Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has pledged to improve safety and provide more school buses after the deaths of 19 children in a massively overcrowded bus sparked a public outcry.

Wen's remarks came after 19 children and two adults were killed earlier this month in north China's Gansu province when their overcrowded bus collided with a lorry. The nine-seater bus was carrying 64 passengers at the time of the wreck.

"In recent days, a series of big accidents involving school buses has led to bitter hatred among the people. These accidents have also made me uneasy," Wen said in remarks Sunday that were posted on government websites.

"School bus safety must become a focal point of every region and every government department."

Wen also cited a September 26 school bus accident that left seven children dead in Shanxi province in northern China and another accident Friday in Liaoning province in the east that injured 35 school students.

He pledged to issue new regulations on school bus safety within a month and ensure funding for safe transportation for school children.

Following the Gansu accident, the government ordered nationwide checks on school bus safety in an effort to curb rampant overcrowding.

Authorities said last week they had formally arrested the head of the kindergarten operating the bus. The driver, who died, was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road above the speed limit.

The kindergarten — which has more than 700 children enrolled — reportedly had only four mini-buses at its disposal, and seats in all four vehicles had been removed to accommodate more people.

Local authorities have said families of the victims will each receive 436,000 yuan ($69,000) in compensation.

Children are often crammed into buses for their journeys to school in China, especially in rural areas.

The accidents have occurred on China's notoriously dangerous and overcrowded roads, where drivers often flout traffic safety laws.

Almost 70,000 people died in road accidents in China in 2010 — around 190 fatalities a day — according to police statistics.