Students participate in a swimming lesson at the Quán Hàu Primary School. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Thủy

QUẢNG TRỊ — As summer approaches and children spend more time near rivers, lakes and beaches, Quảng Trị Province is intensifying efforts to equip pupils with swimming and drowning prevention skills, viewing the issue as a long-term priority to protect children’s lives.

Schools across the province have integrated drowning prevention into both curricular and extracurricular activities, helping pupils build awareness and practical self-protection skills.

Quán Hàu Primary School has emerged as one of the leading schools in promoting drowning prevention education.

Thanks to a range of preventive measures, the school has reported no drowning incidents involving pupils for many consecutive years. Swimming lessons have become a regular practical activity, alongside education sessions designed around real-life situations.

Through these activities, pupils learn about the causes and risks of drowning accidents and how to identify dangerous areas such as ponds, lakes, rivers, streams and unsupervised locations.

Hoàng Minh Khang, a fifth-grade pupil, said: "Through the lessons, I understand the dangers of swimming in rivers or lakes without adults present. We've been taught how to recognise deep water areas, strong currents, and how to handle dangerous situations."

Nguyễn Từ Hiển, a physical education teacher at the school, said swimming lessons were not simply treated as a sport but as an essential survival skill for children.

During lessons, teachers combine basic swimming techniques with emergency response training, including how to react in drowning situations, self-rescue methods and ways to assist others within a child’s capabilities.

Teachers also regularly remind pupils never to swim in rivers or lakes without adult supervision. School officials said cooperation between the school and families has helped improve pupils’ awareness.

Lê Thị Hường, the school’s principal, said the school has recently expanded summer swimming lessons for pupils while working with the provincial Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Police to guide drowning prevention skills.

The school also organises extracurricular activities, playground events and swimming competitions to encourage participation and raise awareness among children.

“As a result, pupils not only learn to swim but also develop self-protection consciousness,” she said.

In the coming period, the school plans to continue strengthening education efforts while coordinating more closely with parents and local authorities to improve pupil supervision during the summer holiday.

Close coordination

At Đồng Phú Junior Secondary School, drowning prevention activities are regularly organised in coordination with social organisations and relevant authorities.

During the Swim for Life programme held at the end of April, pupils received training on recognising risks, self-floating techniques, staying calm during emergencies, safe rescue principles and basic first aid.

Đoàn Thị Tình Thương, principal of the school, said drowning prevention remained a major priority because drowning continues to be a leading cause of child deaths, particularly among children living near rivers, lakes and coastal areas.

Recently, the school has organised awareness activities during morning assemblies, integrated water safety education into subjects and extracurricular programmes and worked with projects to guide first aid and underwater incident response.

The school also cooperates closely with parents to strengthen supervision of pupils outside school hours.

"Our message to pupils, parents, and the community is that every pupil needs to learn to swim; never swim in ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, or the sea without adult supervision. The community and society must care, join hands in education, management and protection to effectively prevent drowning among children," Thương said.

Alongside local efforts, several organisations and projects have partnered with schools to implement drowning prevention initiatives.

One example is the Safe Swimming – Swim for Life project, sponsored by the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation from 2021 to 2025.

The project has enabled more than 5,000 children in the province to learn swimming free of charge, provided water safety education to more than 22,000 pupils, installed 72 warning signs and 330 communication boards, and distributed 640 life jackets and float-backpacks to pupils in flood-prone areas.

According to project figures, swimming proficiency among pupils at participating schools reached 76 per cent, compared with 28 per cent at schools not involved in the programme.

Phan Hữu Huyện, deputy director of the Quảng Trị Department of Education and Training, said protecting pupils’ lives and raising awareness of drowning prevention remained a top priority for the sector.

In recent years, the education sector has focused on awareness campaigns, physical education programmes that include swimming, training pupils in emergency response skills and improving teachers’ capabilities.

Authorities have also coordinated with families and local communities to organise playground activities and swimming classes while strengthening supervision of pupils during the summer.

In the future, the sector plans to expand swimming education models and advise the provincial People’s Committee on issuing a resolution aimed at universal swimming education for primary and junior secondary pupils. — VNS