Hanoi school first grader abandoned on trip

Nguyen Thuy Hang, founder of the Archimedes School Network, a private school that claims to operate under international standards, said 20 students who were about to enter first grade at the Archimedes Academy primary school in Cau Giay District took a field trip to the pottery village of Bat Trang on Thursday.

There were five teachers and other employees on the bus for the trip, said Hang on Friday.

When the bus returned to the school at around 12:10 p.m., teachers forgot to take attendance as students left the bus.

After class had begun, the teachers realized one student was missing, so they split up and contacted the bus driver to search for the student.

At 12:40 p.m., the school was notified by the driver and parents that the student had fallen asleep on the bus, and then called their parents upon waking up. The student was later taken back to the school by the driver.

“The student’s mental state was stable, and after eating lunch and resting, they continued to have fun experiences with teachers and friends,” a press release from the school read.

The school’s management board on Thursday apologized to the student’s family for what happened. The board said the family wished for the student to continue studying there, and requested that procedures be rechecked so no such incident happens again in the future.

The school has since held a meeting with all student management employees to recheck procedures, report on the matter to the education department and form a committee to discipline the teachers who violated regulations.

In 2019, a first grader at the Gateway International School in Hanoi died after being left on a bus for nine hours.