UNITED KINGDOM: Access chief warns elite universities over intake

Guardian09 September 2012 Issue No:238

 

The government's university access tsar has warned Oxford and Cambridge that they risk losing their status as world-class universities if they fail to widen their entry to include more students from state schools, writes Peter Wilby for the Guardian.

In the first interview since his controversial appointment last spring Les Ebdon, who started work as the new head of the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) last Monday, told the Guardian: "If the top universities are to retain their positions, they need to access the full range of our society. Otherwise, they are losing a major source of potential."

Both Oxford and Cambridge take more than 40% of their entrants from fee-charging schools, which educate only 7% to 8% of children.

The government's selection of Ebdon was opposed by Conservative Party backbenchers who thought him a hardline advocate of ‘social engineering’. As vice-chancellor of Bedfordshire University, Ebdon recruited nearly all his students from state schools to study subjects such as journalism, sport and social work.

Full report on the Guardian site 

Harvard students fight cheating allegations

Bloomberg Businessweek09 September 2012 Issue No:238

 

Harvard University students under investigation for cheating on a take-home government course exam said they’re waging a battle against the allegations, writes John Lauerman for Bloomberg Businessweek.

About 20 students and graduates have gone to the media to tell their side of the story, saying skipping classes, sharing notes and collaborating on tests were all tacitly condoned by the professor and teaching fellows of the course being probed. The probe involves about 125 students over cheating on a take-home exam for the course “Introduction to Congress”.

Harvard officials called it the biggest such probe in living memory. The students who are talking said they want to remain anonymous because of concern the accusations could affect their degrees or jobs taken since graduating. One 2012 graduate said losing his bachelor degree in economics might cost him his position at a Wall Street finance firm. 

Full report on the Bloomberg Businessweek site

 

Harvard University students under investigation for cheating on a take-home government course exam said they’re waging a battle against the allegations. 

About 20 students and graduates have gone to the media to tell their side of the story, saying skipping classes, sharing notes and collaborating on tests were all tacitly condoned by the professor and teaching fellows of the course being probed, students who took the class said.

The probe involves about 125 students over cheating on a take-home exam for the course, called Introduction to Congress. Harvard officials called it the biggest such probe in living memory. The students who are talking said they want to remain anonymous because of concern the accusations could affect their degrees or jobs taken since graduating. One 2012 graduate said losing his bachelor’s degree in economics might cost him his position at a Wall Street finance firm.
“Harvard went public with their version of the story, the version that looks good for the school,” a Harvard senior said. “We’re trying to present the other side.”

A Harvard e-mail to the 2012 graduate previewed his hearing before the Administrative Board, a college disciplinary body, for cheating on the final exam. The process of responding to a complaint to the board takes about two weeks, according to the letter.

‘Very Unfair’

“There was a tone set by the nature of the class and the professor teaching the course that collaboration was OK,” the graduate said in a telephone interview. “Dragging us into this investigation now, when we have financial obligations and jobs, seems very unfair.”

Harvard said last week that each of the students and graduates under investigation will be called before the Administrative Board. Students found to have cheated on exams can be asked to withdraw for two semesters, or may receive a warning or be put on probation, Jay Harris, Harvard’s dean of undergraduate education, said in an interview last week. Some students may be exonerated, Harris said. He wouldn’t say whether the board would consider taking away graduates’ degrees.
No cases have been heard yet, Harris said. Officials declined to say which course the students were in because the board’s proceedings are confidential. Students and graduates are also prohibited from discussing their cases in public, he said.

Students said the course in question was “Introduction to Congress,” which had 279 enrolled in the semester ending in May. Freshmen through seniors were all represented in the class taught by Matthew Platt, an assistant professor. He declined to comment when reached by telephone last week and didn’t respond to a call yesterday.

Suspicious Similarities

Harvard is investigating whether the students inappropriately collaborated on the take-home exam, Harris said. A teaching fellow in the course noticed in May that many of the turned-in exams contained suspicious similarities, and an analysis of all the course’s exams led to the Administrative Board actions, he said.

“Academic integrity is very important at Harvard, as are fairness and due process,” Jeff Neal, a spokesman for Harvard said in an e-mail. “We expect to learn more about the way the course was organized and how work was approached in class and on the take-home final,” and the process will “take time and require patience,” he said.

