EU scheme boosts Cambodian land grabs

 

• AAP
• July 10, 2012 1:05PM

An EU scheme to boost trade with developing nations is fuelling land grabs in Cambodia, activists say, with thousands evicted from their property to make way for a booming sugar industry. 

 

CAMPAIGNERS are taking their fight to European supermarkets, encouraging a boycott of Cambodian sugar, which they claim is often grown on land snatched illegally from rural farmers.

Yi Chhav said she had no choice but to return to her family plantation to work for the sugarcane grower that took her land, toiling for about $US1.50 ($A1.46) a day in the sea of swaying emerald green plants that swallowed her rice paddies.

"If we say there's no way we'll go to work in the sugarcane plantation then what will we have to eat? There's no work," the 68-year-old widow told AFP at her modest home in southwestern Koh Kong province.

"How can we survive?" she said, adding that the irregular work makes her feel like a "slave" and her low income has forced her to pull her teenage daughter out of school.

Europe's "Everything But Arms" initiative is meant to help the world's least developed nations by lifting import quotas and duties.

But activists say it has sparked a voracious appetite for land in Cambodia's sugar industry, leaving more than 3,000 dispossessed families without fair compensation, while enriching well-connected investors.

Rights groups say the government has ignored residents' legitimate land claims by granting tens of thousands of hectares to local and foreign-owned sugar firms across the nation.

Land titles are a murky issue in Cambodia - the communist Khmer Rouge regime abolished property ownership during its murderous rule in the late 1970s - and disputes pitting developers and agricultural firms against villagers have sparked increasingly violent protests in the country.

Industry and government officials argue that there is compensation on offer for those affected, and that the sugar business is good for Cambodia because it creates jobs.

But activists say the compensation is inadequate. After years of seemingly futile protests, they are now urging the EU - and European consumers - to step in to combat what they term "blood" sugar.

"It is scandalous that the European Union permits this tainted sugar to be sold within its territory, but until the EU implements a ban on the import of goods produced on stolen land it is up to European consumers to say no to these products," said David Pred, a representative from the Cambodian Clean Sugar Campaign.

The coalition of rights groups and representatives from affected communities this week launched a campaign urging shoppers to put pressure on Tate and Lyle Sugars to stop buying from Cambodian suppliers.

Their website - www.boycottbloodsugar.net - includes a video showing distressed villagers watching as rural buildings go up in flames.

The British-based firm, once part of the Tate and Lyle group but now owned by the US company American Sugar Refining (ASR), failed to respond to repeated requests from AFP for comment.

The EU's ambassador to Cambodia, Jean-Francois Cautain, told AFP the European Union was looking into the concerns.

"The government has already given us some documents and we are in the process of studying them and then we'll have an important discussion," he said, welcoming Phnom Penh's recent announcement that it would review all land concessions following a spike in conflicts this year.

Government spokesman E.K Tha said authorities were "on the right track" in addressing land disputes, but referred specific questions about grievances in the sugar industry to the companies running the operations.

Koh Kong, one of three sugar-growing provinces, has the country's oldest and most active plantation, exporting around 20,000 tonnes of sugar to the EU in 2011 - double the figure from 2010 - according to local rights groups such as Equitable Cambodia and Licadho.

Ruling party senator and Cambodian business heavyweight Ly Yong Phat, who has sold his stake in the Koh Kong operation but still has ties to other sugar plantations, told AFP there was little companies could do besides offering compensation because concessions were legally granted by the government.

"If it were my land, I would share with them, then the problem is over. But it's the state's land. So what can I do?" he told AFP.

Frustrated by the battle, some affected families in Koh Kong recently accepted a hiked cash settlement, from around 10,000 riel ($A243), said community leader Teng Kao.

But most are still holding out for a deal that makes up for the loss of their livelihoods.

"We can't live without our land. Every day we ask for our land back so that we can grow rice and crops like before," he said.

 

Co-operation with Cambodia over transport to strengthen

HA NOI — The close co-operation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport and the Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport has made a positive contribution to friendship, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said. 

Receiving Cambodian Minister of Public Works and Transport Tram Iv Tek yesterday, Phuc proposed that the two ministries enhance co-operation in all fields, especially in developing transport infrastructure and connectivity to facilitate trade and travel. 

He said the Vietnamese Government would create favourable conditions for the two ministries to increase their relationship. — VNS

Cambodia: Clinton Should Prioritize Improving Human Rights

Mon, 9 Jul 2012 23:00 GMT

Source: Content partner // Human Rights Watch 

Clinton will visit Cambodia from July 11-13 for the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) heads of government meeting and should make it clear to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that closer relations with the US will not be possible without significant improvements in the deteriorating human rights situation in Cambodia.

(New York) - United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should make it clear in public and private to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen that closer relations with the US will not be possible without significant improvements in the deteriorating human rights situation in Cambodia. Clinton will visit Cambodia from July 11-13 for the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) heads of government meeting.

In recent months the Cambodian government has launched repeated attacks on critics, including the summary arrest and conviction of women protesting eviction from prime Phnom Penh real estate, the siege of a rural village opposing the allegedly corrupt sale of their land to cronies of the prime minister, and an armed attack by military personnel working as enforcers for a rubber company who wounded four villagers protesting what they said was encroachment on their land. In April 2012, Chut Wutty, Cambodia's best-known environmental activist, was gunned down while researching illegal timber sales. The government first claimed he died in a shootout, then that he had been killed by a soldier who had subsequently managed to commit suicide by shooting himself twice in the chest.

