Heed parents' call to better protect students from smog

A hazy day in Beijing, Dec 22, 2015. [Photo/IC]

The severity of the hazardous smog that has forced Beijing to close schools twice so far this month should justify local education authorities heeding the calls of parents for air purifiers and other facilities to be installed in classrooms.

The capital has issued two red alerts to galvanize all-out public efforts to reduce locally generated pollutant emissions, which have helped cut the level of pollutant emissions.

A preliminary assessment by the Ministry of Environmental Protection suggested that Beijing managed to cut the level of pollutants by 30 percent during the second red alert.

However, the smog is so bad and frequent that parents want air purifiers installed in schools so that the children get some protection in the classroom.

The closure of schools during the red alert not only disrupted the education of more than 1 million primary and middle school students but also caused considerable trouble for many parents who had to find a way to take care of their stay-at-home children.

Even when expected smog is not severe enough to trigger a red alert, it can still be bad. The public has the right to know what long-term measures the education authorities will take to make classrooms healthy enough for students when the air quality becomes poor but does not deteriorate enough to trigger the highest level alert that forces schools to close.

In the absence of any clear evidence that air purifiers for home use are of little effect in classrooms, some parents have voluntarily offered to buy such appliances for their children's classrooms. But to the frustration of many, schools have generally responded lukewarmly to such offers and some have even rejected them.

If schools are worried about the nature of public education that stops them from embracing private donations for certain classes, the education authorities should at least explain their concerns.

Parents' eagerness to help should by no means be deemed unnecessary or unwelcome. Even if the education authorities eventually come up with an all-inclusive solution supported by fiscal funds, parents' offers of assistance can be embraced in joint efforts to protect students from the hazards of smog.

Better protection of students and other vulnerable groups have to be an integral part of the battle against air pollution. It is to be hoped that the two red alerts issued so far are enough for Beijing's education authorities to respond to parents' concerns.