Teachers Told to Expel Corruption From Classrooms
Just weeks after the country’s only independent teachers’ association staged a strike for higher wages, Phnom Penh’s education chief told teachers this week that they must stop taking bribes to comply with the government’s promised reform agenda. Speaking to about 500 educators, mainly school directors, from Phnom Penh on Wednesday, Chea Cheat, director of the Phnom Penh municipal department of education, said that the widespread practice of demanding bribes from students would no longer be tolerated. … Under the Constitution, schooling in all primary and secondary schools is to be free of charge. However, in practice, the government has turned a blind eye to public school teachers taking bribes from students, in exchange for pass grades and to supplement critically low salaries, which range from $80 to $120 a month. Earlier this month, the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA), headed by Rong Chhun, attempted to stage a nationwide strike for a base monthly salary of $250, which he said would improve teachers’ livelihoods and cut down on corruption. … Phnom Penh governor Pa Socheatvong, speaking during the first day of the conference on Tuesday, told school directors to start organizing forums at their schools, to be held next month, for parents to air their complaints about the quality, and cost, of the education being provided to their children. … Article 31 of the Law on Education, passed by the National Assembly in 2007, states that “every citizen has the right to access a quality education for free at least nine years in public schools.” To encourage the enforcement of the law, Mr. Hun Sen in 2008 signed a sub-decree explicitly precluding teachers from demanding money from their students. “Teachers shall not raise money or collect unofficial fees or make businesses in the classroom,” says Article 13 of the teacher professionalism code. “The teacher has the obligation to teach without putting pressure to gain benefits from the learner,” according to Article 17. Mr. Chhun of CITA said Thursday that any effort by the government to change the behavior of teachers must be done in tandem with measures to significantly improve their living conditions, as teachers can make between $7 and $15 a day through informal fees taken from students. …
Phann Ana
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/teachers-told-to-expel-corruption-from-classrooms-51158/
