Chinese government to spend more to make schools safer

According to Chinese state media, the Chinese government is planning on spending an extra $1.17 billion this year on making schools in earthquake-prone areas safer. The magnitude 8.0 earthquake that hit China in May 2008 was one of the country's most devestating - leaving more than 88,000 people dead or missing, and five million homeless.

A statement issued by the State Council, China's cabinet, said schools in earthquake-susceptible areas would be reinforced, adding: "The safety of school buildings directly relates to the safety of teachers and students, and is related to social harmony and stability". The project will take three years, it added, and be focused on schools in the poorer central and western parts of the country, where the strongest earthquakes normally hit.

This news follows reports that the Chinese police have arrested a man who was investigating whether poor construction caused schools’ to collapse during the 2008 earthquake. Many families of the victims claim that corrupt officials and construction companies pocketed cash meant for schoolrooms and instead bought cheaper, substandard building materials. In many of the affected towns, schools collapsed but other nearby buildings withstood the earthquake.

In response to the devastating earthquake which happened on 12 May 2008, SOS Children's Village Chengdu (which was located 100km from the earthquakes epicentre) ran a temporary camp school in Mianzhu city to ensure education for children could continue. More than 11,000 people were killed in the city of Mianzhu in the southwestern Sichuan province after it had virtually been flattened.