Teachers protest relocation
- Teachers-in-training sit in a lecture hall at the National Institute of
Education yesterday in Phnom Penh. Photograph: William Kelly/Phnom Penh
Post
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- Friday, 03 August 2012
- Chhay Channyda and Stuart White
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- Rong Chhun, head of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association,
sent a letter to the Ministry of Education on Wednesday asking Minister
Im Sethy to rethink a policy that would strip teachers of the ability to
choose where they would be posted at the end of further education.
According
to a letter by Chhun obtained by the Post, working teachers who
returned to the National Institute of Education to receive their “A”
certification – which allows them to teach secondary school – could
choose to return to their old posts, unlike teachers with no prior
experience.
However, new rules introduced on July 12 place
experienced teachers on equal footing with their newly minted
colleagues, leaving some to face reassignment to far away posts.
“This
point makes new teachers want to show their dissatisfaction to the
Education Ministry’s directive, because it causes difficulty for them to
be far from home, leaving family, children and old parents with no one
to look after them,” wrote Chhun.
An anonymous letter, sent to
Chhun earlier in the week, which purports to represent the views of 400
teachers and ministry officials enrolled at the NIE, motivated Chhun to
take action.
“If there was post selection [like under the new
policy], we wouldn’t have spent money to study for a bachelor’s degree
and to apply to the National Institute for Education,” the letter
states.
Some “A” certification seekers at the NIE said that while
they disagreed with the new rule, they would have preferred to issue
complaints through the proper channels.
“I feel disappointed with the letter sent to Rong Chhun,” said one such teacher who declined to be named.
“This kind of letter is not our will.”
Chan
Kunthear, another enrollee, said that the policy wasn’t inherently bad,
but that its timing – just one month before the new teachers were
slated to take their posts – was problematic.
“They should have issued it one year ago, and then we could have seen if we agreed [before we started the program],” she said. -
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