From AP:
China’s top legislature has set stricter construction standards for schools after thousands of poorly built classrooms collapsed in May’s massive earthquake, killing many students, state media reported.
The new law passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress says that all schools must now be built to higher earthquake standards than other public buildings, Xinhua News Agency reported late Saturday.
School safety has become a major concern in China after May’s 7.9-magnitude quake killed nearly 70,000 people in Sichuan province and brought down 7,000 schools. Often schools were the only buildings in the area to fully collapse.
The new law — which takes effect next May — also requires schools to teach students about earthquake safety and response, Xinhua said. The report did not say what penalties would be imposed if the laws were broken.
