Khmer Surin seek Khmer language teachers from Cambodia

Mr. Chey Mongkol indicated that the search for Khmer language teachers in Surin, as reported in the following RFA article, was initiated by Mr. Moeung Son, most likely with some ulterior motive. Mr. Chey Mongkol provided the following clarification:

I have a problem with Moeung Sonn, and now he comes to Surin to organize the villagers of Phum Svay to form the Association. He works with Mr.Chakri of Thai-Khmer association. Not just that, he has invited many people in Surin that he knows the day that he has visited the school where I have taught last month.

I told him not to form any organization, and it is because he is not a Thai nationale, and secondly, he will make people confusing, and most of the Thai authority may suspect about our intention. I never think about reunification of the Khmer at all. I just want to protect and to promote Khmer culture in Surin.

What he does will have an unknown effect on his life because we all know that, he is a fugitive, although he is a French nationale, but at least if Thai authority is concerned, he may not be able to enter Thailand again. That is bad for his business. He is now in Aranyaprathet, and he will come to Surin this Thursday and the meeting with the villagers of Phum Svay will be held on Friday at 4 p.m.

Sincerely,

Cheymongkol
0875815514
my email: khmersurin@gmail.com

09 Oct 2010
By Hang Savyut
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Soch
Click here to read the article in Khmer

A group of intellectuals from Surin province, Thailand, who know how to read and write Khmer still, indicated that they plan to meet with Cambodian officials in Oddar Meanchey province and with education officials from Siem Reap province to seek Khmer language teachers to teach Khmer language to Thai citizens of Cambodian origin in Surin province.

A number of Thai associations led by intellectuals and Buddhist monks who still speak Khmer came to meet with Cambodian NGOs in Surin province, Thailand, on Friday 08 October, to seek help in finding several Khmer language teachers needed in Thailand for teaching Khmer to numerous Thai citizens [of Cambodian origin] living in Surin province.

Bunroeun Kuchma, the chief-planner for the education of Khmer language in Surin, Thailand, said by phone that, right now, the plan for teaching Khmer language has started and he is organizing Khmer language classes for levels 1, 2 and 3. Some teachers who are Thai citizens will constitute the core group, and they are brought in to learn Khmer language so that they can go back and teach the children along various schools. “The plan has reached a point of relationship with Cambodia. On 11 October, I will travel to meet the Cambodian provincial governor in Oddar Meanchey in order to set a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) so that we can ask for teachers from Oddar Meanchey to come and help teach Khmer language in Surin. It’s not just Oddar Meanchey, I will also travel to Siem Reap and meet the provincial education department in order to establish a language and cultural relationship as well.”

Chakry Sithi Sotharanun, the chairman of the Cambodia-Thai friendship association in Surin, indicated that the majority of Thai citizens living in Surin province are descendants of Cambodians who still know how to speak Khmer but do not know how to write it. He said that he wants to see them being able to write in Khmer again in order to improve their relationships with Cambodia, with the aim of better art and cultural exchange. Chakry indicated that the initiation of the Khmer language education in Surin is a goal of the Thai government to support Surin people to learn languages from the ASEAN community.

Nevertheless, Cambodian officials have not made any decision yet on how to reply to the Thai association from Surin which needs Khmer language teaching help.

Ong Vorn, the Oddar Meanchey deputy provincial governor, said that he knew about the Thai association in Surin asking for teachers from his province to help teach Khmer language, but that the decision cannot be made at his level: “If the teachers volunteer unofficially, then it can be done, but if official teachers [have to go], then the decision has to come from the ministry of Education and it also involves the ministry of Foreign Affairs as well. They need to contact us first, and then we will ask for opinion [from the Cambodian government], we cannot allow the teachers to go just like that.”

The Cambodia-based Foundation to Support Khmer Civilization was the first to reply to the needs of the Thai association in Surin. The foundation indicated that it had sent one of its employees to Surin province already in order to help teach Khmer language to Thai teachers so that the latter can in turn teach other Thai students.

Khmer language is part of public school curriculum in Surin province

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.”