The children of migrant workers should not be excluded from urban education programs due to the closure of their schools, the Ministry of Education said following the closure of several migrant schools in Beijing.

In a notice posted on its website on Thursday, the ministry said all children living in cities with migrant parents should enjoy equal access to the nine-year compulsory eduction program enjoyed by other urban residents.

The ministry called on the local governments of large cities to increase spending on education for migrant children in order to prevent increased dropout rates.

The notice was posted just after the city closed several migrant schools just before the beginning of the fall semester on Sept. 1. At least 24 schools for migrant children were shut down over the summer for failure to meet safety and hygiene standards.

More than 14,000 children, mostly residents of Beijing's suburbs, were affected by the closure of the schools, according to the Beijing Municipal Education Committee.

Restrictions in China's "hukou" (household registration) system prevent migrant workers from enjoying equal treatment in terms of education, medical care and social insurance, although the government has taken measures to address the issue.

More than 70 percent of Beijing's 400,000-plus migrant children attend government-funded schools, according to Luo Jie, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Education Committee. The statistic is slightly higher on a nationwide basis, with 79.2 percent of the country's 11.67 million urban migrant children receiving education from state-subsidized schools.

Public schools are prohibited from charging certain fees for migrant children, including tuition. However, some schools have still attempted to institute "miscellaneous fees" for migrant children, a practice that has come under close scrutiny since 2008.

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