Teachers Group Sees ‘State of Emergency’

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
25 March 2009

The Cambodian Teacher's Association has found the value of education in Cambodia decreasing, as students were leaving school and teachers were not always tending to their classes.

In interviews with 460 teachers in nine provinces, the association said Wednesday, 93 percent said students were abandoning their studies due to poverty, bribes charged by teachers, or school supply expenses; 54 percent of the teachers said they kept irregular teaching hours.

Teachers said that some students left school because they felt discouraged they would not find a job after graduation.

The association's president, Rong Chhung, said the education system had reached a "state of emergency."

"According to my survey, we show that the education system is falling, and the Cambodian government should take immediate action to prevent this," he said.

Ministry of Education officials could not be reached for comment.

Koeur Nay Leang, director-general of the Phnom Penh department of education, dismissed the findings of the survey, saying it had been conducted without the cooperation of the Ministry of Education.

Other countries faced the same difficulties in education as Cambodia, he said, and the government was in the process of reform.

Free Trade Union President Chea Mony told reporters Wednesday a weak education system had led to at least 15 percent of Cambodia's underage students to leave their studies for work in factories.

Group Seeks Education for All

By Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Washington
29 April 2008

The Global Campaign for Education is gathering together members of the government, society and the community this month in an effort to help strengthen education programs for all.

The campaign is holding events between April 21 and April 30, as it seeks to put more students in school, facing an education system that has yet to recover from decades of civil strife.

“Children, most of them girls, are out of school,” said Vorn Samphors, chairman of the Global Campaign for Education and a program coordinator for the Inclusive Education for Disability Action Council.

“We plan to visit His Majesty the King with 50 children and adult learners,” said Vorn Samphors, a guest on Monday’s “Hello VOA.” “The purpose of the visit is to report on the progress that has been made towards achieving education-for-all goals and to request his support for inclusive and quality education for children with disabilities, children from poor families, from ethnic minorities, children who have suffered domestic violence, orphans, children with HIV/AIDS, street children and child laborers.”

More than 300 students from Phnom Penh universities organized “My Day for Education,” which was held Sunday at Olympic Stadium to held develop feelings of solidarity between students, teachers and the public.

On Tuesday, the campaign held a roundtable discussion with participants from the government as well as parent-teacher associations, aid groups and journalists.

School drop-outs in Cambodia

Children in Cambodia are dropping out of school as their families cannot afford to supplement the teachers' low wages. Guy Delauney reports. Click here to watch this BBC video.