The Chinese People's Armed Police Corps (PAPC) began on Wednesday to rebuild a middle school in Maoxian County, Sichuan Province, which was destroyed by last year's earthquake, PAPC officials said.

The project, which will be funded with a donation of 80 million yuan (US$11.7 million) from PAPC officers and soldiers, is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The PAPC Communications Headquarters will be responsible for newly constructing five teaching buildings, as well as repairing two teachers' dormitories, four residential apartments and a playground.

The new school compound, to accommodate more than 2,000 teachers and students, will be environmentally friendly and in the traditional style of the Qiang People.

The Maoxian Middle School will have a new name, the Maoxian August 1 Middle School, since August 1 is the founding date for the Chinese Armed Forces, including the PAPC and the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Maoxian, a county subordinate to the Aba Qiang People Autonomous Prefecture, was one of the worst-hit areas in the May 12 earthquake.

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake left more than 80,000 dead or missing and made millions of people homeless. Almost 7,000 school buildings were leveled.

So far, there has been no accurate tally of the number of students killed in the catastrophic earthquake.

The public has questioned why such a large number of school buildings were destroyed by the earthquake.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2009)