Platt is known as a good lecturer who kept the course entertaining, said a senior who took the course and wanted to remain anonymous. The course is widely considered to be easy, the senior said.

‘120 A’s’

“Platt said, ‘I gave out 120 A’s last year and I’ll give out 120 A’s this year,”’ the senior said. “I’m taking a lot of difficult courses, so I take my A’s where I can get them.”

Platt said in class that he didn’t mind whether lectures were skipped, the students said. Students frequently shared lecture notes, which probably contributed to the similarities in people’s answers, those who took the course said.

“That’s how people understood this course worked,” the senior said.
Platt’s exam instructions say that “students may not discuss the exam with others -- this includes resident tutors, writing centers, etc.” That contradicts the way the course was actually conducted, students said.

Students consult Harvard’s Q guide to get previous course- takers’ reviews. Q guide reviews say that collaboration was accepted in Platt’s course, students said.

 

Ex-Harvard scientist found guilty of misconduct

The Boston Globe09 September 2012 Issue No:238

 

Marc Hauser, a prolific scientist and popular psychology professor who resigned last summer from Harvard University, had fabricated data, manipulated results in multiple experiments, and incorrectly described how studies were conducted, according to the findings of a federal research oversight agency that were posted online on Wednesday, writes Carolyn Y Johnson for The Boston Globe.

The report details the problems that triggered a three-year university investigation that concluded in 2010 that Hauser, a star professor and public intellectual, had committed scientific misconduct. The document, which was to be published in the Federal Register last Thursday, lists six cases in which Hauser engaged in research misconduct in work supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Hauser agreed to a number of restrictions for three years, including a ban on serving as an advisor to the US Public Health Service, a requirement that any work he does with funding from that agency be supervised, and that an institution vouch for the validity of any such research.

Full report on The Boston Globe site

JAPAN: Universities adopt the hard sell for campus visits

The Asahi Shimbun09 September 2012 Issue No:238

 

Interview coaching, a free lunch and discounted exam fees are some of the incentives Japan's institutions are offering as they try to attract applicants from the country's shrinking pool of 18-year-olds, writes Hiromi Oida for The Asahi Shimbun.

Universities are radically reviewing their summer campus visit programmes in order to lure as many prospective students as possible. "Competition among private universities has really intensified lately," said an official from Jissen Women's University in Tokyo, which offers eight ‘open house’ visit days a year.

Osaka University of Economics and Law pays 15,000 yen (US$192) to offset the journey costs of those travelling from distant islands such as Hokkaido and Okinawa. Those who take the shorter three-hour train ride from Tokyo can receive 7,000 yen. Hyogo University in Kakogawa, Hyogo Prefecture, slashes the cost of its 30,000 yen entrance exam by a third for applicants who visit a campus open day and complete a checklist of tasks, such as filling out a questionnaire. University officials say almost all visitors receive the discount.

Full report on The Asahi Shimbun site

Online universities blossom in Asia

KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of kilometres from Kuala Lumpur in Cameroon, doctoral student Michael Nkwenti Ndongfack attends his Open University Malaysia classes online and hopes to defend his final thesis by Skype.

A government worker, Ndongfack could not find the instructional design and technology course he wanted in his own country, so is paying a foreign institution about $10,000 for the degree instead.
Online university education is expanding quickly in Asia, where growth in technology and Internet use is matched by a deep reverence for education.

“I chose e-learning because it is so flexible,” Ndongfack, 42, told AFP via Skype from his home in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde.

Web-based courses dramatically boost opportunities for students and are often cheaper than those offered by traditional bricks-and-mortar institutions.
But online learning has also caught the eye of some of the world’s most prestigious universities, with Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently teaming up to offer free courses over the Internet.

“With the improvement in technology, the number of institutions offering online education has increased, both in terms of numbers and the kind of classes offered,” said Lee Hock Guan, senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

The Malaysian government said about 85,000 people took online courses in the country last year, both at web-based institutions and traditional universities offering Internet teaching.
In high-tech South Korea more than 112,000 students at 19 institutions are taking web-based classes, all of which have begun since 2002.

China embraced the concept of online learning in the late 1990s to expand access to education, particularly in its vast rural regions, and there are now scores of providers, with 1.64 million people enrolled in 2010.

