China to deploy more security guards at schools

The Ministry of Education will deploy more security guards in primary and middle schools as well as kindergartens to maintain better schoolyard security, the Beijing Times reported on Friday.

By 2013, the education facilities will have at least one guard, the report quoted Minister of Education Yuan Guiren as saying. Yuan made the announcement at a meeting about security issues at the opening of the new semester.

The minister also said there will be safety education before school holidays and after new semesters begin. Also, there will be at least one safety emergency drill during each semester and an improvement in safety precautions.

Yuan called for standardized safety around schools, where patrolling and cutting out safety irregularities will be introduced. The regulation on school bus safety management will also be implemented.

China's schoolyard security worsened in 2010 after a series of attacks on kindergartens and primary school students.

Since then, the authorities have beefed up their efforts in providing safety to students in kindergartens and schools. In December last year, the Ministry of Education set a higher demand on school teachers, asking them to give priority to the safety of children and primary school students.

In April this year, the ministry issued a notice urging local education departments and schools to monitor the entry and exit at schools.