"The Cambodian government is desperate for improved relations with the United States," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "Clinton should tell Hun Sen that continuing grave human rights violations will come at the cost of US support. She should insist that the Cambodian government set out specific, time-bound measures to reverse the country's increasingly disturbing rights record."

Hun Sen's approach to critics was exemplified in early 2011 when he responded with typically threatening language to the suggestion by a Cambodian critic that he should be worried about the overthrow of a dictator in Tunisia. "I not only weaken the opposition, I'm going to make them dead ... and if anyone is strong enough to try to hold a demonstration, I will beat all those dogs and put them in a cage."

The recent release of protesters from prison after a summary trial shows that pressure from the US and other donors works.

Cambodia's Appeal Court in June released 13 women who had protested the seizure of their land from the Boeng Kak lake area of Phnom Penh and then sold to Cambodian and Chinese companies. The women had been convicted on May 24 of obstructing public officials and illegally occupying land. The court upheld their convictions but reduced their sentences to time already served in prison. Their releases occurred against a backdrop of increasing national and international pressure, including concerns expressed to the visiting Cambodian foreign minister during a June trip to Washington, D.C. Two other Boeng Kak lake activists remain charged for the same reason, making them vulnerable to arrest at any time. Also under threat is the Venerable Luon Sovat, Cambodia's best known Buddhist monk activist, who was charged by the Phnom Penh Municipal court with "incitement to commit a felony" in a transparent attempt to silence a critic with a large and growing following.

Clinton should prioritize an end to illegal land seizures, which are often driving poor villagers off their land without adequate compensation. A number of Cambodian and foreign businesses have been implicated in the often violent abuses arising from government-instigated or condoned land-grabbing and other unbridled economic ventures in agriculture, manufacturing, and extractive industries. Elements of the Cambodian police and armed forces, including the military police, have also been involved.

The transfer of land through economic concessions and other state-sanctioned arrangements have reached an all-time high after government grants last year reportedly brought the total to at least 2.3 million hectares and as many as four million hectares. In response to outcries over rights abuses and other legal concerns, Prime Minister Hun Sen in May ordered a temporary halt to the granting of new economic land concessions and a review of existing ones, and in June he announced a program to reallocate at least 10 percent of the concessions to people living on them. However, at least six new grants have since been finalized and one other restored after review, with the government declaring such decisions are legal exceptions to the moratorium.

"Clinton should tell Hun Sen that corrupt land grabs from the poor through government concessions must end or the country may face widespread social unrest," Adams said. "She should also make it clear that any hopes of a significant increase in American foreign investment depend on the end of pervasive corruption and establishing the rule of law."

The Cambodian judiciary remains politically controlled by Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), effectively protecting the business interests and political positions of government officials. A recent example was in Kratie province, where on May 16, 2012, an estimated 1,000 members of the security forces stormed a village resisting a land concession controlled by the Casotim Company and shot dead Heng Chantha, a 14-year-old girl. The government justified the actions as necessary to suppress so-called secessionists. Instead of ordering an investigation into the killing, the provincial court issued warrants for the arrest of five protest leaders. The government is also using the incident to threaten the arrest of Mam Sanando, owner of a popular radio station and a veteran media critic of the government who has thus far remained out of the country to avoid detention.

It is crucial that Clinton press the Cambodian government to make the country safe for peaceful political opposition figures, Human Rights Watch said. Parliamentary opposition leader Sam Rainsy has been in exile, facing 12 years imprisonment on trumped up charges. Clinton should press the Cambodian government to quash all politically motivated court judgments against opposition politicians, transform national and local election commissions into truly independent bodies, and respect the right to freedom of expression via print, electronic, and social media.

"Where opposition leaders are hounded and prosecuted in politically motivated trials, the US often leads the international community in demanding that charges be dropped or convictions overturned," Adams said. "The US and others have remained conspicuously quiet since Rainsy's conviction, sending the message that they no longer consider pluralistic politics central to their relationship. Clinton should use this visit to demand that Rainsy be allowed to return to Cambodia so that he and his party can freely participate in elections in 2013, or the US will not consider the elections legitimate."

Children's deaths in Cambodia linked to Hand, Mouth and Foot disease

Monday, 09 July 2012

Bridget Di Certo and Chhay Channyda

 

Doctors have made a breakthrough in their efforts to identify the unknown and deadly illness that has claimed the lives of dozens of Cambodian children over the past four months.

Enterovirus 71, commonly associated with Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, has been singled out by virologists at Institut Pasteur as the explanation of the outbreak, according to emails from the head of the non-profit institute’s virology unit to the Ministry of Health and Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital doctors sent on Friday and obtained by the Post yesterday.

HFM is endemic in Vietnam and virologists homed in on the EV71 strain after adapting investigative testing to detect recent mutations of the virus that have appeared in Cambodia’s neighbour.

World Health Organization epidemiologist Dr Nima Asgari said the findings had “demystified” the situation, but added that they are “still looking at the clinical picture”.

Institut Pasteur had tested 24 samples and found 15 exhibited EV71.

“[These results will be further investigated] in the next few days, and then we can say whether a significant majority of these patients had EV71,” Asgari said.

WHO country director Dr Pieter Van Maaren said the strain had not been easy to diagnose and that the investigation was ongoing.

“There is no immediate need for a travel advisory, and WHO has not planned anything as of today,” Van Maaren said, qualifying his remarks with the still-evolving understanding of the illness that the WHO and Ministry of Health say has killed 56 children.

