School mats suggest supervision loopholes

After primary school students in East China's Jiangsu province reportedly developed nosebleeds, allergies and sore throats, fingers were pointed at the plastic matting in the playground. The provincial education authorities have urged all schools using the safety matting to cooperate with an investigation being conducted by the relevant authorities. Comments:

Such safety matting is supposed to pass strict tests before being installed in schools. Sadly, there are still no national standards for such tests. Since the introduction of national standards will not help alleviate parents' concerns about the matting being used at present, the investigation needs to be conducted as swiftly as possible to either set the minds of students and their parents at rest or else replace the matting used in schools.

Daily Sunshine, Oct 14

The truth about the recent scandal in many Jiangsu schools is that neither the affected schools nor the local educational authorities take the children's health seriously. The kids would not have felt unwell in the first place had the purchase, installation, and examination of the matting been under strict supervision. Local authorities have to properly deal with the incident to reduce public doubts about their sincerity.

Beijing Times, Oct 14

For some of the primary schools affected, the lack of a national standard is just a fig leaf they use to hide the real problem, which is poor supervision and management. Of course, an improved testing system is needed, but the schools should raise the bar themselves to prevent the use of toxic matting in their playgrounds.

Yanzhao Evening News, Oct 14

An important lesson to be learned from the incident is that schools need to be better managed and open to public supervision. Any individuals and departments in Jiangsu that are found to have failed in their duty to protect students must be held accountable in accordance with relevant laws.

Nanjing Daily, Oct 15