China tries to shift focus away from school collapses

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese officials on Monday sought to shift the focus away from the large number of schools which collapsed during the May 12 earthquake and towards the "heroic" teachers who risked everything to save their students.

But they did promise a nationwide inspection of schools, though only those built in earthquake zones, to test structural integrity, and repeated previous promises to punish those responsible for constructing shoddy buildings.

The toll from the massive quake in the southwestern province of Sichuan has risen to above 65,000 and officials have been quoted in Chinese newspapers saying at least 6,581 of the dead were children and teachers crushed in collapsed schools.

The 7.9 magnitude struck in the middle of the afternoon in the southwest province of Sichuan when most children were at their desks or taking a nap.

The central government has so far not given an official death toll for students, saying figures are still being complied. And anger is growing among parents who have accused authorities of cutting corners and failing to meet safety standards.

Education Ministry officials spent much of a news conference promoting a campaign to praise teachers who had saved students from the quake, and students who likewise acted heroically, trying to put a positive spin on tragic news.

"The Communist Party cell in the Education Ministry has decided to carry out a national study campaign on earthquake hero teachers and students," said ministry spokesman Wang Xuming.

"The ministry demands schools organize teachers and students to earnestly study the advanced deeds of the hero teachers and students," he said, adding their example would be good for "political education".

Education Ministry official Xie Zhimin told a story of one teacher who saved two trapped colleagues before going back for his trapped wife, who later died in hospital.

"I want to express my highest respects to the hero teachers in the disaster zone," she said, her voice choked with emotion and standing up to offer a bow.

PROTEST FEARS

China's Communist government, which values stability above all else, has been keen to head off protests it fears could follow in the light of the large number of school collapses.

Local media said on Monday that hundreds of angry parents whose children died under a collapsed school ignored an official pleading with them on his knees, and demanded a thorough probe.

The parents of the 127 pupils killed at Fuxin No.2 Primary School in Mianzhu on Sunday marched in the streets, the Southern Metropolis Daily said in a report on its website (www.nddaily.com).

Mianzhu's Communist Party chief knelt down in front of the procession, pleading with parents not to petition officials higher up and vowing a thorough investigation, but was ignored, the report said.