However, Kantha Bopha, which first alerted the ministry of the outbreak, said in a statement yesterday that 64 children had died from the illness in their hospitals alone.

“[Children] develop in the last hours of their life a total destruction of the alveolus in the lungs,” founding doctor Beat Richner said of the atypical EV71 symptom in a statement yesterday.

“Still, we have yet to see what is really causing the deadly pulmonary complication and see if a toxic factor is playing a role too,” added Richner, who remains concerned the deaths may be triggered by maltreatment and drug intoxication in private clinics.

Minister of Health Mam Bunheng said that even though EV71 was not a new disease, it had taken officials a while to “investigate thoroughly before we reveal publicly”.

“All people in Cambodian should be aware of good hygiene,” he added.

Ministry of Health officials said yesterday they were continuing to call on families to exercise good hygiene practices and to report all suspicious illness involving fever to hospitals.

“If children get fever and have a skin rash, please send them to hospital,” Ly Sovann, deputy director of the communicable disease department, said.

EV71 can cause severe complications of HFM disease including neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory problems and fatal cases of encephalitis.

No specific anti-viral therapy is available for EV71, however, the risk of infection is lowered significantly with high standards of personal and environmental hygiene, according to information on the virus published on the WHO website.

In 2011, there was an outbreak of HFM disease in Vietnam that had 98 fatalities.

However, that outbreak was associated with 42,673 non-fatal cases, a much lower mortality rate than appears in Cambodia’s outbreak.

WHO’s Asgari said initial reports of outbreaks would be of the sickest people and were bound to appear to have a higher mortality rate.

“Once you find the disease, you can do the investigation in the community and find there is a whole spectrum of the disease,” he said. “There will be milder cases, a bigger denominator with a lower percentage of mortality.”

Asgari said he personally had never heard of EV71 appearing in Cambodia before.

In Cambodia, according the Ministry of Health and the WHO, out of 74 cases, 56 were fatal.

According to Kantha Bopha, the figure is 66 cases, with 64 fatalities.

ASEAN eyes November for anti-nuke treaty as P5 hesitates

Monday, 09 July 2012

Shane Worrell and Bridget Di Certo

 

ASEAN remains hopeful it can still entice the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to sign a regional nuclear-weapon-free agreement after a scheduled signing was postponed on Sunday, a Cambodian foreign ministry spokesman has said.

Four of the “P5” countries – the UK, Russia, France and the US, with the other being China – have expressed reservations about signing a protocol within the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) treaty, which was to take place during this week’s ASEAN meetings in the capital.

"Four members of P5 have expressed reservations,” Kao Kim Huorn, secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at the Peace Palace today. “Their reservations were quite different. In the case of France, for example, it has to do with self-defence . . . in the case of the [UK], the reservation was to do with . . . development."

Russia had expressed “broader” concerns relating to armed forces, allies, transit and to what extent the protocol was a pact, he said.

Under the treaty, the 10 ASEAN states must not develop, possess or manufacture nuclear weapons. If the UK, Russia, the US, France and China sign the protocol, they would agree not to contribute to any regional member violating the treaty.

Kao Kim Huorn said the four countries’ reservations meant the region now had to look to the next ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in November for the outcome it wanted.

“There were possibly three documents to be signed,” he said. “The [SEANWFZ] commission decided to not cancel but postpone until the members and ASEAN were able to work closely with [the five] to resolve the issues.”

“They believe these should all be signed together, back to back. We hope the work can still be completed by November. We are surprised by the last-minute reservations  . . . ASEAN has been working hard for the last 12 years to make this happen," he added.

In his speech to open the 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting this morning, Prime Minister Hun Sen said one of the priorities of ASEAN is to maintain regional peace and security.

The SEANWFZ Treaty is one of the “instruments and mechanisms to ensure this could be achieved”, he said.

South China Sea centre of ASEAN talks again

Monday, 09 July 2012

Shane Worrell and Reuters

 

There was a sense of déjà vu at the Peace Palace yesterday as a week of largely closed-door ASEAN meetings kicked off in earnest with the same contentious issue that so dominated April’s ASEAN Summit: a code of conduct for the South China Sea.

Since the South China Sea-dominated talks at the venue three months ago, ASEAN has developed key elements for a COC that would govern the resources-rich waters that China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam claim.

With China present for some of this week’s ASEAN meetings, which include the 45th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, some are hopeful progress on the issue is imminent.

“Absolutely [this is the week for progress on the COC],” Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Saturday.

“If not now, when?”

Soeung Rathchavy, secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China and ASEAN had been informally preparing for COC discussions for some time.

“China [needs to be] involved in the process. We cannot do it without them,” she said.

The precise details of talks are likely to remain hidden – journalists have spent most of the opening three days confined to the venue’s media centre – but questions have been raised over how China’s rivalry with the US, which is also attending, could affect talks.

The US’s recent engagement with ASEAN states, including the Philippines and Vietnam, is seen as a potential source of friction with China.

“Too often in ASEAN, there’s a concern . . . of dangerous strategic competition between the United States and China,” Kurt Campbell, the State Department’s top official for East Asia and the Pacific, said recently.

“It’s our . . . strong determination to make clear we want to work with China.”

Representatives from ASEAN and China met yesterday morning in a closed-door “informal consultation”.

No press conference was given after the meeting and journalists were barred from waiting outside to speak to participants.

Meanwhile, ASEAN ministers said after a Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone meeting that a protocol of the similarly named nuclear weapons moratorium, due to be signed on Thursday, would not be signed until later in the year. 

