Every day after school, hundreds of parents crowd in front of the school gates, waiting for their children.

This can be seen at every primary and middle school in every city. When kids get out of school, the streets are partly or entirely blocked by the crowds and cars, as noisy as a busy market.

The jams at the school gates have become a hot issue recently. Only a little over a decade ago, there were no such hordes of parents waiting to pick up their kids.

As most primary and middle school students lived in nearby apartment blocks, many of them walked home in groups, and some middle school students rode bikes.

Today things have changed a lot. Almost all the parents of kindergarteners pick up and drop off their children. And 90 percent of parents continue to do this when their kids go to primary school, while half of the parents still do so when their kids go to middle school.

Many blame parents for over-protecting children. However, there are some other reasons behind this phenomenon.

With more cars in the street, the traffic conditions are much more dangerous today. Thousands of children die in traffic accidents every year, and child abduction cases have received prominent media coverage.

Some cities also saw kids assaulted in the streets. All these shocking numbers show that safety has become a worrying issue for parents, prompting them to take a closer watch over their kids.

However understandable parents' concerns, this behavior is problematic. It turns the start and end of the school day into an extra rush hour, blocking China's already overcrowded streets.

Moreover, as most primary schools finish classes at around 4 to 5 pm, parents who want to pick up their kids have to leave work an hour or two early. For kids whose parents cannot control their working time freely, their grandparents have to take over the responsibility.

Besides parents, schools are also responsible for students' safety. Authorities should seriously consider providing school buses, which may be one of the best solutions available.

Going along fixed routes, school buses can pick students at stops and take them directly to the school. Parents only need to take their kids to the nearest bus stops and see their kids get on the bus safely. It doesn't only solve the crowding outside schools, but also helps kids to develop social abilities and independence through the social life of the bus.

With only a small number of schools providing school buses at present, parents in some cities have tried other ways. Some parents living nearby take turns at car pooling, while others hire a reliable driver, often a relative, to do it.

Schools could also arrange the time that students leave schools more reasonably. For example, students from different classes might be let out of school in sequence so that the traffic outside the school can be more regulated.

School buses are the best choice and a necessary service that schools should provide. Professional and careful drivers are also key to the safety of children, as are up-to-date buses. Rural school bus routes have often suffered accidents due to bad driving or aged vehicles.

In any circumstance, the safety of students must come first.

The author is a journalist with CCTV. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn