Hanoi bans spontaneous school trips after drowning deaths

A representative of the Department of Education and Training on Wednesday requested schools abide by regulations regarding the organization of field trips and other social activities.

Besides ensuring safety, activities must be educational and appropriate for students' ages.

The department requires schools to map out plans for field trips, including the time, location and participants, before getting approval from parents and sending the plans to education departments.

Four days prior, a parent and a 6th grader from Hanoi drowned after being swept away by river rapids during a field trip to the Xuan Thuy National Park in nearby Nam Dinh Province.

The trip was organized by the class themselves, where students, accompanied by parents, planned to catch clams.

When the water rose, the sands gave way and caused the students to be swept away by the river. A parent jumped in to save the students but was also carried away by the current.

Following the incident, a number of Hanoi schools canceled several field trips, which usually happen at the end of the school year.