Rainsy campaign ban considered

Monday, 09 July 2012

Meas Sokchea and Joseph Freeman

 

The National Election Committee is considering a new rule that would effectively ban self-exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy from campaigning for his party from abroad.

The move, coming ahead of parliamentary elections in July next year, could further isolate Rainsy, who lives in France and reaches most of his supporters via the internet or rousing video broadcasts.

NEC Secretary-General Tep Nytha told the Post yesterday that Rainsy is already barred from registering to vote or standing for office because he was convicted of a crime.

In 2010, courts sentenced him in absentia to a total of 12 years for uprooting a post on Cambodia’s border with Vietnam and producing Google maps he used to allege territorial encroachment.

And since he cannot cast a ballot or run for a seat, “do we allow him to propagandise or not?” asked Nytha, who did not say when a decision would be made on the potential ban.

“The experts in our department have been studying this issue, because it is related to the law.”

It is unclear how Rainsy would reach supporters if the ban goes into effect, a task he has already been having trouble with.

During the commune elections last month, he spoke to party members via a video speech broadcast from abroad.

The NEC later fined him US$2,500 for, among other things, using the platform to call Prime Minister Hun Sen a “traitor”.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann called the proposal “unacceptable”.

“They should not concentrate on banning Mr Sam Rainsy. Mr Sam Rainsy is not a criminal; he’s a patriot. I appeal to the NEC to suspend this idea.”

Koul Panha, the head of the election monitoring group Comfrel, said the NEC does not have the right to issue such a far-reaching ban.

There were more pressing laws the NEC should look at strengthening, such as the loosely enforced rule prohibiting civil servants and armed forces from campaigning for political parties.

Trade with Vietnam increases

Monday, 09 July 2012

Abe Becker

 

A pledge in mid-June by Cambodia and Vietnam to increase bilateral trade by more than US$2.5 billion by 2015 may lead to decreased trade with Thailand, market analysts have said.

The pledge made by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung for $5 billion in total trade between the two nations reflected a similar Sino-Cambodian trade goal set in early April.

Cambodian exports to Vietnam increased more than 57 per cent in the first quarter this year compared to last year, as farmers looked for alternative destinations for products that went to Thailand last year.

The Kingdom’s exports to Vietnam, being primarily agricultural, were worth $201.5 million, up from $127.7 million, between January and March last year, according to data from the Vietnam Trade Office.

Decreasing orders from Thailand this year drove Cambodian farmers to look for new markets, many of which were found in Vietnam, said Chan Nora, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Commerce.

Thai restrictions on Cambodian products such as cassava were also reported this year. Instability in the Cambodian market was caused by the shift to Vietnam, but new trade deals with China are expected to combat the instability, Chan Nora said.

Cambodia’s main exports to Vietnam were seafood, corn, tobacco and rubber.

Cambodia has a very high export potential for Vietnam, but “we must understand consumers’ taste and produce suitable products”, Kao Sieu Luc, general director of Vietnam-owned ABC Bakery, said.

ABC Bakery’s revenue increased more than 40 per cent year-on-year he said.

ABC Bakery plans to build an industrial bakery in Cambodia.

ANZ report shows a vulnerable Cambodia

Monday, 09 July 2012

Don Weinland

 

Cambodia and Thailand’s financial exposure to Europe would make the two counties the most vulnerable regionally, an ANZ Bank report showed.

The Kingdom’s exports and tourism sectors were on increasingly unstable ground as Europe’s debt crisis advanced.

“We look at the 2009 global financial crisis for guidance. Due to its high exposure to [the United States and Europe], Cambodian exports dropped in 2009, as did its real GDP growth,” the report stated. “In short, though the Greater Mekong region is not immune to the currently unfavourable external growth environment, we expect the four economies to perform quite differently in a worst case scenario: growth in Thailand and Cambodia will likely deteriorate the most, whereas Laos will continue to grow strongly.”

Between 2009 and 2011, an average of 27 per cent of Cambodia’s gross domestic product was generated by exports to the United States, the European Union, Japan and China.

Mining, hydropower and construction in Laos will drive its growth this year, which the report projected to be the highest in Asia at 8.3 per cent year-on-year GDP growth.

ANZ’s outlook for Cambodia’s growth, 6.5 per cent, was closely aligned with that of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Thailand, withe 63 per cent of its GDP generated by exports, was deeply affected by the economic crisis in 2009.

Vietnam was less affected due to a credit boom at the time.

Although its growth will be constrained this year, Vietnam’s rampant inflation looked to be controlled.

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ដោយ វណ្ណ វិចារ

2012-07-08

គណៈកម្មាធិការ​ជាតិ​រៀបចំ​ការ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត (គ.ជ.ប.) គ្រោង​ស្នើ​សេចក្ដី​ព្រាង​ច្បាប់​បន្ថែម​ទាក់ទង​នឹង​ការ​ឃោសនា​របស់​គណបក្ស​នយោបាយ ដើម្បី​ការពារ​កុំ​ឲ្យ​មេ​គណបក្ស​ដែល​មាន​ឈ្មោះ​ជា​ទណ្ឌិត អាច​មាន​ឱកាស​ឃោសនា​នយោបាយ​បាន។

