China today put the official number of dead and missing schoolchildren from last year's Sichuan earthquake at 5,335, far lower than the number compiled from news reports at the time.
The number was announced by Tu Wentao, the province's education department head, at a news conference in the provincial capital Chengdu, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Many parents blame shoddy buildings for the deaths, pointing to apartments and government offices that survived while nearby schools fell.
The May 12th quake killed around 80,000 people in total.
A compilation of reports from Xinhua and local newspapers at the time put the number of dead and missing children and teachers at around 9,000.
Ai Weiwei, a prominent artist and building designer who has been compiling his own student death toll, told Reuters he did not believe the government numbers.
"First, these numbers far from reflect reality. Second, they are irresponsible," he said by telephone. Mr Ai said his volunteers had confirmed 5,200 deaths, and that there were probably another 1,000 or so who had also died. The total figure may be around 7,000, he added.
"They did not conduct a proper survey," Ai said of the official findings. "This reflects badly on the government's credibility."
Mr Tu also said 3,340 schools needed rebuilding following the quake.
Some parents who have pressed the government for redress have ended up being harassed or detained. Foreign reporters working in the disaster zone have also been roughed up, a measure of the government's sensitivity to protest and criticism.
Reuters