BEIJING - The Ministry of Education on Tuesday urged local education authorities and schools to improve transport security for students following a series of deadly road accidents.

Education authorities and schools should cooperate with public security and transport departments to strictly crack down on the illicit practice of overloading and ensure the transport security of students, according to a circular published by the ministry on its website.

Freight cars and farm vehicles should be checked to ban them from carrying students, according to the circular.

Education authorities and schools should also teach students to never ride in an overloaded vehicle and should inform parents of the risks of letting children ride in a truck or agricultural vehicle, it said.

Since October 27, a string of road accidents has occurred in Yunnan, Guangxi and Gansu because of overloading, leaving at least 18 people, mostly students, dead.