On 1 June, a United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) Dover Road student passed away during an unchaperoned school trip to Cambodia.
Her death was due to a road accident, and she was with a group of classmates at the time.
The school had said they would conduct an external investigation on the matter.
However, parents claimed that they have not received any update since.
The Straits Times (ST) reports that 17-year-old Kaira Karmakar was on a school trip to Phom Penh, Cambodia when the incident occurred.
Source: Kaira Karmakar on LinkedIn
She was only with her classmates, with no teachers or adults accompanying them. The school has not confirmed the number of students that were in the group.
Kaira Karmakar met with a road accident and UWCSEA said it was informed of this at 3.07am on 1 June.
The Dover campus head Patrick Hurworth then sent an email on the same day to parents informing them of the tragedy.
In the email, the school clarified that the overseas trip was a project week option in grade 11, to support “readiness for independent life” after graduation.
About a week later on 7 June, UWCSEA head of college Nick Alchin said in an email that students, in small groups of four to six, spend up to six months planning the trips.
A teacher supervises the process but does not go on it themselves.
Source: UWCSEA
“It is different to all other outdoor education trips,” Mr Alchin stated. “The structure is to use a period of detailed supervised planning to support student travel without an accompanying UWCSEA adult.”
One student in every group receives mandatory first-aid training. In addition, students have access to a 24-hour hotline and a list of the closest hospitals alongside local contacts.
Mr Alchin added that the school was planning to conduct an external investigation into the accident and project week. They would submit the final report to the audit and risk committee of the school’s board of governors.
The board, ST reported, is responsible for the review of school processes.
However, nearly three months have passed since the email, with there being no updates, according to one parent.
“The school has not informed the parents of the outcome of the investigation,” the parent said. “[UWCSEA] obviously expects that this has been forgotten throughout the summer holidays.”
As a parent, I feel voiceless and cornered.
Claiming that the tragedy was preventable, the parent further questioned why the school had allowed an unchaperoned overseas trip to take place.
Source: Google Maps
Stating the trip was to foster independence was “nothing short of a poor excuse,” the parent claimed. “The school should have been aware that teenagers are prone to testing boundaries.”
Kaira’s former classmate, a grade 12 student who wished to be known as Z, said the trip was an escape from school and often treated as a holiday especially with “no adult supervision.”
Partying was also common, but the school was aware of this possibility.
“The school talks about it a lot in the planning stages and warns us of the consequences,” they said.
“But at the end of the day, it’s up to students and their maturity and moral compass to make decisions. Sometimes that includes breaking rules.”
As for whether future overseas trips should have chaperones, Z disagreed and said the “whole vibe and point of [them]” would change.
“Going forward, this will serve as a good example for students not to drink or whatever,” Z added.
ST reports that UWCSEA has declined to address queries on the tragedy or the project week review.
The school has posted a tribute for Kaira, however, stating that they have named a scholarship in her honour.
“Kaira was exceptional, an outstanding student who had already achieved so much in her life and who shared her blessings freely,” UWCSEA said.
It has also put up an endowment in Kaira’s name together with her family to support UWCSEA scholarships, in addition to other initiatives.
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Featured image adapted from Kaira Karmakar on LinkedIn and Google Maps.
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