'I majored in building structure and I don't share the view that more schools collapsed, compared to other buildings in the earthquake zones,' said Mr Qi Ji, vice-minister of housing and urban-rural development, at a press conference in Beijing.

'Other buildings, including other public and residential buildings, also collapsed,' he told reporters when asked if schools in quake-battered areas were less structurally sound than other buildings.

His comments are bound to further infuriate hundreds of bereaved parents across south- western China's Sichuan province who blame shoddy construction linked to official corruption for their children's deaths.

In recent days, many have staged public protests and faced-off with the local authorities, demanding justice and answers over why so many school buildings collapsed during the May 12 earthquake when surrounding structures remained relatively intact.

On Tuesday, about 100 parents protesting in front of a courthouse in Dujiangyan city were surrounded and dragged away by police. At least 300 students were crushed when the Juyuan Middle School, in a suburb of Dujiangyan, crumbled in the earthquake.

According to state media, some 7,000 'classrooms' had collapsed in the quake. Although there has been no official word on the number of student deaths, some reports have estimated that at least 9,000 perished.

The government has promised a thorough investigation into the quality of school buildings in quake-affected areas.

Individual experts have suggested that some schools were indeed built using poor construction materials, but Beijing has so far kept mum on any official findings.

However, Mr Qi yesterday acknowledged that the government will be enforcing higher building standards when undertaking reconstruction of quake-hit areas.

He did not reveal details but referred to a draft regulation on post-quake restoration and reconstruction passed by China's State Council, or Cabinet, on Wednesday.

The draft regulation, introduced at an executive meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, called for special requirements to enhance quake-resistance levels of infrastructure, in particular schools, hospitals and other public buildings.

Experts The Straits Times spoke to said that while current building standards do exist and usually require structures in active seismic zones to be built to withstand magnitude 7 earthquakes, such standards are loosely enforced, especially in poor, rural areas.

Reconstruction of quake-battered areas will take at least eight years, Mr Tang Kai, director-general of the Housing Ministry's planning department, said yesterday at the same press briefing.

In the meantime, the government is racing to put up one million pre-fabricated housing units in three months to house some five million people made homeless by the earthquake.

The task, said Mr Qi, was 'arduous' as the speed of putting up the polystyrene huts lagged behind the need for proper shelter.

tracyq@sph.com.sg