2010-04-06 07:45

XI'AN - Provincial government officials in Northwest China's Shaanxi province have ordered tighter security for schools across the province to prevent violent attacks against students.

In an urgent notice on Sunday the Shaanxi provincial government said that local police should strengthen patrols around schools and crack down on violent crimes, such as kidnapping, robbery, blackmail and assaults that target teachers and students.

"All schools should employ qualified and professional security guards. People with mental health illnesses should also be prohibited from teaching and contacting the students," the notice said.

Students who arrive earlier than the opening time of the school should be allowed to enter the campus, it said.

The move by the Shaanxi provincial government came weeks after a man stabbed eight school children to death and injured five others on March 23 in Nanping of East China's Fujian province, a tragedy which was blamed on inadequate school security.

"Our duty is to record the identification of all the visitors, but we are unable to tell which people might have mental health problems," said Zhu Qibo, a gatekeeper at Qiaoshan primary school in Shaanxi.

"Our school has no professional security guards. The other gatekeeper and I just work different shifts to keep order," he said.

Bai Yali, a teacher of Chengguan Primary School in Shaanxi's Huangling county, told China Daily that her school has asked the teachers to help keep order in front of the school when students enter in the morning and leave in the afternoon following last month's tragedy in Nanping.

The urgent notice could help schools enhance security awareness, she said, "But it is hard for schools to forbid people with mental health illnesses to enter the school. This might be discrimination of such people."

Wang Xin, an 11-year-old student of the county's Qiaoshan Primary School, said she feels safe on her journey between home and school.

"Our teacher asked us to try not to come to school earlier than the opening time. And my grandparents pick me up to go back home every afternoon," Wang said.

A similar notice was released by the Fujian provincial government on March 31, about one week after the tragedy.

Cai Luyan, director of the Nanping Primary School's moral educational section, said the school recently adjusted its morning timetable for teachers.

All the teachers must now arrive at school by 7:15 am, which is 15 minutes earlier than students, she said, adding, "Their job is to help security guards keep order."

Students who arrive earlier than 7:30 can enter the campus, she said. However, most of the schools in Fujian still do not open their doors before their set opening times.

"I hope our province follows Shaanxi's regulation to allow students to stay inside the campus outside of school time," a woman whose daughter goes to Fenggang Primary School in Fujian, said.

"I can't pick up my child on time as I always get off work later," she said.

"If the schools do not share the responsibility with the parents to protect children's security, similar tragedies might happen again," she said.