State cash for school transport
By Pan Zheng and Yan Zhen |
November 28, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday pledged central and local government funds to improve and provide bus services to schools in the wake of a traffic accident that killed 19 pre-school children and sparked outrage across the country.
A school van with nine seats but crammed with 62 children and two adults crashed head-on into a truck in northwestern Gansu Province after the van swerved into oncoming traffic in foggy conditions.
The two adults on board, a driver and a teacher, also died in the November 16 crash and 43 children were injured.
The tragedy prompted a swell of comments online and in the press calling for an overhaul of China's badly managed and under serviced school transportation system. Rural areas in particular are known for unsafe transportation for children in aging, badly maintained vans and trucks.
The central and regional governments would provide funds for closer monitoring of manufacturing, renovation and allocation of school buses, Wen said at a conference on women's and children's affairs in Beijing, the government said on its official website.
Rolled over
The government would also work to improve management of bus systems and boost safety, Wen said.
His comments came just one day after a school bus in northeastern Liaoning Province rolled over on icy road on Saturday morning, injuring 35 kindergarten children.
The 41-seat bus was carrying 39 passengers - 36 children and three adults - when the accident happened at about 7:30am in Fengcheng City, according to local officials.
Both the vehicle, rented by the school, and the driver, a 33-year-old woman, were licensed, the school principal said.
An initial investigation showed that the driver's "improper operation" caused the bus to lose control and swerve before it finally rolled over on the icy road caused by rain and freezing weather.
Thirty-three of the children were only slightly hurt. However, two girls are in intensive care with brain injuries. They were said to be in a stable condition last night.
"Luckily my granddaughter came to being able to speak now," said grandmother of 6-year-old He Puxiu, who suffered a skull fracture.
Rented buses
All the injured children have been kept in hospital for observation.
Tan Zhiyun, the principal, said the school was the biggest education institute in the town, with five rented school buses carrying about 300 non-boarding students every day. The bus involved in the accident was carrying children from the pre-school department.
He said it was normal practice for children to go to school on Saturday to enable parents to work during what was a busy season for farmers.
The school has been ordered to improve safety procedures after it was accused of operating overloaded school buses earlier this month, the China Economic News quoted local police as saying.
At the Beijing conference, Wen also called for improving nutrition for children and enhancing pre-school education and pledged to provide greater care for orphans, ill and handicapped children.
A school van with nine seats but crammed with 62 children and two adults crashed head-on into a truck in northwestern Gansu Province after the van swerved into oncoming traffic in foggy conditions.
The two adults on board, a driver and a teacher, also died in the November 16 crash and 43 children were injured.
The tragedy prompted a swell of comments online and in the press calling for an overhaul of China's badly managed and under serviced school transportation system. Rural areas in particular are known for unsafe transportation for children in aging, badly maintained vans and trucks.
The central and regional governments would provide funds for closer monitoring of manufacturing, renovation and allocation of school buses, Wen said at a conference on women's and children's affairs in Beijing, the government said on its official website.
Rolled over
The government would also work to improve management of bus systems and boost safety, Wen said.
His comments came just one day after a school bus in northeastern Liaoning Province rolled over on icy road on Saturday morning, injuring 35 kindergarten children.
The 41-seat bus was carrying 39 passengers - 36 children and three adults - when the accident happened at about 7:30am in Fengcheng City, according to local officials.
Both the vehicle, rented by the school, and the driver, a 33-year-old woman, were licensed, the school principal said.
An initial investigation showed that the driver's "improper operation" caused the bus to lose control and swerve before it finally rolled over on the icy road caused by rain and freezing weather.
Thirty-three of the children were only slightly hurt. However, two girls are in intensive care with brain injuries. They were said to be in a stable condition last night.
"Luckily my granddaughter came to being able to speak now," said grandmother of 6-year-old He Puxiu, who suffered a skull fracture.
Rented buses
All the injured children have been kept in hospital for observation.
Tan Zhiyun, the principal, said the school was the biggest education institute in the town, with five rented school buses carrying about 300 non-boarding students every day. The bus involved in the accident was carrying children from the pre-school department.
He said it was normal practice for children to go to school on Saturday to enable parents to work during what was a busy season for farmers.
The school has been ordered to improve safety procedures after it was accused of operating overloaded school buses earlier this month, the China Economic News quoted local police as saying.
At the Beijing conference, Wen also called for improving nutrition for children and enhancing pre-school education and pledged to provide greater care for orphans, ill and handicapped children.
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