Internal migration and access to basic education in Vietnam - Henaff, Nolwen; Lange, Marie-France
While the question of access to school has drawn some attention in China due to the huge number of internal migrants, it has not aroused the same interest in Vietnam. Yet, one of the legacies of a thousand years of Chinese rule is the residential registration (ho khau) system, which allows local authorities to control population movements in Vietnam. The aim of this presentation is to analyse how the migration of parents within the country affects the situation of their children with regard to school. The analysis is based on the existing literature and on the information collected through qualitative surveys conducted in 2007 and 2008 in 2 rural communes located in the provinces of An Giang and Ca Mau in the Mekong delta, and in two wards of districts 3 and Go Vap in Ho Chi Minh City. The results show that the situation of children depends on the type of migration and on whether parents move with their children or leave them behind. While children left behind may face difficulties with regard to school, those who follow their parents for short periods of migration are at risk of dropping out because of their repeated absences, and the undocumented children of “illegal” migrants are denied access to formal schooling.
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