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A bus carrying 47 people overturned in Chengmai county, Hainan province, on April 10, killing eight school students. This tragedy triggered a debate on whether we should encourage schools to organize spring outings. In the case of Heifei city, many teachers said that spring outings should still be encouraged by taking measures to ensure students'safety.
Since last Friday, students of Hefei Xiaoyaojin primary school were still enjoying happy outings with friends. Grade Two students hiked around Binhu Lake for a "Hone tour"; Grade Three and Four students visited factories for an "Industry tour", and Grade Five and Six students traveled to Nanjing for a "Learning through traveling tour."
Mrs Li, mother of a Grade Four student said that the school designed different outings for different ages and made contingency plans well in advance, which reassured parents. She also confirmed that she was very supportive of encouraging her child to participate in spring outings, traveling with teachers and fellow students together. She thought it's a unique experience which is different from family travel.
An unnamed school principal from Luyang district in Heifei said that in fact, not just this year, but every spring in recent years, there has been a debate on whether we should encourage schools to organize spring outings. Many schools have cancelled their spring outings to avoid taking responsibility for accidents. But the trend is still to take students out to enjoy spring.
Recently, Hefei Education Bureau issued a security management notice which emphasized that student outings must adhere to the "voluntary" principle and schools must take effective measures to ensure the safety of teachers and students. As directed, a spring outing must get parental consent in advance.
Schools are required to announce the charges and plans for the spring outing, and parents are required to sign their agreement for children to take part. Schools are also requested to conduct safety training for tour members and generate a detailed contingency plan. In addition, schools need to guide students to be disciplined while traveling.
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