Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
Drugs scandal spotlights safety issues in schools around China
Print Edition
FOR the past several days, life has been filled with anxiety, despair and anger for the hundreds of parents whose children attended two kindergartens caught in an antiviral drug scandal.
The Hongji Xincheng and Fengyun kindergartens in Xi’an City, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, are accused of having administered antiviral (anti-flu) drugs to children since 2008, local authorities announced last Thursday. A total of 1,455 children received the medicine.
One of the parents, who only gave his surname as Zhang, said that his child had attended the Fengyun kindergarten and since last year suffered from dizziness, stomachache, leg pains and genital swelling.
“I thought he was only suffering from cold, only to find that he was given moroxydine ABOB,” said Zhang.
Zhang’s ire was shared by another parent, surnamed Yang, whose 5-year-old daughter was attending Hongji Xincheng kindergarten, two kilometers away from Fengyun. Yang’s daughter told her that the teacher gave the whole class “blue pills” at noon every day, adding that it was a “secret” between her and the teacher.
On the heels of the shocking discovery, scores of angry parents blocked a road near the two kindergartens last Wednesday, demanding the local government intervene in the case.
Police later detained the private Fengyun kindergarten’s legal representative surnamed Sun, its principal surnamed Zhao, and kindergarten doctor surnamed Huang.
On Thursday, two other people were detained on suspicion of medical malpractice, the deputy principal of Hongji Xincheng kindergarten, surnamed Zhao, and the kindergarten doctor.
Tainted education system
This scandal is another in a string of cases related to the mishandling of children that has tainted the country’s education system.
In 2013, a 62-year-old primary school teacher in east China’s Jiangxi Province was sentenced to 14 years in jail for molesting seven second-grade girls in class and infecting six of them with STDs.
In the same month, a 2-year-old boy was left unattended on a school bus for more than half a day in central China’s Hubei Province. The child died in a hospital later that day.
The latest headline about antiviral drugs drew the attention of parents and experts alike, and many criticized the education system for not safeguarding children.
Ms Zhu, whose 3-year-old son attends a privately run kindergarten in Xi’an, rebuked educational institutions for mistreatment of children.
“How could they be so ignorant and apathetic toward the chubby-cheeked children?” Zhu asked.She said the government should improve supervision of kindergartens.
While children’s safety is a big concern, others have raised doubts about the credibility of renowned non-governmental organizations (NGOs), since both the Shaanxi kindergartens said they are affiliated with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a well-known NGO named after the wife of Dr Sun Yat-sen.
Zhang Ying, deputy secretary-general of the foundation, said the two kindergartens were affiliated with the foundation, but denied any economic contact or business cooperation with them.
But parents of the victims said that they sent their children to the kindergartens only because they trusted the foundation, and they cautioned that the NGO should not shirk responsibility.
The parents pointed out that the illegal behavior, which was not spotted by any government body for six years, reflected the wider and increasingly urgent problem of a lack of government supervision that is playing out in China’s private schools.
Guo Bing, executive director of Zhen’Ai Education Service Organization, an NGO in Beijing, said that some education institutions are over-commercialized and that children’s safety, which should have been a top priority, is largely left behind.
“Some budget-minded owners of private kindergartens spend little on the training of teachers and provide low teaching salaries, forcing many teachers to unleash their pressure on children and causing safety concerns,” Guo said. He said China needs to improve laws and regulations and mete out stiff punishment for those who violate laws.
As of last Friday, order had been restored at the two kindergartens. More than 200 children had received free physical exams and the city’s education department has carried out safety checks at all kindergartens and schools in Xi’an.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
