Fatal stampede exposes excessive rural school mergers(2)

With no school buses, some rural students have to walk or ride bicycles for several kilometers to school.

"My daughter kept crying when I would send her to school every week. I felt bad sending such a young child to board at school," said Sun Zongta, the father of a girl who died in the stampede.

Sun's 8-year-old daughter used to study at a primary school in their village, but had to transfer to the Qinji Primary School after their village school was closed.

A decreasing number of school-age children has led many local governments to merge rural schools, forcing some students to take long journeys to attend school or board in the schools' dormitories.

Although the MOE has halted the mergers, the mergers' effects are still creating problems for local education authorities and schools, said Tu Yanguo, director of the College of Education of Central China Normal University.

Excessive mergers have had a negative effect on teaching quality, school safety and accommodation for students, Tu said.

The MOE has stated that students receiving compulsory education should be required to walk no more than 40 minutes to reach the nearest school.

The stampede has alerted local authorities to the importance of ensuring students' safety and providing more school buses, Tu said.