Schools scramble to be ready for quake upgrades

By Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-08 07:52

A student walks through the campus of Chenjinglun Middle School. The city's schools are undergoing renovations to withstand strong earthquakes. [Wang Jing / China Daily]

School will be out for a lot longer than usual for thousands of Beijing students this summer while buildings are upgraded to better resist earthquakes.

Children at 114 primary and middle schools in Tongzhou and Xicheng districts have started taking classes on Saturdays so they can race through the curriculum and make an early start on their summer holidays; clearing the calendar for the building work.

While students in some schools are studying on Saturdays to free up time, students from 60 schools in Shunyi district had a shorter winter holiday this year so their schools can close for two weeks longer during the summer.

The reinforcement and rebuilding will take two months to complete.

Beijing municipal education authority says the upgrading of 300 school buildings is one of its top priorities this year.

Li Wenfeng, a researcher with Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, told METRO that 90 percent of school buildings in Beijing were built at least 20 years ago and have deteriorated.

The buildings are brick and concrete and can only endure an earthquake magnitude of four to five on the Richter scale, Li said.

Steel and concrete walls that are between 6 and 8 cm thick will be added to the original walls to make sure the buildings can stand up to larger quakes.

"When the reinforcement is completed, the schools will be able to survive major earthquakes of up to magnitude seven," he said.

The most recent earthquake to be felt in Beijing was a tremor last Saturday from a 4.5-magnitude earthquake centered in Shanxi province.

Beijing is considered a possible earthquake danger zone because it sits between two major quake zones.

The parents of some children now studying on Saturdays said they were worried their kids may burn out from the long hours of study.

Zhang Bin, father of a fourth-grader at Oriental Primary School in Tongzhou district, told METRO his son had been taking extra classes since Feb 23.

He said his son seemed to be having difficulty concentrating and added that he is tired all the time.

"It is not enough, to rest for only one day after six days of extensive study," he said.

"I think young children should have more time to play and do exercise."

Pan Xiaona, a teacher at Luhe Middle School in Tongzhou, said the quality of students' homework had taken a dive.

"I suggested parents cancel extra-curriculum classes they signed their children up for on Sundays, otherwise students will not be able to cope," she said.

A total of 30 primary schools and 35 middle schools in Tongzhou district will start their summer holidays on June 15 and June 26 respectively, half a month earlier than normal.

Gu Shuli, vice-director of Xicheng district education commission, told METRO 49 out of 110 primary and middle schools in Xicheng district will be involved in the building project this year with a total investment of 4.9 billion yuan.