Yesterday was a big day for seven-year-old Wang Yingwu, a pupil in Chengdu, when he received a top prize trophy in praising good paintings with a better understanding of safety awareness.

Wang was among 20 pupils to receive the prize, which was initiated by Honeywell and Safe Kids Worldwide, two US-based non-profit organizations aimed at preventing children from accidental injuries in the capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

"The drawing competition is made to remind children of staying away from accidents which may occur in school, riversides, and on the road to home," said Yang Qing, head of Xiajiacun Primary School, where Wang studies at.

Accidents have been listed as a leading cause of childhood fatalities in China.

A survey by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Security showed each year some 16,000 students from primary and middle schools were killed in accidents in China.

On average, about 40 children lost their lives every day in unexpected occasions such as drowning, poisoning, fire at home and school violence.

In urban areas, 40 percent of accidents occur at home during the summer and winter breaks of school.

Local governments are taking efforts to prevent the disasters, as such sad stories are reported frequently.

A recent regulation released by the educational authority in Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu Province, has included more details over improving school security.

All major passages and exits in schools should be safeguarded when class is over and students are dismissed, in order to prevent students being trampled on.

A teacher's responsibility to ensure the students' safety should be taken into the overall value system in terms of the teacher's working performance. And any teacher showing the symptoms of mental problems should immediately be expelled from their posts.

While the public sees the new regulation as being too detailed, the local educational authorities explain they "have drawn lessons from similar incidents in the country before drafting our new regulation."

A cluster of school accidents have been reported in recent years across the country.

In 2005, a mentally disturbed middle-aged man slaughtered several kindergarten children in Beijing.

On March 12, a truck crashed into a team of students and teachers, killing one and injuring 14 in Panshi of Northeast China's Jilin Province.

"No one knows what accident could happen tomorrow. And the key to prevent any accident is to keep a close eye on the students at any time," said Wang Rengang, with Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Education.

(China Daily March 22, 2006)