Children under the supervision of their teacher, read and write in a UNICEF supported prefabricated classroom in Caoyang Primary School Xihe County Gansu Province

XIHE, China- Well before dawn, sixth-grader Yang Mei, along with her younger brother Yang Zhen and sister Yang Yamei, leave their home in rural Gansu province for school.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2008-0460/Adam DeanA boy raises his hand, seated with fellow students in a large temporary classroom at a camp for people who have been displaced by the earthquake, in the city of Mianyang in Sichuan Province. The city is in one of the worst-affected parts of the province

In China, on 12 May 2008, a massive earthquake struck Wenchuan County in Sichuan Province, damaging more than 12,000 schools – 40 per cent of all schools in the province – and another 6,500 schools in neighbouring Gansu Province. It is estimated that thousands of children died.

A girl cries during a commemorative gathering for students who were killed when their school collapsed during the earthquake in Sichuan Province, China.
© UNICEF/ HQ08-0551/Dea

NEW YORK, USA, 25 June 2008 – With an estimated 10,000 child fatalities from school collapses in the Sichuan earthquake in China, safe school construction has become a central issue for parents, governments and the international development community.