The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission was buffeted by criticism earlier this week for its handling of school arrangements during Typhoon Fung-Wong.
A Weibo post published Monday at 11:34 pm on the commission's account attempted to lay out contingency plans for local schools the following day, when the typhoon was expected to reach Shanghai. "If a red warning is issued before 6 am on September 23, primary and middle schools will be cancelled and schools should take care of students who have left home for school. If a red warning is issued between 6 am and the beginning of school hours, schools should be flexible with their arrangements. If a red warning is issued during school hours, schools should ensure the safety of students at school," it read.
There are four tiers in China's typhoon warning system - blue, yellow, orange and red; with a red warning signaling the highest degree of danger. Schools and offices are supposed to close when a red warning is in effect.
An hour after this initial post, the commission's account published another message, saying that even if no red warning is issued, students who arrive at school late because of the weather should not be reprimanded.
As a government-run Weibo account, posts from the city's education commission rarely receive more than a few dozen reposts. Its messages related to the typhoon though were reposted over 2,400 times and attracted over 700 comments, many of them expressing anger and confusion over the commission's response to a potentially dangerous weather event.
"Publishing this at midnight, I wonder who is able to see this," one netizen commented. "You're not the ones who will get wet anyway," another Weibo user wrote, addressing bureaucrats at the commission. "You don't care about the life and death of students," said another critic.
To be fair, many of those who lambasted the commission with angry or irrational comments were likely just going along with the crowd. After all, the commission was merely acting in accordance with flood control regulations which took effect in August. It is these new regulations which call for schools, businesses and public institutions to close when a red warning is issued.
Still, the general outrage reflects a lack of adequate communication between authorities and the public. The government may have a perfectly rational set of procedures in place to handle typhoons or other extreme weather events. If such is the case, the public is the last to know.
In Hong Kong, most residents know that a No.8 or higher tropical cyclone warning, or a red or black rainstorm warning, issued before 6:15 am means all schools will be canceled. This knowledge has become common sense and parents in the city do not need to wait for an announcement from authorities to know whether to send their children to school or not. Television, radio and the Internet also keep people constantly informed about the latest weather developments, including when to resume school and work.
Education and weather authorities in Shanghai should publicize their own school cancellation system so that parents are not left guessing when such emergencies occur.
Schools, too, should be more flexible when extreme weather conditions occur and allow students to arrive late or stay home altogether.
If authorities cannot clearly publicize school cancellations, parents should make their own decisions whether it is safe for their children to go to school. Cyclones and typhoons have led to many fatal accidents in China over recent years. Sadly, many of these fatalities could have been avoided if people stayed home.
