The Ministry of Education (MOE) issued an urgent notice recently urging local educational departments to demolish dilapidated classrooms in primary and secondary schools.

Run down and unsafe classrooms "seriously threaten the safety of teachers and students," the notice warned, ordering local educational departments to send inspection teams to primary and secondary schools.

An MOE official said that the government should allocate funds to dismantle and rebuild classrooms. The Ministry welcomes enterprises and individuals to raise money for the purpose.

Local educational departments should submit reports to the Ministry before April 2000.