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16 schools and kindergartens in Wenchuan finish construction

By Wang Wei and He Xin (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-31 12:07

WENCHUAN: A grand ceremony was held in Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan province, on Thursday morning, to mark the completion of 14 schools and two kindergartens with financial assistance from south China's Guangdong province.

Many buildings including schools were damaged or collapsed in the devastating magnitude-8.0 earthquake that jolted Wenchuan, the epicenter of the quake, in May last year. Guangdong was in charge of the reconstruction of schools in Wenchuan.

With an investment of more than 871 million yuan, the province built two high schools, 10 rural primary schools and four kindergartens covering 222,550 square meters.

More than 14,000 students from Wenchuan who are studying in different parts of the country or prefabricated houses in Wenchuan because of the quake will study in the newly completed schools, according to county magistrate Liao Min.

Guangdong governor Huang Huahua considered the building of the schools and kindergartens a miracle as it took less than one year to finish the mammoth project.

"The central government attaches great importance to the reconstruction of schools in quake-hit areas. Premier Wen Jiabao said that more than 90 percent of the students in the quake zone shall study in permanent schools at the end of this year," said Lu Xiaoya, vice-minister of education, in the ceremony.