Mr. Chey Mongkol teaching Khmer language to students in Surin province (Photo provided)09 August 2009
By Kesor Ranya
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer
A source from Surin province indicated that the Surin province education department agreed to include Khmer language as part of the education curriculum in public schools.
While the border dispute along Preah Vihear temple has not been resolved yet, Khmer people living in the North of Surin province indicated that an official authorization was approved for the teaching of Khmer language in public schools in Thailand’s Isan provinces.
Chey Mongkol, Chairman of the Surin province Language and Culture Association, indicated that his association recently made the request to Thailand’s ministry of Education, asking for an official authorization to include several hours of Khmer language reading and writing teaching in school curriculum.
On Wednesday 05 August, the Surin province department of education agreed to this request and it also agreed to organize a conference that will bring in representatives from 30-40 primary and high schools from various districts in the province. The conference goal is to discuss the education of Khmer language in classrooms.
Chey Mongkol said: “I had a good talk with them. I met with the provincial education director to discuss about Khmer language. We had a good talk, we indicated that we live in the same country, there is no need to use the law to confront each other, we seek for a common understanding so that people will not say that Khmer do not hold cordial discussions with others. They agreed, after their meeting, they OKd it, then they asked me what to do? I wanted them to gather school principals and the majority of them agreed to include Khmer language in the teaching curriculum. I was told over the phone that 30-40 schools agreed to it.”
Based on the official plan, Khmer language teaching in public schools will be held for 2 hours per week, starting from grade 1 in elementary school to the end of 12th grade in high school. The teaching will ramp up starting on September, and the first school where the program will be initiated is located in Svay district.
The main problem facing the teaching of Khmer language is the lack of teachers. Chey Mongkol indicated that in order to resolve this issue, he will use students whom he has personally trained through his own initiative to maintain the Khmer language in Thailand.
Chey Mongkol added: “For the teachers, we will use our students, this is better because teachers in those schools are already busy with their work. If we use our students [to teach], this is a mean to attract more people to come to study. Furthermore, these Khmer teachers come from local villages, they do not disappear, unlike bringing teachers from outside and they could disappear very quickly.”
While the border dispute along Preah Vihear temple has not been resolved yet, Khmer people living in the North of Surin province indicated that an official authorization was approved for the teaching of Khmer language in public schools in Thailand’s Isan provinces.
Chey Mongkol, Chairman of the Surin province Language and Culture Association, indicated that his association recently made the request to Thailand’s ministry of Education, asking for an official authorization to include several hours of Khmer language reading and writing teaching in school curriculum.
On Wednesday 05 August, the Surin province department of education agreed to this request and it also agreed to organize a conference that will bring in representatives from 30-40 primary and high schools from various districts in the province. The conference goal is to discuss the education of Khmer language in classrooms.
Chey Mongkol said: “I had a good talk with them. I met with the provincial education director to discuss about Khmer language. We had a good talk, we indicated that we live in the same country, there is no need to use the law to confront each other, we seek for a common understanding so that people will not say that Khmer do not hold cordial discussions with others. They agreed, after their meeting, they OKd it, then they asked me what to do? I wanted them to gather school principals and the majority of them agreed to include Khmer language in the teaching curriculum. I was told over the phone that 30-40 schools agreed to it.”
Based on the official plan, Khmer language teaching in public schools will be held for 2 hours per week, starting from grade 1 in elementary school to the end of 12th grade in high school. The teaching will ramp up starting on September, and the first school where the program will be initiated is located in Svay district.
The main problem facing the teaching of Khmer language is the lack of teachers. Chey Mongkol indicated that in order to resolve this issue, he will use students whom he has personally trained through his own initiative to maintain the Khmer language in Thailand.
Chey Mongkol added: “For the teachers, we will use our students, this is better because teachers in those schools are already busy with their work. If we use our students [to teach], this is a mean to attract more people to come to study. Furthermore, these Khmer teachers come from local villages, they do not disappear, unlike bringing teachers from outside and they could disappear very quickly.”
