Schools urged to improve security of students after recent knife attacks

The Education Steering Committee of the State Council, or China's Cabinet, has issued a warning about recent incidents of students being hurt near schools and requesting better student safety.

In the warning notice released on the website of the Ministry of Education on Tuesday, the education steering committee said inspections should be conducted right away on the environment around schools nationwide to root out any risk that might threaten student safety.

"Related departments should coordinate to strengthen management around schools, resolve disputes happening near campus involving students and prevent students from becoming victims of violence," the committee said in the notice.

This is the fifth warning issued by education authorities since the beginning of the year. It was released against a backdrop of students frequently reporting being hurt by violent incidents occurring near schools in recent days.

On Monday morning, a man stabbed six people with a knife near a kindergarten in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. The suspect later killed himself.

All the injured, including four primary school students and a kindergartner, were rushed to a hospital for treatment. Two of them later died. Investigations are underway.

Around 6:30 am on Sept 7, a man hurt several students with a knife and held a girl hostage near a junior middle school in Sangzhi county, Hunan province.

The man was caught by police officers at the scene and the girl was rescued.

Four students who were injured were sent to hospital.

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, said students often become targets of violent crimes because they are relatively young and vulnerable, and their development receives a lot of attention from society.

"Some people treat attacking innocent students as an effective way to attract attention and express their own ideas and discontent," he said.

To better protect students, the education steering committee requested schools at all levels to offer emergency training and drills for students, and called on parents to cooperate with schools to ensure student safety between school and home.

Education departments will work with local public security authorities to check whether schools have hired enough security guards and have installed surveillance cameras and a police report system. Any school leaders whose neglect of campus security leads to accidents will be held accountable, the committee said in the warning.

Chu said that apart from the protective measures recommended in the warning, it is important to create a fair and just society that could reduce feelings of unfairness or injustice, he added.