China's education authorities have issued a blanket campus ban to anyone armed with a gun or a knife during the upcoming holiday. Security will be beefed up at all campuses as the horror of the Virginia Tech massacre is still seared in people's minds.

 

Security guard patrols will be ramped up around student dormitories and entrance checks will last for the duration of the week-long May Day holiday beginning on Tuesday, stated a circular released by the Ministry of Education yesterday.

 

"Accidents are more likely to happen during the holidays when there are fewer students and teachers on campus," said the circular.

 

Schools were urged to pay close attention to "security loopholes" in classrooms, libraries, labs, canteens and dorms for students or teachers both inside and outside the campus.

 

Fire hazards were also on the agenda with schools required to perform a safety check on all fire-extinguishers and to ensure fire escapes from buildings are not blocked.

 

The circular also laid out potential retribution for school officials should their campuses fall victim to crimes or accidents attributable to slack safety measures.

 

According to official figures, last year primary and middle school crimes were down 19.7 percent on the year before, due to increased police presence near schools. However, the government still deplored the 43 students who were killed in criminal acts on campus between January and September last year.

 

The most traumatizing incident fell in May 2006, when a 19-year-old villager broke into a kindergarten in Henan Province. He entered a classroom containing 21 students, locked the door and set the room ablaze with gasoline. Three children perished in the blaze and 14 others were injured.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2007)