20 comments:
Good for our Khmer Surin. One day, they can study in Cambodia, like the Khmer from Khmer Krom.
Please advise, how to be volunteer as Khmer instructor there.
I'm really happy to hear that our khmer Surins are able to study khmer language. But, one of my concern is that why would Thai education department support this proposal with so much enthusiasm? Is it a plan to create another history that Thai people know more about khmer people, that khmer people came from Thailand, that khmer people stole their culture?
I want to be a part of this invaluable mission.
FUCK THAILAND................THAILAND BELONGS TO KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
Congratulation to Mr. Chey Mongkol. I am very happy to hear about your achievement and efforts.
The teachers have to be the people (Khmer or Lao) from the Surin area, because they understand the situation better and it is their future.
Can anyone see this dumb 3:25 PM cursing? That's why I said KI is for many Dumb like this one.
"is dear god blind?"
7:49, not so many people are little kids like 3:25. Keep in mind that the audience of KI range from 15-55. People of all ages, persuasion and maturity reads these magazine. Don't you use an idiot to generalize the entire reader of KI.
Bravo Lok Chey Mongkol.
I am very interested to be a volunteer to teach again like I have done in the past in 1987 for 2 years.
Last time I went through US AID program to teach in Surin and in Site B camp. But now I do not know which organozation they offer for this teaching khmer language to our children in Surin. Anyone advise please.
Thanks.
Koh Poulo Wai
http://www.kanjanee.com/kanjanee1.htm
reality of Khmer
At least Mr. Chey Mongkol is better than those unpatriotic men like HUN SEN, Sihanouk etc. He has had asked the Thai to allow teaching Khmer in their schools. I'm so proud of him.
Koun Khmer for live,
yes, never forget your mother tongue. please help to keep khmer identity and language alive by encourage ethnic khmer heritage people study, even self-study the khmer language, writing and reading. khmer is actually very easy to learn, just learn the very basic like our khmer alphabet and how to write it because from the basic, everything else is real easy. don't let the look deceive you. khmer is not hard. come study in cambodia, if you have to, khmer in cambodia will help you learn khmer language.
don't be ashame to speak khmer language; it is a beautiful language like in the oldie song. i encourage all khmer to listen to the classical songs of sin sisamouth, ros sereysothea, pen ron, huy mease, so savoeun, meas samoeun, etc, etc..., listen to them not to much of the meaning, but the beautiful clear and fluent khmer voices. i think the classic songs represent the best khmer voices anyone can speak or sound it out. please keep learning and studying khmer language. god bless all khmers.
we also welcome all khmer surin to come study khmer language in cambodia as well. come take the study material from cambodia and take back to surin to learn and teach your family and kids how to speak, read and write khmer. please don't forget your khmer heritage and language over there. we may be separated by political boundary, but our spirit and language knows no boundary and we should be proud to have khmer heritage. please study hard! god bless khmer surin.
Great!!!
As I said Khmer must hope in surviving in the future.
National Solidarity and United!!!
Step by Step....
The Khmer government should offer scholarship to Khmer Surint for Khmer language and culture.
KHMER EMPIRE ONCE AGAIN! WAHOOOO...
We should continue war with Thailand and get our lands back, we had enough weapons now, why stop?
khmer wake up! learn our beautiful khmer language. study hard and practice khmer speaking, reading and writing as well. don't be ashame to speak our khmer language everywhere we go! it's good to be bilingual with khmer as well as any other language. we all should be proud to have khmer heritage. please to preserve khmer identity like language, culture, tradition, custom and costume as well. god bless all khmer.
Don't worry about the Thai too much. It's the Viet/Youn that you should be worrying. They are over in Cambodia and nobody dare to say a word againt them.
khmer wake up!
All Khmer, Khmer Krom and Khmer in Surin, wake up to unite.
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