A new type of learning
Online courses are changing the way students learn, educators say, placing less emphasis on the rote learning that has long characterised education in parts of Asia, and harnessing modern consumer technologies.

And “open” universities, which typically offer courses primarily through the Internet, allow anyone to enrol for online programmes regardless of prior qualification or degrees.
At Kuala Lumpur-based Asia e University, students download course materials from an online forum and virtual library. They are in contact with teachers and fellow students mostly through email, online chats, phone and text messages.

Assignments typically include illustrating what they have learned with videos and other presentations made with smartphones, iPads or other devices and uploading them to YouTube.
Academics say such interactive learning helps students engage with the material more than they would sitting passively in a lecture hall, and opens a window to learning through a medium they know and love – the latest gadgets.

“Everyone is a front-row student,” said Ishan Abeywardena, who teaches information technology at Wawasan Open University, based in northern Malaysia.
Students who might be too shy to ask questions or otherwise engage with their class in a traditional setting are much bolder online, Ishan said.

“Can you imagine the iPad, iPod and iPhone generation today, who are going to enter the university say, in 15 years’ time, going for a chalk-and-talk kind of model of learning? You learn by doing,” said Ansary Ahmed, Asia e University’s president.
But even those in favour of online learning admit face-to-face interaction – which can also help keep students motivated and personally engaged – is lost.

Ndongfack, whose web-only institution opened in 2000, said online studies were not easy, leaving him feeling isolated. “There is no one there to give you instant support,” he said.
The growth of online degree programmes is also constrained by poor Internet accessibility in parts of Asia and beyond.

More than 80 percent of South Koreans and 60 percent of Malaysians have online access, but in China the rate slips to about 40 percent and it slumps to around 10 percent in India.
Other criticisms include inadequate regulation, allegations of poor-quality teaching, student cheating, and the fact that online degrees are still not as widely recognised as traditional ones in the marketplace, say industry experts.

But Asia e University’s Ansary says such teething problems will be addressed over time, and in a few decades students will no longer attend just one university but several, picking and choosing from online offerings.

“These are early days,” he said. “The window is just opening.”

Soccer hits the streets of Battambang town

Thursday, 06 September 2012

Dan Riley

 

The jam-packed weekend of football action kicks off in Battambang town tomorrow afternoon as the 2012 SMART Street Football Tournament plays out over three days and six separate youth futsal seasons culminate in finals on a super Sunday of soccer supremacy. Competition organisers SALT Academy will set up two regulation futsal fields on the street near the riverside Naga Fountain to accommodate the contests.

Twenty-two adult teams have registered for the street football event, drawing players from Battambang, Pailin, Siem Reap and even as far as Phnom Penh. Pool games will start from tomorrow’s opening ceremony and continuing until Sunday morning. Quarterfinals and semifinals will bring the total of games to 60.

Sunday afternoon will feature a congested schedule of seven championship games. For the youth futsal competitions, the finals mark the end of a lengthy rainy season leagues.

Forty-one boys sides and 23 girls sides comprising players from 8 to 18 years old participated in weekly fixtures and practised twice a week with their coaches. Teams were bracketed into six age and gender divisions, with an U-11 Girls competition run for the first time.

The futsal season is a shorter version of SALT’s regular annual youth league campaign played on grass fields, which includes life skill lessons and positive community building activities. Last weekend saw exciting semifinal and third place playoff matches held at Battambang Airfield, with several games decided by penalty shootouts.

Organisers expressed their gratitude to main sponsors Smart Mobile for supporting the weekend’s festivities and providing awards for the winners.

---

Sunday’s Youth Futsal Finals
U17 Boys
Jerusalem v CFI

U14 Boys
DCC v Salaa Hope

U11 Boys
Aden v Jerusalem

Big Girls
Chrey v Chher Teal School

U14 Girls
Chrey v CFI

U11 Girls
Rapha v Khasch Poy School

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Riley at dan.riley@phnompenhpost.com

Sung Bonna: Investing in the future of Cambodia

Thursday, 06 September 2012

Rupert Winchester

 

Sung Bonna is a man with plans. Not content with being one of the most powerful players in Cambodia’s property market, he wants to take his company regional, covering all aspects of the property business.

Talking to Post Property in his bustling offices in BKK1, the genial Bonna is softly-spoken, but his steely-eyed ambition quickly becomes apperent.

