More than 93 percent of the 41 public universities and colleges in Shanghai have established central control rooms to safeguard student safety.

A total of 182 million yuan (US$26.59 million) has been spent on campus security since 2007 by those universities and colleges, and altogether 12,784 camera monitoring devices, 7,986 intrusion detection devices and 2,438 access control systems had been installed by the end of October, officials from the Shanghai Education Commission said at a forum on Tuesday.

The number of electronic devices installed to detect exam cheats using mobile phones was 1,725, while 45,168 lockers for students had been provided.

The installation of these devices is part of a three-year plan which began in 2007.

"With the expansion of universities and colleges in both recruitment and branch campuses, campus security is meeting new challenges," said Yang Qiwei, deputy secretary general of the Shanghai Education Commission.

"The current students were mostly born during the 1980s and the 1990s and grew up in a relaxed living environment. They are in need of education and guidance to achieve a high level of knowledge of what to do in an emergency."

Safety training for college teachers will be carried out next year, and in 2010 the commission will issue textbooks on safety education to students.

Almost 100 security administrators from all over China attended the Chinese Association of Higher Education forum which ends on Wednesday.

(Shanghai Daily December 17, 2008)