Ho Chi Minh City: Preventing drowning among students.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training has issued a document urging the implementation of measures to prevent drowning among students in the city, aiming to enhance the safety of children during this time and throughout the summer break.

Accordingly, the leaders of the City Department of Education and Training (GD-ĐT) requested that heads of units review, update, and seriously implement regulations and guidelines from the Ministry of Education and Training, the City People's Committee, and the Department of Education and Training on preventing student drowning, on guiding safe swimming lessons for students; and build a safe learning environment, preventing accidents, injuries, and drowning suitable for each educational level. In particular, "this must be considered a regular and urgent task."

A swimming class for children in the summer.

Units must proactively develop or review and supplement their drowning prevention plans for 2026, ensuring clear objectives, targets, implementation content, and assigned responsibilities. They will be held accountable to the Department of Education and Training if implementation is superficial, delayed, or ineffective.

The Department of Education and Training requests that all schools organize a high-intensity communication campaign to guide students in identifying safety risks at ponds, lakes, rivers, canals, streams, swimming pools, water reservoirs, flooded areas, and locations with potential drowning hazards on their way to school, at their residences, and in playgrounds.

Education on knowledge and skills to prevent drowning should be integrated into various subjects, educational activities, physical education, and experiential activities. Teachers should focus on educating children on self-protection skills, situational handling skills, knowing how to call for help, and providing age-appropriate first aid.

Schools should "proactively develop plans to organize safe swimming lessons according to their specific conditions, using the following options: organizing lessons at the school's or cluster of schools' swimming pools; collaborating with community swimming pool facilities; coordinating with parents and qualified swimming facilities to organize swimming lessons outside of school, while also establishing a mechanism for checking, evaluating, and recognizing results according to unified criteria."

At the same time, the leaders of the Department of Education and Training stated that to ensure the prevention of drowning among students, coordination between schools, families, and local authorities in student management is essential. Special attention should be paid to student management during summer vacation, periods of heavy rain, high tides, flooding, and in areas with many ponds, lakes, rivers, canals, and water storage facilities.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-phong-chong-duoi-nuoc-cho-hoc-sinh-10417430.html