Thirty-five of Shanghai's elementary and middle school students were killed during the summer holidays, including 29 who drowned, the Shanghai Education Commission and Shanghai Teenage Protection Committee said yesterday.

The number of deaths is 28 more than last year, when seven were killed between July 1 and August 31.

Drowning killed 29 of the students, four died from illnesses, one of electrocution and one in a traffic accident. Of the 35 students, 16 were locals.

Another report on elementary and middle school security for the whole of last year, also released yesterday, found that 7.6 percent of the total 2,519 accidents involving students were deemed the responsibility of school authorities.

The report said a total of 70 students died last year. Of those, 34 drowned.

Officials from the commission called for an increased focus on child safety. ''Drowning has become the No. 1 cause of death among elementary and middle school students in 2007 and this summer,'' said Yang Yongming, director of the general affairs office of the Shanghai Teenage Protection Committee.

''It is mainly due to the students' lack of safety knowledge, swimming skills and ability to call for help or save themselves, as well as parents' lack of supervision and the lack of signs and alerts by rivers in rural areas, ditches and reservoirs on construction sites.''

During the summer holidays a total of 50 students were injured citywide. Most injuries happened in residential areas and students' homes with 29 students sustaining bone fractures while playing sport, four being bitten by pets and two scalded.

Fractures accounted for 52.6 percent of all injuries last year. Yang said the injuries were largely due to a lack of self-protection, exercise and the fact that students' muscles and ligaments were still growing.

The city's government has invested 120 million yuan (US$17.55 million) to improve security at kindergartens and elementary and middle schools.

Accidents in which schools were responsible accounted for 33 percent of the national average.

By the end of this year, 1,500 health care and physical education teachers from elementary and middle schools and 35,000 pre-school teachers will have completed training in emergency aid and accident prevention in Shanghai.

''The government has put a great emphasis on building a sound and safe environment for students,'' said Yin Houqing, deputy director of Shanghai Education Commission.

''But there is no substitute for the care of families and society.

"We need a joint effort to guarantee kids' safety,'' Yin said.

(Shanghai Daily September18, 2008)