It is very sad to read about a six-year-old girl drowning during her swimming lesson (Girl, six, dies in swimming lesson tragedy; Jan 12).

There must be guidelines that swimming instructors must follow.

All swimming instructors must know cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Lifeguards at the swimming complex must be allowed to check the instructor's licence and ensure he knows the rules before he can teach.

They should also periodically observe the lessons being taught.

If instructors are found to have broken rules, then they should be banned from teaching.

Swimming classes should be kept small, with no more than six students in a class.

Students should be within reach and sight of the instructors. Floats must be worn at all times when the students are in the water.

The heights of the students are also an important factor that must be considered when deciding which part of the pool to conduct the lesson in.

Lastly, lessons in private pools should be banned, as most of these pools do not have any official lifeguards to check the instructors.

Tony Wee Gim Leong