Starting from a small office space in 1999 with only a desk and an old motorbike, Bonna is now the president of the National Valuers’ Association of Cambodia and vice president of Real Estate Developers Association of Cambodia.

“At the moment we have business as property investors, developers, management and real estate and property agents and property valuation, so anything related to the property business, we cover. We develop residential, we develop offices, we develop commercial. We do it all,” he says proudly.

Over the years, Bonna has seen ups and downs in Cambodia’s property market, which he blames on inconsistent investment from overseas, which is now changing. “In 2006 and 2007, the investors were mostly Korean and Chinese. The Koreans were the main players. At the moment now things are going in a different direction. The Koreans are very slightly here. Most are Chinese, Vietnamese and Malaysian. Singaporeans and also the Japanese are coming as well at the moment this is a good sign that the Japanese are coming to Cambodia. But foreign investors now make up about 30 per cent of the total transactions, and 70 per cent are Cambodians.”

Bonna says that local investors are starting to look around the country and not just at Phnom Penh. “The local market is divided into two: one is the Cambodians from overseas, the second is Cambodian Cambodians  - the majority being real locals. They are starting to look at the provinces, and the other major cities, like Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Battambang, and some of the Special Economic Zones near the borders with Siem Reap and Battambang.”

However Bonna says that Phnom Penh is still the best place for serious property investment: “After the crisis of 2008 and 2009 property prices dropped, almost 50 or 60 per cent in some locations across the whole country. In Phnom Penh is just fell by 30 or 40 per cent.”

He says that Phnom Penh has weathered the storm well, and is continuing to prosper. “Phnom Penh reached the bottom early, in 2010, and flattened out and started to be stable until 2011, but in the provinces it still continued to slide down and down until 2011. Those values are still flat, and some provinces are still down a little bit because the demand and supply isn’t there. But in general Phnom Penh is the best, especially in the city centre and areas where the government is,” he says.

“Starting from 2011,” he continues, “the number of transactions increased almost 20-30 per cent, and it makes the prices stable and pick up a little bit: comparing 2011 and now, we’ve just finished the first half of 2012, and year-on-year the number of transactions has almost doubled. But the prices have also increased, about 10 per cent on average. Especially in BKK1 and Daun Penh and along the main commercial boulevards.”

However, Bonna thinks some of the more visible stalled projects that dot the Phnom Penh skyline need to dealt with. “If there is a huge project in the middle of the city which is stuck, it makes other investors feel concerned. Sometimes they don’t think it’s a company’s internal problems, they think maybe its the country that has problems, so they think maybe the economy is not too good.   Sometimes, if possible, the ministry needs to keep an eye of supply and demand, and take care of investors.”

He rejects the idea that Phnom Penh could be facing another property bubble. “I don’t think with residential there will be a bubble, the buyers at this stage are not like the buyers before. The buyers at this stage are more concerned with real demand and real investment, not like the investors in 2006 and 2007,” he says.

With commercial and office space, he is slightly less sanguine. “There is some concern that there could be some oversupply in the future but in terms of the reality, it will be a challenge to stimulate demand … the market will find a solution. In the next three years, it’s not a concern. This is good for the country, it’s good for customers and good for demand, because of the competition.”

Bonna’s plans include listing his company on the Cambodia

Securities Exchange, the country’s nascent stock market. “Now I’m preparing the company, moving it, because it was at first a family company for the first five years, then the next five years it was a local entity, and now we’re aiming to become international so we’re changing a lot of our corporate governance policy, systems and structure, we are changing, and also our accounting and tax and everything, and we hope we’ll be ready by the end of next year or early in 2014.”

I ask him why he thinks listing would be useful for him, and what the company would do with the funds raised. “We are planning to invest in Cambodia. My personal nationalism means I would prefer to develop my country, and I would prefer to invest in this country. We want to expand the brand to cover the whole country, that’s what I’m planning, to be in every province, everywhere there will be a retail office.”

His plans of rolling out the brand nationally are already well underway: “We’ve already started, in Siahanoukville, and in Siem Reap, which is opening this week, and we’ll be in Battambang by the end of this year. We want to expand to make it easy for customers and for investors, so they can just walk in, and it looks like a retail bank.”