អគ្គលេខាធិការ​គណៈកម្មាធិការ​ជាតិ​រៀបចំ​ការ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត លោក ទេព នីថា នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​០៧ ខែ​កក្កដា ឲ្យ​ដឹង​ថា គ.ជ.ប. មាន​គម្រោង​ជំរុញ​ការ​បង្កើត​នីតិវិធី​បន្ថែម​ទៀត ដើម្បី​រារាំង​មិន​ឲ្យ​មេដឹកនាំ​គណ បក្ស​នយោបាយ​ដែល​មាន​ទោស​មាន​សិទ្ធិ​ ឃោសនា​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​អាណត្តិ​ទី​៥ នា​ពេល​ខាង​មុខ។

លោក​បន្ត​ថា គ.ជ.ប. កំពុង​តែ​សិក្សា​ពី​នីតិវិធី​មួយ​ចំនួន​ស្ដីពី​ការ​ឃោសនា​បោះ​ឆ្នោត និង​រង់ចាំ​ពេល​វេលា​បន្ថែម​ទៀត ក្នុង​ការ​សម្រេច​សេចក្ដី​ព្រាង​នេះ៖ «យើងស្ថិត​នៅ​លើ​ការ​ពិនិត្យ​មើល​លើ​មូល ដ្ឋាន​ច្បាប់​ដែល​មាន​ជាក់ស្ដែង រៀបចំ​នីតិវិធី​នេះ​ឲ្យ​ស្រប​នឹង​ស្ថានភាព​ជាក់​ស្ដែង​ក្នុង​សង្គម​កម្ពុជា»។

ទាក់ទង​បញ្ហា​នេះ​អ្នក​នយោបាយ និង​សង្គម​ស៊ីវិល​មួយ​ចំនួន​នៅ​កម្ពុជា រិះគន់​ថា គ.ជ.ប. មាន​គម្រោង​បង្កើត​ច្បាប់​នេះ ដើម្បី​សម្លាប់​ជីវិត​អ្នក​នយោបាយ ជា​ពិសេស​សំដៅ​ទៅ​លោក សម រង្ស៉ី តែម្តង ហើយ​ទង្វើ​នេះ​ធ្វើ​ឡើង​ផ្ទុយ​នឹង​ឆន្ទៈ​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ។

មន្ត្រី​អ្នក​នាំ​ពាក្យ​គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៊ី លោក យឹម សុវណ្ណ មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា ស្ថាប័ន គ.ជ.ប. មាន​គម្រោង​បង្កើត​នីតិវិធី​បន្ថែម ដើម្បី​ផ្គាប់​ចិត្ត​គណបក្ស​ប្រជាជន​កម្ពុជា ហើយ​ច្បាប់​ក្រោយ​នេះ​ធ្វើ​ឡើង​ដើម្បី​ប្រឆាំង​ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស សម រង្ស៉ី តែម្ដង។ លោក​អះអាង​ថា ការ​បង្កើត​ច្បាប់​ប្រឆាំង​ទណ្ឌិត​មិន​ឲ្យ​ធ្វើ​ការ​ឃោសនា​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​នេះ នឹង​មិន​ត្រូវ​បាន​អ្នក​ស្នេហា​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​ស្វាគមន៍​ឡើយ។

លោក យឹម សុវណ្ណ បញ្ជាក់​ថា បំណង​កម្ចាត់​លោក សម រង្ស៉ី ចេញ​ពី​ឆាក​នយោបាយ បង្ហាញ​ថា គណបក្ស​កាន់​អំណាច​ខ្លាច​ឥទ្ធិពល​នយោបាយ​របស់​ប្រធាន​បក្ស​ប្រឆាំង៖ «គ.ជ.ប. ត្រូវ​តែ​ធ្វើ​ការ ងារ​ខ្លួន​ប្រកប​ដោយ​ឯករាជភាព​ដើម្បី​ធានា​ថា ការ​មាន​សេរី និង​យុត្តិធម៌ នេះ​ជា​ទង្វើ​យ៉ាង​ច្បាស់​បញ្ជាក់​ថា គណបក្ស​ប្រជាជន​ខ្លាច សម រង្ស៊ី លោក​ប្រធាន​កំពុង​តែ​ស្វះស្វែង​រក​ឥទ្ធិពល​ការទូត ដើម្បី​ឲ្យ​ត្រឡប់​មក​កម្ពុជា​វិញ»។

ទន្ទឹម​នឹង​នេះ​ដែរ ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិ​មនុស្ស លោក កឹម សុខា មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា ការ​បង្កើត​ច្បាប់​នៅ​កម្ពុជា ប្រៀប​ដូច​ជា​ការ​កាត់​ក្បាល​តម្រូវ​មួក បាន​ន័យ​ថា គ.ជ.ប. ធ្វើ​ច្បាប់​នេះ​ដើម្បី​កម្ចាត់​លោក សម រង្ស៊ី។

លោក​កត់​សម្គាល់​ថា កន្លង​មក​មាន​មតិ​ជា​ច្រើន​ចោទ​ថា គ.ជ.ប. បម្រើ​គណបក្ស​កាន់​អំណាច​តែ​មិន​ទាន់​មាន​ភស្តុតាង​ច្បាស់ ប៉ុន្តែ​ទង្វើ​បង្កើត​ច្បាប់​នេះ​ពិត​ជា​ការ​បង្ហាញ​ឲ្យ​ឃើញ​ច្បាស់​ថា គ.ជ.ប. ធ្វើ​ការ​បម្រើ​ឲ្យ​គណបក្ស​ប្រជាជន​ប្រាកដ​មែន៖ «ជា​រឿង​មួយ​ អាម៉ាស់​របស់ គ.ជ.ប. និង​បក្ស​កាន់​អំណាច​ឈ្នះ​ប៉ុណ្ណឹង ហើយ​ក៏​នៅ​តែ​តាម​ផ្ដន្ទា​គេ​ទៀត។ ជា​រឿង​នយោបាយ​សុទ្ធសាធ​ករណី​លោក សម រង្ស៉ី»។

