Indian teen dies on unchaperoned school trip to Cambodia: Report

Singapore, Sep 5

Parents have been asking for a review of guidelines on overseas excursions from a top school in Singapore after a 17-year-old Indian student died in June during one such trip to Cambodia.

Kaira Karmakar, a student of United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) on Dover Road, died in a road accident on June 1 while she was on an unchaperoned school trip to Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, The Straits Times reported.

She was with a group of classmates, and there were no teachers or adult representatives accompanying them. The school declined to say how many students were part of the group, the news report said.

In an email sent to Kaira's parents on June 1, UWCSEA informed that their daughter had died while in Cambodia for the school’s project week.

As per the school guidelines, 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.

The process is supervised by a teacher who does not go on the trip.

UWCSEA head of college Nick Alchin said in an email on June 7 that the school is planning to have an external investigation done into the accident in addition to reviewing the project week guidelines.

Alchin said the final report will be submitted to the audit and risk committee of the school’s board of governors, which is responsible for reviewing school processes.

However, one parent told The Times that it has been nearly three months and there has been no update on the incident since the June 7 e-mail from Alchin.

“The school has not informed the parents of the outcome of the investigation and obviously expects that this has been forgotten throughout the summer holidays. As a parent, I feel voiceless and cornered."

The parent, who didn't wish to be named, also asked why the school would allow students to go on an overseas trip without being accompanied by an adult.

While UWCSEA declined to answer queries on the accident or the review of project week guidelines, it praised Kaira as an "exceptional and an outstanding student" in a statement.

“Kaira was exceptional, an outstanding student who had already achieved so much in her life and who shared her blessings freely. UWCSEA has named a scholarship in Kaira’s honour, so that a young student of great promise and potential can experience an education at the school she loved,” the statement read.

According to the UWC website, an endowment has also been set up in Kaira’s name, which will help support UWCSEA scholarships, among other things.