But Bonna’s plans extend overseas as well: “We want to jump in to ASEAN as a network, so we’re planning to open branches in ASEAN countries, Next year we’re planning to have one branch somewhere, my thinking is Myanmar, and Laos, and in Vietnam, trying to bring in investors into Cambodia. We want to list to get funds to expand overseas and encourage more investors to Cambodia.”

Bonna feels that this is a good time to invest in the Kingdom. “Cambodia still has a lot of advantages, interesting things, there are only some negative things in terms of its reputation, but its culture and environment has more or less changed a lot, it has developed a lot in terms of the law, regulations. We know that it hasn’t reached the levels that everyone needs yet, but at least it’s changing and there are still positive signs.”

He still feels that more changes are needed before the country becomes truly competitive, however.

“We hope that the government changes more things, especially as we’re preparing to join the ASEAN Free Trade Area, so to be competitive we have to change ourselves more: the most important is the law: regulation and enforcement and culture, so this is important, so I think we still need to change, compared to most other ASEAN countries, we have more potential, and we can attract investors from around the world to Cambodia.”

Bonna says that the country’s recent history has made it harder for it to compete internationally. “Cambodia is very young, in terms of the government, in terms of the private sector, education, experience, business, human resources, things like that, it’s very young. So it’s very hard. We’re not complaining about the government but we are complaining, I suppose, about the history of our country, so everything is difficult and it’s not easy to compete with other ASEAN countries.”

Finally, I bring up the subject of the Bonna Tower, a long-mooted project to build a grand office building in Phnom Penh. “At the moment we don’t have the budget or the funds,” he tells me,  “but this is our dream. As businessmen, if you don’t have a dream you cannot move, we have to build a dream to make ourselves move faster and forward to what we are dreaming, but we hope it will be coming.”

Malaysian Ambassador expresses pride

Friday, 31 August 2012

Post Staff

 

In conjunction with the 55th Anniversary of the National Day of Malaysia, I wish to convey my greetings and best wishes to all Malaysians and to all our colleagues and friends in Cambodia.  The theme for this year’s National Day is “55 Years of Independence: Promises Fulfilled” (55 TahunMerdeka: JanjiDitepati).

On this very special day, I would like to ask all my fellow Malaysians to reflect back and remember our forefathers and those who had sacrificed so much to lay the foundation of our great nation.  The foresight of our leaders who had forged tolerance, understanding, and trust amongst the diverse racial and ethnic groupings, with its multitude of cultures and religious beliefs, has led to a united, harmonious and peaceful society that embraces moderation as a way of life.  The vision of our leaders who had introduced development and relevant economic strategies, has also ensured that Malaysian enjoy better prosperity, education and medical and health care, living in a peaceful, safe and secure environment.

Under the present government, led by  our Honourable Prime Minister, YAB Dato’Sri Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak, the ‘I Malaysia’ concept was introduced, which is an ongoing nation building programme to emphasise ethnic harmony, national unity and efficient governance.  Various reforms and transformation programs were also introduced, amongst them, the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) which is to rejuvenate a smooth, efficient and clean government, and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) that would contribute to the growth of Malaysia, and to achieve Malaysia’s vision to be a fully developed nation by 2020.

Since the introduction of the various transformation programs in 2010 Malaysia has increased its per capita income, from US$6,700 to $9,700 in 2011 which is on target to achieve its targetted per capita income of $15,000by the year 2020.  In terms of investment,  the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has increased by 12.3 per cent to RM 33 billion (slightly more than US$ 10 billion), whilst private investment increased by 19 per cent to RM 94 billion (about $30 billion) in 2011, compared to the previous year.

The reforms and transformation programmes have also contributed to Malaysia being recognized as one of the 21 most competitive countries globally in 2012 by the World Economic Forum Report.  The World Bank has also recognized and ranked Malaysia as the 18th country in terms of ease of starting and doing business, ahead of countries like Germany, Japan, Taiwan and France.

As Malaysians, are all very proud of our achievements since independence, with our country enjoying continued peace and stability and its multi ethnic population living harmoniously in unity, enjoying increasing prosperity, better health and education, whilst the country is now recognized as an important member of the global community.

