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Govts act to remove hazards at schools

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-10 15:26

New measures to protect children from the risk of gas poisoning at school are being introduced across the country, following the deaths last week of 11 girls at a boarding school in Shaanxi province.

In the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, the government has allocated 1.4 million yuan ($200,000) to pay for the installation of carbon monoxide sensors at all boarding schools that use coal-fired heaters, the Ningxia Daily reported on Monday.

All schools financed by the regional government have also been ordered to have safety checks performed on their heating systems to ensure they are working properly, the report said.

In Beijing, the government yesterday ordered schools to stop using coal-fired heaters, and said it will send inspectors to carry out safety checks next week, the Beijing News reported.

Private and unlicensed schools that are used mostly by children of migrant workers will be a focus for the inspections, an official with the municipal office for the prevention of gas poisoning and fire accidents said.

Meanwhile, boarding students at the prestigious No 1 Middle School in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, have been taking part in safety drills on how to evacuate their dormitories in the event of a gas leak or fire, Xi'an Daily reported on Tuesday.

In Hebei province, the government has said it will spend almost 12 billion yuan to install central heating systems in its 14,859 schools to replace existing coal fires, local media reported on Tuesday.

Concerns over the safety of schoolchildren, especially boarders, returned to the spotlight on Dec 2, after 11 primary schoolgirls were killed in their dormitory at a school in Dingbian, Shaanxi province.

The children died from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a coal-fired heater, police said.

On Nov 14, four other students were killed in a fire at a business school in Shanghai.