Poor design blamed for school woes

Poor design, substandard materials and other defects could have caused many school buildings to collapse in the May 12 earthquake, an official said yesterday.

A rush to build schools in recent years might have led to the construction flaws, Ma Zongjin, director of the National Wenchuan Earthquake Expert Committee, told a press conference, organized by the State Council Information Office.

Many people suspect substandard materials were used to build the schools that collapsed in the 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake that killed about 70,000 people, including thousands of students.