Malaysia is also enjoying strong and friendly relations with Cambodia.  Malaysia has been one of the earliest investors in Cambodia and has invested more than $2.8 billion since the early 1990s and is now the 4th largest investor in Cambodia.  It is now represented very prominently in many sectors, including banking, hotel, telecom, utilities and manufacturing.  Our bilateral trade has grown to $324 million in 2011 compared to $229 million in 2010.  Significantly, Cambodia’s exports to Malaysia increased by 95.5 per cent in 2011, compared to 2010.  This trend is expected to continue to grow this year.  In terms of visitors, about 100,000 Malaysians visited Cambodia in 2011, compared to 84,000 in 2010.  Cambodians visiting Malaysia also increased from 48,000 in 2010 to about 50,000 to 2011.

The contribution of Malaysian businesses to the Cambodian economy has been well recognized by the Cambodian government.  The increase in bilateral trade, investment and people-to-people contact, between Malaysia and Cambodia, both members of ASEAN, augurs well for the success of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which will come into being in 2015.  In this regard, we wish to congratulate Cambodia for its Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2012 and playing a very significant role in moving forward the realization of this grand vision.  Interestingly, Malaysia will take over the Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2015.  It is the hope of the Malaysian government that Malaysian investors and Malaysians working in Cambodia will continue to contribute to the development and economic progress of this dynamic country, and to assist in enhancing the excellent relations between Malaysia and Cambodia.

On this very auspicious occasion, I take this opportunity to thank the Royal Government of Cambodia, for the assistance and cooperation rendered to the Embassy of Malaysia, and to wish the Government and the people of the Kingdom of Cambodia Great Success, Peace and Prosperity.

Cheating blights our schools

Monday, 27 August 2012

You Sokunpanha

 

 High-school seniors in Cambodia are anxiously awaiting the results of the school-leaving examination they sat just over two weeks ago.

For many, the exam was the culmination of years of hard work and gruelling preparation. How they performed in it is crucial, because it will determine their chance of a place in university, which will, in turn, help or harm their future employment prospects.

Sadly, there was evidence of widespread bribery and cheating during the exam.

Stories have circulated of proctors who set a “quota” – the amount of money raised by those sitting the exam in each room – that had to be paid in return for a blind eye towards blatant acts of plagiarism including copying from “cheat sheets” that were allowed into test centres.

For extra money, some proctors reportedly even offered to write papers on test-takers’ behalf.

That such practices occur at all is unfortunate, though not surprising.

Even the most stringent, well-thought-out proctoring system cannot eliminate cheating. But the most worrying aspect is that the practice of bribery, in exchange for cheating, is now so pervasive that it is accepted as a fact of life and ceases to “feel wrong” or to shock the consciences of those involved.

On one hand, some proctors treat exams as an opportunity to “earn” extra income. On the other, some students simply opt to pay to pass exams instead of studying and preparing for them.

In addition, parents are willing to give their children money to bribe proctors, and a small industry has sprung up to supply test-takers with cheat sheets, often with the claim that questions covered in these cheat sheets will also be on the real exams.

Not all engage in this corrupt practice, but the consequences of tolerating it can be grave.

Students are ill-served by a system that allows an easy pass. Presented with the option of paying for their degree, students have fewer incentives to apply themselves to their studies.

They may fail to gain through schooling the skills and knowledge needed to lead a fulfilling life and become productive, responsible citizens able to contribute to their country’s development.

Furthermore, in a more globalised society, they will find it difficult to compete with the knowledge workers of other countries in the region and the wider world.

I also cannot help but wonder how this experience shapes the moral character of 18-year-old examination candidates.

In addition to being a yardstick for university admission, a high-school degree is a symbol of intellectual accomplishment that is worthy of recognition and praise. That it can be bought and sold so readily may send the wrong signal to young Cambodians that money reigns supreme over honour and respect, and is an acceptable alternative to hard work and real effort.

Surely this is not a lesson we want to leave our children with.

Addressing this issue is not easy, but it is possible. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport can begin by introducing a zero-tolerance policy towards cheating and bribery during exams.

Proctors who solicit, or accept, bribes should be barred from supervising future exams and be denied promotion.

Depending on the seriousness of their actions, students caught cheating should be required to sit for the examination again, have their grades reduced or given an automatic fail.

At the same time, the education system needs to be reformed to focus more on critical thinking and analytical skills and less on rote learning and exams.

Instead of using examination results as the sole admission criterion, for example, universities should introduce other requirements such as admission essays that challenge students to carefully think about, and articulate, their reasons for wanting a tertiary education.

