Beijing has six reform schools which can accommodate around 700 students. However, the People's Procuratorate of Haidian District alone dealt with 1,567 cases of juvenile delinquency during the past five years.

The Fengtai Reform School has only 30 students, said Liu Yan, deputy secretary of the association of reform schools.

Nationwide, seven reform schools have closed in the past year because of a shortage of students and funding, even at a time when many educators are calling for more support for the education of undisciplined children.

There were 74 reform schools in the country last year; now there are 67. Among those, only 58 schools are actively recruiting and cultivating students. The number of reform school peaked at 82 in 2003, according to the Association of Reform Schools Affiliated with the Chinese Society of Education.

Liu blamed stereotypes against the concept and a lack of support from educational authorities for the unpopularity of reform schools.

Many parents are scared when educational authorities suggest their troubled children be enrolled in reform schools, Liu said. They believe if their children hang out with other "bad children", they will become worse.

"But children with behavior and study problems are mostly the result of psychological issues," she said, and standard school courses don't accommodate undisciplined children.

She said reform school candidates often display violent tendencies, difficulties in studying and lack of confidence. Teachers at standard schools are motivated by their schools' score-driven system and lack time to focus on any problem students.

Moreover, the challenged students can't catch up with the progressively more difficult work and schedules as they enter higher grades.

"So, they become more isolated and unconfident," Liu said. "Many of them will skip school, make friends with gangs and eventually commit crimes."

In addition, Liu said reform schools also lack investment in both infrastructure and faculty.

"No single university in China has a major related to education and research for undisciplined children. Society needs to make a greater effort to help these children," she said.

Courses and educational methods at reform schools are specially designed to cater to the needs of undisciplined children, said Zhang Hongyi, a teacher at the Haidian Reform School.

Two head teachers are assigned to each class, which have a maximum of 20 students. They rotate living at the boarding school to supervise not only studies but all aspects of student life.

"It is very common for teachers to go to the dormitory when the light is turned off and have hours of talks with students about their current problems, their dreams and future," she said.

The curriculum at reform school is easier to match to the level of students. Psychological counseling, karate, dancing and hygiene are among the compulsory classes.

"We designed many interesting courses for students to discover their potential and interests," she added.

Many students at the reform school won prizes for dancing and technological ability at municipal-level competitions, she said.

One student, Wu Zhicheng, said he believed he was on course for a life in prison had he not entered Haidian Reform School. Wu skipped his second year of middle school to indulge in Internet games and hang out with gangs he met at an Internet caf.

Wu said he had grown up in a violent home.

"Whenever my father was not happy, he beat me hard," he said.

"Teachers at my original school regarded me as an enemy who dragged down the class's average score. No classmate wanted to make friends with me. Nobody really cared for me except Mr He," a teacher at the reform school.

When Wu first came to the school, his teacher praised him for tidying up the classroom and doing well in sports. When Wu escaped from school, his teacher anxiously called him, asking him to return.

"Without Mr He, my life would be over," he said. "Now I understand that I should study hard for my future and for my mother and Mr He."

He has decided to join the army after graduating.

"I want to fulfill my dreams and contribute to my country," he said.

(China Daily June 21, 2010)