The official media of the Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly claimed that China is “one of the safest countries,” but in recent years, indiscriminate incidents of violence have been occurring frequently in China, many of which have taken place at the entrances of primary and secondary schools. Parents of students in various places are seen standing guard at school entrances with long sticks, some of them being elderly parents, a situation that has shocked netizens. Reports have shown that the chaotic scheduling of school guard duty has caused dissatisfaction among parents.
According to a report by “Cover News” on September 19th, a parent from Wutongqiao Second Pier Primary School in Letan, Leshan, Sichuan recently exposed on the internet that the school was requiring parents to take turns standing guard at the school gates during school hours, conflicting with the parents’ daily work schedules.
The so-called “school guard duty” is set up to ensure the safety of primary and secondary school students going to and from school, stationed at the school gates and surrounding areas by staff members and student parents working together.
The parent revealed that in order to take turns on guard duty, many families have had to have grandparents take over, and some families have been forced to pay others to take their place.
The “School Guard Duty Work System of Wutongqiao Second Pier Primary School, Niu Hua Town, Wutongqiao District, Leshan City” provided by the parent shows that the guard duty consists of school administrators, security personnel, and parents, with four parents guarding the school per day.
On September 17, the Wutongqiao District Education Bureau responded by stating that the education sector did not mandate parents to participate in guard duty, and has urged the school to immediately rectify the situation, cancel mandatory scheduling, and change it to voluntary registration to eliminate the phenomenon of elderly individuals or paid substitutes on duty.
However, a report by “Cover News” on September 18 found that there were still elderly individuals on duty, with all four guard duty members being grandparents that day, the oldest one being 67 years old.
Photos published in the report show these elderly individuals holding long sticks, wearing vests with “School Guard Duty” written on them, standing guard at the school gates.
Public information indicates that primary and secondary schools and kindergartens across China are required to establish a “school guard duty” mechanism. In 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Education jointly issued a document requiring the nationwide implementation of “school guard duty” and “peak-hour duty” in urban primary and secondary schools and kindergartens.
A video circulating online shows a row of parents standing at the entrance of Taiyuan No.32 High School, each holding a long stick while on guard duty.
In the comments section, many netizens questioned: “If it’s so safe, why so many people guarding? If it’s not safe, then why so many people guarding…?”
The video sparked discussions on overseas social media platforms, with comments like: “Have you ever encountered such a situation in any other country? The safest big country!” “How did society come to this? Is going to school so dangerous now? It wasn’t like this before.” “Isn’t this supposed to be the safest country?” “Such a sense of security is a bit terrifying.” “One person attends school, the whole family acts as guards.”
“In the current education system, there’s no real difference between volunteering and being forced to do something because offending a teacher could mean being treated unfavorably, potentially affecting learning outcomes, academic performance, and future education prospects – something that parents consider almost as important as life itself.”
On January 5, 2026, in Maoming City, Guangdong Province, a young mother was spotted standing guard at a school with her child in the cold wind, holding a flagpole. The blogger raised the question: “How should duty be defined in such circumstances?”
On December 29, 2025, in Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province, a 45-year-old student parent participating in voluntary guard duty at the entrance of a school suddenly fainted. First-aid measures were taken on the scene, and the individual was urgently hospitalized. Despite efforts, the parent passed away at 7:08 pm that evening.