Ministries order nationwide school construction probes

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-6-10  |     ONLINE EDITION

THOROUGH checks on school constructions will be conducted throughout the country, according to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development today.

Alarmed by the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province which killed and injured thousands of students when school buildings collapsed, the state government decided on the safety examinations to test the quake resistance of constructions and discover and correct any hidden problems with quality problems, a joint notice issued by the ministries announced today.

The checks will cover every school and all associated facilities including dormitories, toilets and dining halls, especially for school buildings erected before 2001 and those built with bricks and concrete.

A database on buildings where defects are found will be set up. Sub-standard constructions will immediately cease to be used until a quake-resistance modification plan is drawn up and improvements completed.

The ministries will supervise the checks as well as any ensuing modifications. Any leading cadres or people with responsibility for construction quality will be severely punished if they are believed to have violated the law, the notice said.

It also now orders education departments at all levels to give more publicity about disasters. Survival skills will be included in text books for primary and middle school students and in their extracurricular reading.

Schools have also been asked to improve their reactions in earthquakes by working out emergency planning and carrying out quake drills.

The May 12 earthquake left several thousand school buildings in ruins and thousands of school students dead. Parents have blamed design defects and obsolete buildings as some reasons for the many collapses. They have asked why many schools collapsed when other nearby buildings stayed erect.