The Chinese Ministry of Public Security has said that 1,455
Chinese students were killed and 5,905 injured in traffic accidents
in the first four months of this year as against a death toll of
4,205 and 21,000 injuries last year.
A total 19 cases of crimes that "fatally endangered school
teachers and students and kindergarten kids" were reported to the
ministry. Nine people were killed and 34 others injured as against
67 cases of this kind that killed 50 people and injured 171 others
last year, the ministry also said.
The ministry said that there were 326 campus fire accidents that
killed four people and injured one in the first four months as
against 799 such cases that killed 12 people and injured nine in
2004.
China has 600,000 schools and kindergartens with more than 200
million students and preschool children, who are "a special group
of people" but are endangered by a variety of security problems,
police said.
The ministry noted that major "lurking dangers" that plague
children are bad traffic order near schools and kindergartens,
unhealthy amusement places near schools, campus crimes, and food
poisoning.
The Ministry of Education has asked local administrative
departments in charge of education to instruct and supervise
schools in putting into effect responsible security systems
and warned that neglect leading to serious accidents will be
punished.
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2005)