លោក កឹម សុខា បន្ត​ថា គណបក្ស​សិទ្ធិ​មនុស្ស​នឹង​មិន​នៅ​ស្ងៀម​ឡើយ​ចំពោះ​ករណី​នេះ ដោយ​លោក​គ្រោង​នឹង​ចេញ​សេចក្ដី​ថ្លែងការណ៍​រិះគន់​សេចក្ដី​ព្រាង​នោះ​ទៀត​ ផង។

យ៉ាង​ណា​ក៏ដោយ មន្ត្រី​ជាន់​ខ្ពស់​គណបក្ស​ប្រជាជន​កម្ពុជា បាន​បដិសេធ​ថាគណបក្ស​កាន់​អំណាច​ មិន​ស្ថិត​នៅ​ពី​ក្រោយ​គម្រោងការ​បង្កើត​ច្បាប់​ប្រឆាំង​ មេ​បក្ស​ដែល​ជា​ទណ្ឌិត​ទេ។

អ្នក​នាំ​ពាក្យ​ទីស្ដីការ​គណៈរដ្ឋ​មន្ត្រី លោក ផៃ ស៊ីផាន មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា ការ​អនុវត្ត​នីតិវិធី​របស់ គ.ជ.ប. ជា​ផល​ប្រយោជន៍​សកល មិន​មែន​សំដៅ​តែ​ក្រុម​ណា​មួយ ឬ​បុគ្គល​ណា​មួយ​ទេ។ លោក​បន្ត​ថា កន្លង​មក គ.ជ.ប. តែង​តែ​អនុវត្ត​ការងារ​របស់​ខ្លួន​បាន​ត្រឹមត្រូវ ប្រកប​ដោយ​តម្លាភាព ស្រប​តាម​នីតិរដ្ឋ។

លោក ផៃ ស៊ីផាន បញ្ជាក់​ថា តាម​ច្បាប់​ទណ្ឌិត​មិន​អនុញ្ញាត​ឲ្យ​ធ្វើ​នយោបាយ​នោះ​ឡើយ៖ «កាល​ណា​យើង​ប្រើប្រាស់​ពាក្យ​ដើម្បី​បំផ្លាញ គ.ជ.ប. ជា​រឿង​ខុស​ក្នុង​លទ្ធិប្រជាធិបតេយ្យប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ សំដៅ​មតិ​ភាគ​ច្រើន»។

ទោះ​ជា​យ៉ាង​នេះ​ក្ដី អគ្គលេខាធិការ​គណៈកម្មាធិការ​ជាតិ​រៀបចំ​ការ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត  លោក ទេព នីថា មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា គ.ជ.ប. នឹង​ត្រូវ​រៀបចំ​នីតិវិធី​នោះ​ឲ្យ​ចប់​សព្វគ្រប់​មុន​ថ្ងៃ​ឃោសនា​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​ តំណាងរាស្ត្រ​ឆ្នាំ​២០១៣ ខាង​មុខ ដោយ​យក​ច្បាប់​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​ជា​មូលដ្ឋាន។

លោក ទេព នីថា បញ្ជាក់​ថា ចំពោះ​ពេល​វេលា​ជាក់លាក់​នៃ​ការ​​ចេញ​សេចក្ដី​ព្រាង​នីតិវិធី​បន្ថែម​នេះ មិន​ទាន់​បាន​កំណត់​រួច​រាល់​នៅ​ឡើយ​ទេ៖ «ច្បាប់​បាន​ហាម ពាក់ព័ន្ធ​នឹង​ការ​ឈរ​ឈ្មោះ និង​ការ​ចុះ​ឈ្មោះ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត។ តើ​អ្នក​ទាំង​អស់​នោះ​មាន​សិទ្ធិ​ធ្វើ​ការ​ឃោសនា​បោះ​ ឆ្នោត ឬ​ក៏​អត់ ច្បាប់​មិន​សំដៅ​លើ​នរណា​ទេ សំដៅ​ទូទៅ​តែម្ដង»។

ការ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​សភា​អាណត្តិ​ទី​៥ នឹង​ប្រព្រឹត្ត​ទៅ​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​២៨ កក្កដា ឆ្នាំ​២០១៣ ដោយ​រក្សា​ចំនួន​អាសនៈ ១២៣ ដូច​អាណត្តិ​ទី​៤​ដែរ។ បើ​សិន​ជា​សេចក្ដី​ព្រាង​ហាម​ឃាត់​ទណ្ឌិត​មិន​ឲ្យ​ចូល​រួម​ឃោសនា​ក្លាយ​ជា​ ច្បាប់​មែន​នោះ បាន​ន័យ​ថា លោក សម រង្ស៉ី មិន​អាច​ឃោសនា​តាម​រយៈ​បច្ចេកវិទ្យា វីដេអូ ផ្សាយ​ផ្ទាល់ (Video Conference) បាន​ដូច​មុន​ទេ។

