Painted by Xue Hongwei

In recent years, the media reported many cases of juvenile violence around the country, making the term "work study school" gradually fade back to the public's view. It is understood that the number of work study schools in China has shrunk by more than half over the past half century. A reporter from the Beijing News recently visited this special "ecosystem" and found that at present, work study schools are facing multiple difficulties such as difficult enrollment, low treatment of teachers, and imperfect policies. Some work study schools in Beijing have not even recruited a student for several years.

In fact, work study education is an important way to prevent and reduce juvenile delinquency, which cannot be left to its own devices. Instead, it should improve the legal procedures for students to study in work study schools from three aspects: filing applications, accepting applications, and making decisions, so that work study schools can continue to play their due educational role.