgent to take stock of the number and distribution of migrant children and ensure their right to attend schools like those of their urban counterparts. To fundamentally address the problem and enable migrant children to settle in cities along with their parents, the household registration system—which is tied to access to basic social welfare and public services—should be further reformed.

Every child is entitled to equal rights and a healthy growth environment. Cities should provide more opportunities for the marginalized migrant children to enable them to merge into urban life.