ប្រធាន​គណៈកម្មាធិការ​អព្យាក្រឹត និង​យុត្តិធម៌​ដើម្បី​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​ដោយ​សេរី និង​ត្រឹមត្រូវ​នៅ​កម្ពុជា ឬ​អង្គការ និកហ្វិច (NICFEC) លោក​បណ្ឌិត ហង្ស ពុទ្ធា មាន​ប្រសាសន៍​ថា លោក​មិន​គាំទ្រ​ចំពោះ​ការ​រៀបចំ​ច្បាប់​ដែល​រៀបចំ​ឡើង​សំដៅ​គោលដៅ​នយោបាយ​ ឡើយ។

លោក​ពន្យល់​ថា មិន​ជា​ការ​ចាំបាច់​ទេ​ចំពោះ​ការ​រៀបចំ​នីតិវិធី​ថ្មី​សំដៅ​រារាំង​ទណ្ឌិត​មិន​ឲ្យ​ឃោសនា​​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​នោះ៖ «បើ ​សិន​ជា​សិក្សា​ច្បាប់​នៅ​ប្រទេស​ផ្សេង ដូច​ជា​នៅ​ថៃ ថាក់ស៊ីន តុលាការ​កាត់​ទោស​ហើយ​នៅ​តែ​អាច​ជួប​អ្នក​គាំទ្រ​ខ្លួន​តាម​វីដេអូ ខនហ្វើរិន ដូច​នេះ​វា​មិន​ចាំបាច់​មាន​នីតិវិធី​បន្ថែម​ នេះ​ទេ»។

ប្រធាន​គណបក្ស​ប្រឆាំង សម រង្ស៉ី លោក សម រង្ស៉ី បាន​និរទេស​ខ្លួន​ទៅ​ក្រៅ​ប្រទេស​បន្ទាប់​ពី​ដក​តម្រុយ​បង្គោល​ព្រំដែន​ កម្ពុជា-​វៀតណាម កាល​ពី​ឆ្នាំ​២០១០ នៅ​ខេត្ត​ស្វាយរៀង។

សាលាឧទ្ធរណ៍​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​២០ ខែ​កញ្ញា ឆ្នាំ​២០១១ បាន​សម្រេច​​ផ្តន្ទា​ទោស​​កំបាំង​មុខ​​លោក សម រង្ស៊ី ដោយ​​បន្ថយ​ទោស​​ដាក់​​ពន្ធនាគារ​ពី ១០​ឆ្នាំ មក​​ត្រឹម ៧​​ឆ្នាំ និង​​ពិន័យ​​ជា​​ប្រាក់​​សរុប​​ចំនួន​ ៦៣​លាន​​រៀល​ ពី​​បទ​​ក្លែង​បន្លំ​​ឯកសារ​​ផែនទី​​ព្រំដែន​​កម្ពុជា-​វៀតណាម និង​បទ​​ញុះញង់ មាន​ន័យ​ថា លោក សម រង្ស៉ី ក្លាយ​ជា​ទណ្ឌិត។

រាល់​ការ​ជួបជុំ​សមាជិក​ម្តងៗ ជា​ពិសេស​ពេល​ឃោសនា​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​ឃុំ​សង្កាត់ អាណត្តិ​ទី​៣ កន្លង​ទៅ លោក សម រង្ស៉ី តែង​ប្រើប្រាស់​ប្រព័ន្ធ​ទំនាក់​ទំនង​អេឡិចត្រូនិក វីដេអូ ខនហ្វើរិន ដើម្បី​ទាក់ទង​ទៅ​កាន់​សមាជិក​របស់​ខ្លួន។

ច្បាប់​ស្ដីពី​ការ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​ជ្រើសរើស​តំណាងរាស្ត្រ មាត្រា​ទី​៣៤ ថ្មី​ចែង​ថា ចំពោះ​ជន​ណា​ដែល​ត្រូវ​បាន​តុលាការ​ផ្ដន្ទាទោស​ដាក់​ពន្ធនាគារ​ពី​បទ​ ឧក្រិដ្ឋ ឬ​បទមជ្ឈិម ហើយ​មិន​ទាន់​មាន​នីតិសម្បទា​ឡើង​វិញ គឺ​គ្មាន​សិទ្ធិ​ឈរ​ឈ្មោះ​ជា​បេក្ខភាព​តំណាងរាស្ត្រ​បាន​ទេ។ ចំពោះ​ការ​ឃោសនា​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​វិញ មិន​ទាន់​មាន​ច្បាប់​ណា​មួយ​ហាម​ប្រាម​ចំពោះ​នីតិបុគ្គល ឬ​ទណ្ឌិត​នោះ​ឡើយ៕

វៀតណាម​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​៖ «លទ្ធិ​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ»​ដឹកនាំ​ដោយ​គណបក្ស​តែ​មួយ​

ដោយ តាន់ ហ្សង់-ហ្វ្រង់ស្វ័រ

 

