The national pain caused by the death of thousands of students in the Sichuan earthquake can hardly be eased unless substantial progress is made in making school buildings the safest structures nationwide.

State Council regulations on quake reconstruction, which were released and took effect on Tuesday, stipulate that the earthquake resistance level of school buildings and other public structures must be higher than ordinary housing. Immediately after that, the ministries of education and housing and urban-rural development issued a notice requiring all school structures be checked for their quake-resistance strength.

These are welcoming signs that this unbearable pain is having an effect on what both central and local governments must do to prevent similar disasters from happening again to our school children.