Ministry urges school safety after fatal van crash

The Ministry of Education on Tuesday issued a flier urging for better school safety measures after a fatal school bus crash in Jiangxi province killed 11 kindergarten children on Monday.

The ministry called on education departments at all levels to make student and pupil safety a priority and take measures to avoid accidents.

Students at a primary school in Jinan, capital of Shandong province, have a safe trip home with their fathers acting as guards. The school has set up a system in which fathers take turns to keep watch at the school gate. ZHENG TAO / FOR CHINA DAILY

According to the ministry circular, recent school attacks and accidents that have injured and killed students have shocked people across the country.

On Dec 14, 23 school children and a villager were injured in a knife attack in Central China's Henan province.

On Dec 19, a female junior high school student in Northwest China's Shaanxi province was kidnapped outside a campus and raped by several men.

The ministry called for more cooperation with relevant authorities, such as the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Transport, to scrutinize roads and stop unsuitable or prohibited vehicles from carrying students.

The ministry stressed the need to increase the number of guards at schools, and added that they should be better trained.

Also, schools should stop burning coal for heat in order to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, and children should be kept away from frozen lakes.

Safety training for students should be carried out in accordance with local conditions, especially during the Spring Festival holiday, when people like to skate and light fireworks, the ministry said.