Indian Student Studying in Singapore Died During a School Trip to Cambodia

School trips are supposed to be fun and educational.

However, tragedies sometimes occur.

A 17-year-old international student was on an unsupervised school trip to Cambodia and died in a road accident.

Now, parents are asking for answers and are calling for a review of guidelines.

Student Dies on Unsupervised School Trip

Kaira Karmakar, an Indian national studying at United World College of Southeast Asia (UWCSEA) in Dover, was only 17 when she died.

She was on a school trip to Cambodia with some classmates when she died in a road accident on 1 June.

The shocker: No teachers or adult chaperones were accompanying them.

UWCSEA declined to confirm the number of students part of the group.

The school was informed of the tragedy at 3:07 am on the same day.

The students had been in Cambodia for the school’s Project Week.

In UWCSEA, Grade 11 students (similar to year one of Junior College) can go on an overseas field trip for Project Week as a part of their curriculum.

The head of UWCSEA Dover, Patrick Hurworth, informed parents of the tragedy through via email on 1 June.

According to The Straits Times, an email sent on 7 June by UWCSEA head of college Nick Alchin explained the process of planning this overseas field trip.

Students of UWCSEA would break into small groups of four to six and spend up to six months planning their trips.

A teacher supervises the process. However, the teacher will not go on the trip.

One student in every group is given compulsory first-aid training.

Furthermore, students can access a 24-hour emergency hotline, a list of local contacts and the closest hospitals.

Regarding the lack of supervision, Mr Alchin called this field trip “different” due to the intense preparation that goes into planning it.

In the email, he said the school planned to conduct an external investigation of the accident and Project Week.

He added that the final report would be submitted to the audit and risk committee of the school’s board of governors.

The Big Hoo-ha

One parent noted that although nearly three months have passed since that email, there have been no updates.

The parent questioned why the school would allow students to travel overseas without a chaperone.

Noting that the programme intended to “foster independence”, the parent called this intent a “poor excuse” and said that the school should have been aware that teenagers would try and test the rules.

According to The Straits Times, UWCSEA declined to answer questions about the incident.

It also refused to comment on the review of Project Week guidelines.

The parent added that the lack of updates is causing a sense of entrapment.

About Project Week in UWCSEA

UWCSEA is an international school with campuses across the globe.

There are two UWCSEA campuses in Singapore.

One is located in Dover, while the other is located in Tampines.

According to an article on the UWCSEA’s website, Project Week is “the highlight of High School for many UWCSEA students”.

It represents “a chance to travel outside Singapore with like-minded peers to work on a worthwhile project”.

The website states that “the trip is not a holiday. In fact, it is quite far from it”.

The trip is only approved if it has a “worthwhile” purpose that fulfils the official International Baccalaureate Diploma’s Creativity, Activity and Service requirements.

The website says every trip is subject to “multiple checks by the group’s teacher supervisor, Outdoor Education staff and Project Week coordinators”.

From the trip, students should learn about their strengths, areas of growth, overcoming new challenges, collaborative learning and planning, perseverance, and engaging with global issues.

The Straits Times reported that in 2023, more than 300 students from the Dover campus opted to go overseas for Project Week.

In comparison, about 240 students from the Tampines campus opted to travel abroad.

About 80 students across both campuses chose to stay in Singapore for Project Week.

Tribute to Kaira

Kaira’s friends have paid tribute to her memory on TikTok.

On Kaira’s last video on her TikTok account, many left comments expressing their condolences.

While UWCSEA has declined to comment on the incident, it released a joint statement with the Karmakar family.

It also established an endowment in Kaira’s name.

The statement said, “Thank you for considering a gift to the Kaira Karmakar Memorial Endowment at UWCSEA. 

“Established in partnership with Kaira’s family, this endowment will support the UWCSEA Scholarship Programme and our strategic initiatives more generally. 

“Together with the Kaira Karmakar Scholarship, it will secure Kaira’s legacy and ensure the College she loved continues to thrive and more students benefit from a UWCSEA education.”

Those keen on contributing to Kaira’s memorial endowment can do so here.

The Risk of School Trips

With the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions worldwide, school trips are coming back.

Of course, pandemic or no pandemic, school trips come with their own set of risks.

In 2019, 16-year-old Lachlan Cook fell sick on a trip to Vietnam with his school, Kilvington Grammar School in Australia.

He died in the hospital after being flown home.

He was suffering from type one diabetes and suffered from diabetic ketoacidosis, leading to his death.

The coroner called his death “preventable” and suggested that there were many opportunities for staff to provide him with medical attention.

In a similar vein, road accidents are always a risk – whether you’re overseas or in Singapore.

In addition, teenagers are known for testing boundaries.

In response to Kaira’s death, one Reddit user, claiming to be a graduate of UWCSEA, detailed his experience with going abroad for Project Week.

The user recounted, “I remember our Project Week, a bunch of 16-17 year old boys in Phuket, without adult supervision. We also managed to get two groups to the same location along with friends from other schools. You can imagine the kind of shenanigans a dozen teenage boys get up to.

“Our ‘project’ took about one day to complete, and the rest was just mayhem. Teenagers with no driving licence accidentally creasing their scooters into cafes, accidentally crashing jet skis into one another, alcohol, go-go bars, all the drama that goes with consorting with go-go girls etc.”

He added, “It’s definitely seen as a rite of passage as UWC, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves and think of it as anything other than an alcohol-fuelled holiday for a significant portion of the students.”

One of Kaira’s former classmates, a Grade 12 student known as Z, acknowledged that many often treat the trip as a holiday.

Speaking to The Straits Times, Z noted that the school is aware of the risks of letting students go unsupervised, advising students about partying and its consequences during the project’s planning stage.

However, Z added that whether students stick to the rules is up to an individual’s maturity and morality.

Despite the tragedy, Z said that chaperones should continue to be excluded from future overseas trips.

Noting that the presence of supervision would change the trip’s atmosphere, Z said that a proper trip would allow students to not only have an enjoyable time but allow them to learn skills as well.