School classes in quake-hit Yan'an City in southwest China's Sichuan Province are expected to fully resume on Thursday, according to the municipal education department.

All elementary and secondary schools have been told to carry out further safety checks on school buildings to eliminate any risks, the Ya'an Municipal Education Bureau said on Monday.

Ya'an education authorities have told all students to go home for the three-day May Day holiday from Monday to Wednesday, according to Luo Xiangjian, an official with the bureau.

"Students should refresh themselves during the holiday for upcoming classes," he added.

Schools will arrange for students, whose houses were damaged in the quake and who cannot go home, to take part in outdoor activities at their campuses.

A total of 357 schools were damaged in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Lushan County, Ya'an City on April 20. The quake forced the city's 329 schools to suspend classes.

As of Sunday, 282 schools had resumed classes after safety checks.

Students in the 12th grade were among the first to resume classes as this year's college entrance exam, set for June 7 and 8, is approaching.

The 12th-grade students from the hardest-hit counties of Lushan, Tianquan and Baoxing will be relocated to three universities in the provincial capital of Chengdu to continue their studies.

So far, the quake has left nearly 200 people dead and more than 12,000 others injured.

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