More reforms needed to put children's safety first

In 2011, 19 preschoolers died after a nine-seat school van carrying 64 people collided head-on with a coal truck in northwest China's Gansu Province. The accident prompted authorities to launch a nationwide overhaul of school transportation.

Meanwhile, a spate of sexual assaults on minors has shocked the nation. It was reported last year that a 62-year-old primary school teacher in east China's Jiangxi Province had molested seven second-grade girls in class.

"These vicious events have threatened children's physical and mental well-being. We should reflect on how to create a safe and sound environment for them to grow up," said Shi Ying, vice president of the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences.

For Li Min, a white-collar parent of a four-year-old girl in Beijing, a safe environment for her child's upbringing means a reliable hospital in which to give birth, quality milk, and safe schools with trustworthy teachers.

"I think it is more difficult to realize this dream for low-income families in China. They cannot afford to buy milk overseas or send their kids to costly but better schools," added Li.

This was echoed by a 37-year-old parent surnamed Wang, whose child was enrolled in one of the accused kindergartens in Xi'an. He said like many parents in China, he has often given presents to teachers in the hope of securing special care for his infant.

But such gift-giving has not prevented tragedies. According to Shi Ying, more reforms should be carried out to strengthen government supervision, establish a responsibility mechanism and improve legislation.

Xiong Bingqi, deputy head of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said besides criticism of legal loopholes and weak supervision, the general public should also reconsider the Chinese style of education when it comes to kindergarten drug scandals.

Chinese society famously values rote learning and puts great pressure on youngsters to succeed academically. Education on broader life issues like safety, sex and codes of conduct comes mostly in the form of abstract concepts in school text books, Xiong noted.