|
Download A primary school has installed new desks and chairs to make sure pupils adopt the correct posture, especially when reading, to avoid eyestrain or the risk of becoming shortsighted, an increasingly common affliction among children. Zhang Jianmin, headmaster of Zhanglin Primary School in Wuhan, Hubei province, said the new desks and chairs were provided by an eye care center in the city. Each desk has an adjustable steel bar that can help students keep their eyes at least 30 cm from books. The school is one of 92 primary and middle schools being monitored by the city's department of education to prevent children from getting eyestrain. The desks and chairs, 56 sets, were provided to the school in January and were put into use two weeks ago when the new semester began. A class of 42 first-grade students is using them. The school carried out a survey in September and found that about 7 percent of its 1,093 students said they suffer from a form of myopia, often referred to as being nearsighted. The exact cause of myopia is unknown but it is thought to be the result of genetic and or environmental factors , such as reading in poor light, or being too close from a text. Most of the parents of the schoolchildren are migrant workers working outside Wuhan. All of the children board at the Xinzhou district school. Yang Lihua, head of the Wuhan Youth Eyecare Center, said the desks were introduced to 19 schools on a trial basis. | 
