Hun Sen Orders Anticorruption Education for Students
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday issued a statement ordering that anti-graft education be incorporated into the national schooling system as part of a wider effort to stamp out corruption in the country. The statement, released in the lead-up to International Anti-Corruption Day, which falls today, celebrates arrests that the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) has made since its creation in 2010 and calls for the unit as well as other ministries to act further to stamp out corruption. “After passing the Anti-Corruption Law, the ACU has taken action independently to educate and prevent corruption with the active participation of all ministries, institutions and all levels of authorities,” Mr. Hun Sen wrote, adding that graft is still endemic in the government. … “The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has also cooperated well with the Anti-Corruption Unit to compile lessons about anti-corruption that can be integrated into the student curriculum,” he [Hun Sen] wrote. … [Education Minister] Mr. Chuon Naron added that the Education Ministry had also begun internal anti-graft reforms by recruiting new teachers through a transparent exam process. He said the ministry would soon also act to stop the practice of teachers collecting small daily fees from young students to supplement their meager incomes. Transparency International last week issued its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which revealed Cambodia had slipped in the rankings to 160th out of 177 states in terms of public sector corruption.
Mech Dara and Alex Willemyns
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-orders-anticorruption-education-for-students-48830/