China to conduct school bus safety inspection

BEIJING - China will conduct a national school bus management inspection from mid-September to mid-October this year to ensure students' safety, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Tuesday.

The campaign, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Education and another 19 departments, will focus on the implementation of a school bus safety regulation that took effect on April 5, according to the MOE.

Fourteen inspection groups will check to ensure that local governments have established school bus safety management systems, set a reasonable transitional period and made detailed provisions regarding driver qualifications and legal responsibilities.

The regulation was adopted after a string of school bus accidents occurred in China last year, prompting the government to introduce new safety regulations and standards for school buses to better ensure students' safety and allay public concern.

The most serious accident occurred in November last year, when 21 students were killed after their nine-seat minivan, which was crammed with 62 preschool students, crashed in Northwest China's Gansu province.

After the accident, Premier Wen Jiabao ordered the regulation to be drafted in a timely fashion. It was passed in March during a meeting of the State Council, or China's cabinet.