Shanghai has closed a school for migrant children operating unsafely and without a proper license. Almost 2,000 students have been transferred to a nearby local school, officials said on Tuesday.

 

Jianying School had been operating without a proper license, failed to meet national standards for schools and 30 percent of staff didn't have teaching certificates, said Li Xuehong, head of the Education Bureau of Putuo District.

 

Twenty-four classrooms -- built out of steel sheets with no lightning conductors -- were deemed unsafe by fire control departments, said the official. The school was opened on land leased from a factory but the lease expired last February.

 

Local education authorities decided to close the school last Friday before parents pay the tuition fees for next semester, according to official sources.

 

The students from Jianying School were transferred to a branch of Caoyang Primary School and offered free school bus services and lunches there.

 

The closure of the school, however, caused discontent among some parents. They were concerned that the use of Caoyang Primary School was only a stopgap measure by the authorities.

 

The parents also worried about the school fees and transportation even if the public school would continue to be open to them next semester.

 

However, Li said the government was, "Responsible for providing migrant children safe and equal education resources." The bureau was drawing up a plan to resolve the issue, said the official.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2007)