China

School in Zhouqu begins 10 days late, with freebies for the children

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-26 13:04

ZHOUQU, Gansu - Primary and high school students in this landslide-hit county of Gansu province started their new school term on Wednesday, after the disaster on Aug 8 claimed 1,447 lives.

The students were scheduled to begin their new term on Aug 15 but the landslide disrupted their classes when it hit two schools. Three other schools were also used to shelter disaster-hit victims.

The new semester was postponed for 10 days, said Dan Zhita, deputy chief of the provincial education department.

The students also received free textbooks and other school supplies on Tuesday.

Students of the Chengguan No 1 Primary School attend the flag-raising ceremony in Zhouqu county, Gansu province, on Wednesday. Liang Qiang / Xinhua

"I got a school bag, toothbrush, toothpaste and towel," Wang Jiahao, a pupil of the No 2 Primary School, said on Tuesday.

Zhouqu has two primary schools, two junior high schools and one senior high school.

The mudslides killed four teachers and seven students from the No 3 Junior High School alone.

The landslide damaged the primary schools' buildings, but their students managed to escape the disaster because no classes were held when it hit the area at night during the summer vacation.

Students of the No 1 High School, the only senior high school in the area, will be transferred to Gansu's Lanzhou and Dingxi cities and start the new semester on Sept 1. Pupils of the two primary schools will use the buildings of the senior high school, Dan said.

More than 1,700 residents who were evacuated from the mudslides and have been living at schools started being relocated on Wednesday to Shachuan village in the western part of Zhouqu.

The devastating mudslides that hit the county on Aug 8 have left 318 people missing as of Tuesday.

Xinhua