And these measures should be complemented with longer-term policies aimed at recruiting, training and retaining capable teachers through both an appeal to their sense of public service and reasonable remuneration.

Most important, fixing the problem requires a concerted effort by all of society – students, parents, educators, policymakers – to refuse to take part in a fraudulent practice.

A good sign will be when bribery and cheating, instead of being widely accepted and unquestioned, once again becomes a taboo.

Conscription not for everyone

Friday, 07 September 2012

Stuart White and Phak Seangly

 

In less  than a week, 18-year-old Heng Tina, who has just finished his high-school exam, will take another test that determines whether he’ll get a scholarship to go to technical school, a development that would put him one step closer to his dream of becoming an engineer and designing skyscrapers.

But according to a law passed in 2006, though never meaningfully enforced, Tina should be taking exams of a different sort – such as marksmanship and physical fitness – as a newly minted conscript in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.

Under the law, which many Cambodians – including Tina – have never heard of, every Cambodian man aged 18 to 23 is obliged to serve in the armed forces for 18 months.

It is something many say would do more harm than good, especially considering penal police director Lieutenant General Mok Chito’s announcement last week that more than 1,200 RCAF soldiers deserted their posts in the first eight months of 2012 alone.

According to the US Central Intelligence Agency’s world fact book, more than 150,000 Cambodian men reach “militarily significant age”, that is, 16 years old, every year, and conscripting every 18-year-old male in the Kingdom would cause a significant spike in the size of the military, despite years-long efforts to trim its size.

“Cambodia is overloaded with a number of soldiers,” said opposition Sam Rainsy lawmaker Son Chhay, who has seen troop counts as high as 200,000 – though he believes the actual number to be closer to 70,000.

Many of the soldiers that were “demobilised” in the past were simply ghost soldiers, he said, names on lists meant to swell a battalion’s payroll so that uncollected pay cheques could be taken by higher-ranking officers, of whom there are also too many.

“The government has to clean house . . . I’ve lost count of the generals.  There are more stars on the shoulders of Cambodian soldiers than there are in the sky,” Chhay said.

And, he added, the military’s already-low pay is responsible for the trend of soldiers moonlighting as security guards for private corporations.

Ho Chantrea, a 29-year-old soldier stationed in Phnom Penh, declined to discuss the particulars of his own pay, but said that many of his friends took outside security jobs to augment their income.

“The salary is not enough,” said Chantrea, adding that he wanted to follow his friends’ example. “I also want to get extra jobs, but not yet.”

The lowest-ranking soldiers, Chantrea said, make only about $50 a month.

Soam Chivoan, who, at age 20, is another would-be draftee, said that given his druthers, he’d stick with the mobile booth he now runs, adding that even if the army paid better, he’d rather stay put.
That low salary, said Chhay, often has adverse effects.

“That’s why you can see soldiers being used by a private company to intimidate people,” Chhay said.

“There are so many abuses being raised by so many soldiers already, so you need soldiers who are qualified … not drunken two- or three-star generals who will set a bad habit for our young soldiers,” he added.

On August 31, police official Mok Chito blamed deserters, who he said often sell their service weapons, for a spike in armed robberies. In May, the military came under fire from rights groups after a soldier fatally shot a 14-year-old in a forced land eviction in Kratie province’s Pro Ma village, and reports of soldiers’ involvement in land evictions are a near weekly occurrence.

Independent political analyst Lao Mong Hay warned that adding more soldiers without significant reforms wasn’t likely to make things any better.

“I think that it’s not good to have a number of young people familiar with using guns, that after a while you let loose without discipline,” he said.

According to Mong Hay, a military that provided conscripts with a set of skills, and options for the future, could be a positive development, but the current system would be unlikely to produce such results.
Furthermore, he said, Cambodia has neither the human nor financial resources for full implementation of  the 2006 law.

Nicolas Agostino, a technical assistant at the rights NGO Adhoc, also expressed concerns that the law would be unevenly enforced, and could have adverse political side effects.

“Those who are more well-off or well-connected would be able to evade conscription,” he said.

Multiple officials in various branches of the Ministry of National Defence, including the ministry’s policy arm, declined to comment on the conscription law.

Press and Quick Reaction Unit spokesman Ek Tha directed questions to Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan, who said he was unfamiliar with the law.