Inside Education Excellence

24 Aug 2012

By Ung Bun Ang

Cambodia500

INSIDE EDUCATION EXCELLENCE

One has only to look at the recent Bac II examination to find excellence in Cambodian education. The government is too modest when claiming the exam process is acceptable; its promised prosecutions for irregularities turn out to be unnecessary. It must be proud of its education policy that prepares youth for a future as well as contributing to a high GDP. A survey by social researcher Kem Lai confirms the students’ potential.

The survey indicates students take initiatives. An overwhelming 92% of the student respondents say they initiate collections of money for exam officials; however, they play down the significance of their initiative by saying the collection is not so original; it has already become a “culture”. They are also creative in calling for divine interventions before the exam.

The students are generous, caring for one another, and work well together. According to the survey, while the 92% initiates the collections, only two-thirds can afford to chip in. However, 78% of the respondents claim they share their work and copy from each other. These are excellent pre-requisites for teamwork.

The teamwork spreads beyond examination rooms as the students and their cohorts are also smart enough to use the state-of-the-art technology to their advantage. The survey indicates 55% of exam answers are copied from phones that have access to email and Facebook facilities.

The cashflows indeed signify economic prosperity. The students must come from well-to-do families to afford the modern technology and the exam officials. According to the survey, the average payment is USD30 per student; some parents claim they have paid up to USD200. Even student monks can pay.

The cash ultimately helps keep a high GDP growth rate. The total collection is estimated to be USD2.28 million. This is a temporary relief for poorly-paid exam officials who claim in the survey they receive an average of only USD17 per head. As their number on the ground doing legwork is a lot less than that of the paying students, and their average receipt is less than the average payment by student, there must be some leftover from the exam officials share. It goes over their head – straight into to pockets of the Personal Interest Group that oversee the exam process. Only they can confirm the exact amount involved. Based on their receipts in previous years, only they can assess if the BAC II exam process this year is better or worse than before.

Nevertheless, some killjoy would claim the whole exam is a cheat, making hard work for exams an option, and shaping up a bad future. More students will get their BAC II certificate, but their average academic ability will decrease. After all, the survey claims only 25% of the student respondents say the corrupt examination process is not just, while 50% claim it is, and the rest have no idea what is happening. This outcome is, however, consistent with another rush for certificates that shows PhD holders in Cambodia increases their average age but lowers their average IQ.

Ung Bun Ang

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