Low salaries stifle education reform efforts
Sao Sothy’s home is small and the furniture is sparse. There are no tables or chairs. In one room, there is a small bed, but her family of four sleeps on mats in the living room. Hanging on the otherwise bare walls is Ms. Sothy’s teacher’s certificate. Both Ms. Sothy and her husband, Chhorn Thy, teach for a living, but they don’t make enough to live on. As an educator at Sothearos Secondary School in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district, she has a second job teaching part-time at a private school, and a third job tutoring students after class is out. “It’s difficult,” said Ms. Sothy, 31, who has a 6-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. “But it’s important to support my family.” … The modest raise given to public school teachers last year—10 to 15 percent salary increases across the board, and a minimum monthly salary of $100—was quickly overtaken by inflation, Ms. Sothy said. “It seems like the food price is always increasing when the salary of teachers increases,” she said. The Ministry of Education has taken a number of steps to tackle rampant corruption in the school system in recent months, including a complete overhaul of the grade 12 national exam. However, teachers’ salaries remain critically low, a problem that education experts say will stifle efforts to stamp out graft and promote accountability. “We want the teachers, especially those who work in the hardship areas, to get paid more,” said Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron, who was a secretary of state in the Ministry of Finance before his promotion in September. “It will take time,” he said, “But we have started.” Mr. Chuon Naron said that the ministries of education and finance are currently reviewing the possibility of providing additional allowances to teachers on top of their base salary. The new education minister has also fast-tracked efforts to have teachers paid directly through bank accounts, eliminating opportunities for graft. …
Emily Wilkins and Sek Odom
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/low-salaries-stifle-education-reform-efforts-56752/
