Nearly 170,000 migrant students in Shanghai will be covered by campus accident insurance from this month costing 500,000 yuan (US$66,613), Shanghai Education Commission said yesterday.

The insurance will cover injuries in campus accidents among the city's 263 registered migrant schools. Injured students can claim compensation of up to 200,000 yuan, commission officials said.

"The free insurance is considered a gift to migrant students on National Day Holiday. It's also part of the city government's efforts to improve migrant schools' education facilities and quality," said Yang Yongming, director of the commission's youth protection division.

Shanghai-born students, together with their migrant peers at local public elementary and secondary schools, have been covered by accident insurance since 2001.

Students at the 263 registered migrant schools, accounting for about 46 percent of the city's total 400,000 migrant children, were excluded from the program as most migrant schools are run by individuals or private organizations.

"The insurance purchase initiative will include all local students under the insurance protection," said Zhu Jian, the commission's legal division director, adding that it's also a pioneering move throughout China.

But officials said that the insurance cover would stop once a student left a registered migrant school.

Parents can negotiate compensation with the insurance company and the school after medical treatment. The local youth protection committee will mediate cases where the three sides dispute the compensation amount.

There have been more than 1,700 campus accident injury cases since 2001, with 90 percent been covered by insurance while the rest are still under mediation.

(Shanghai Daily October 1, 2007)