UWC (Singapore) student, 17, dies on unchaperoned school trip to Cambodia, parents urge review of guidelines

SINGAPORE – The death of a 17-year-old international school student during a school trip to Cambodia has sparked concern among several parents who want answers and a review of guidelines on overseas excursions. Kaira Karmakar, an Indian national who was studying at United World College of South-east Asia (UWCSEA) in Dover Road, died in a road accident on June 1 while on a school trip to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

She was with a group of classmates, and there were no teachers or adult representatives accompanying them. UWCSEA was notified at 3.07am the same day. The school declined to say how many students were part of the group. UWCSEA Dover head Patrick Hurworth, in an e-mail to parents on June 1, informed them that she had died while in Cambodia for the school’s project week.

The e-mail, seen by The Straits Times, said students have the option of going on an overseas field trip for project week as part of the grade 11 curriculum, and that it is “designed to support readiness for independent life” after graduation. UWCSEA, a top international school with campuses around the world, has two in Singapore – in Dover Road and Tampines. Grade 11 is similar to the first year in junior college in Singapore.

read more https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/uwc-student-17-dies-on-unchaperoned-school-trip-to-cambodia-several-parents-ask-for-policy-review