Shenyang - The Liaoning education bureau issued a safety warning to all the schools and kindergartens in the province on Monday, requesting them to strengthen security measures to prevent incidents.

According to the announcement, local educational administrations and schools should stay alert, especially during large collective activities. Also, security education and practices should be carried out to improve students'awareness and capabilities of dealing with dangers. The bureau stressed anyone or any school that covers up accidents will be punished severely.

Details about the announcement are not clear as calls to the Liaoning education bureau went unanswered on Tuesday.

Summer is usually a season when many schools organize large collective activities and so dangers and accidents are likely to happen among students.

According to Duan Yumin, a teacher of Shenyang Zhulin No 1 elementary school, many accidents often happen in spring and summer, such as drowning, food poisoning and fire accidents.

"Elementary school students usually have weak security awareness and the school is the best place to offer security education. Usually when holding outside activities, we will organize students into different groups with more than two teachers caring for each group to ensure kids'safety," she said.

She said her school organized a spring trip to a movie theater at the end of April with no accidents.

Li Yan, mother of a third-grade student, said she feels happy that the local education bureau made safety a priority.

"On one hand, it aroused the schools'attention to student security; on the other hand, parents feel safe with the guardian of the education department and school. Scores are important, but safety and social knowledge are also necessary to kids."