ថ្ងៃ​​នេះ​​ ហ្សង់-ហ្វ្រង់ស័រ​ តាន់​សូម​​បន្ត​​ចាប់​​អារម្មណ៍​​ទៅ​​លើ​​ភូមិ​សាស្ត្រ​នយោបាយ​​នៃ​​ភូមិភាគ ​​អាស៊ី​​អាគ្នេយ៍​​ត​​ទៅ​​ទៀត​​ ដោយ​​សូម​​លើក​​ឡើង​​អំពី​​របប​​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​​វៀតណាម។ ​ជិត​​​៤០​​ឆ្នាំ​​ កន្លង​​មក​​ហើយ​​​ដែល​​វៀតណាម​​ខាង​​ជើង​​និង​​វៀតណាម​​ខាង​​ត្បូង បាន​​ បង្រួប​​បង្រួម​​គ្នា​​ទៅ​​ជា​​ប្រទេស​​តែ​​មួយ​​ដែល​​ដឹក​នាំ​​ដោយ​​គណបក្សកុម្មុយនិស្ត​។​ ទោះ​បី​​ជា​​បាន​​និង​​កំពុង​​បន្ត​​ធ្វើ​​សេរីកម្ម​​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​​ តាំង​ពី​​ឆ្នាំ​​១៩៨៦​​មក​​ក្តី​​ ក៏​​វៀតណាម​​ដែល​​​យក​​តម្រាប់​​តាម​​ប្រទេស​​ចិន​​ នៅ​​តែ​​ជា​​ប្រទេស​​កាន់​​អំណាច​​ផ្តាច់ការ​​ក្នុង​​ពេល​​បច្ចុប្បន្ន។​

ក្រោយ​បន្ទាប់​ពី​ទីក្រុងសៃហ្កុង(Saigon) បាន​ធ្លាក់នៅ​ខែ​មេសា​ឆ្នាំ​ ១៩៧៥​ វៀតណាម​ខាង ជើង​និង​វៀតណាម​ខាងត្បូង​ត្រូវ ​បាន​បង្រួប​បង្រួម​គ្នាទៅ​ជា​ប្រទេស​តែ​មួយ ​វិញ​ដែល​ក្លាយ​ជា​របប​កុម្មុយ និស្ត​ផ្តាច់ការ ក្រោម​ឈ្មោះ​ថា​សាធារណរដ្ឋ​សង្គមនិយម​វៀតណាម​។

ឥឡូវ​នេះ​ ជិត៤០​ឆ្នាំ​ក្រោយ​មក ជា​ផ្លូវការ​ទីក្រុង​ហាណូយ ​(Hanoi)​ ចាត់​ទុក​របប​នយោបាយ​នៃ​ប្រទេស​ខ្លួន​ថា ​ជា​"លទ្ធិ​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ ដឹក​នាំ​ដោយ​គណបក្ស​តែ​មួយ" នោះ គឺ​គណបក្ស​កុម្មុយ និស្ត​វៀតណាម​។ រដ្ឋា​ភិបាល​ពន្យល់ថា ​ខ្លួន​កំពុង​ប្រឹង​ប្រែង​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​លទ្ធិ​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​រីក​ចំរើន​សន្សឹមៗ​ ទៅ​មុខ​ដោយ​សន្តិវិធី​។

នៅ​ក្នុង​ន័យ​នេះ​ អាជ្ញាធរ​អះអាង​ថា នៅ​ពេល​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​សភា​ម្តងៗ តែង​តែ​មាន​តំណាង​រាស្រ្ត​មួយ​ចំនួន​ ដែល​មិន​មែន​ចេញ​មក​ពី​ជួរ​គណបក្ស​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​។ ជាក់ស្តែង​ វា​មាន​អ៊ីចឹង​មែន​បេក្ខជន​មិន មែន​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ក្នុង​ពេល​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​ឆ្នាំ​ ២០០៧ ក៏​ដូច​ក្នុង​ពេល​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​ឆ្នាំ​២០១១​ដែរ។

ក៏​ប៉ុន្តែ​ ការ​ពិត​ទាំងស្រុង វា​មិន​ដូច​មាត់​រដ្ឋា​ភិបាលថា​នោះ​ឡើយ​។ អ្នក​ដែល​មិនមែន​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ ​អាច​ឈរ​ឈ្មោះ​បោះ​ឆ្នោត​បាន​ លុះ​ត្រា​តែ​អ្នក​នោះ​ជា​បេក្ខជន​ឯកឯង​ គ្មាន​អង្គការ​នយោបាយ​ សង្គម​ឬ​សាសនា​ នៅ​ពី​ក្រោយ​។ យ៉ាប់​ជាង​នេះ​ទៅ​ទៀត​ បេក្ខភាព​នៃ​បណ្តា​ជន​ឯករាជ្យ​​ទាំង​អស់​នោះ​ ត្រូវ​ឆ្លង​កាត់​មុខ​អាជ្ញាធរ​មូលដ្ឋាន​ រួច​ហើយ​មុខ​អាជ្ញាធរ​ថ្នាក់​ជាតិ​។

ជា​ទូទៅ​ បេក្ខភាព​ច្រើន​សន្ធឹក​សន្ធាប់​ណាស់​ត្រូវ​បាន​ច្រាន​ចោល​ ក្រោម​លេស​ថា​ ជា​ការ​គំរាម​កំហែង​ដល់​សណ្តាប់​ធ្នាប់​សាធារណៈ។

ក្រោម​លេស​ថា​ជា​ការ​គំរាមកំហែង​សណ្តាប់​ធ្នាប់​សាធារណៈ​  អាជ្ញាធរ​វៀតណាម​ ចាប់​សកម្មជន​​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​ និង​សកម្មជន​សិទ្ធិ​មនុស្ស​ញាត់​បញ្ចូលគុក​ ធ្វើ​ទុក្ខ​បុកម្នេញ​ទៅ​លើ​ជនជាតិ​ភាគ​តិច​ ទៅ​លើ​ប្រមុខ​ពុទ្ធ​សាសនា​ និង​ប្រមុខ​គ្រិស្តសាសនា​។ មិន​ត្រឹម​តែ​គ្មាន​សេរីភាព​​សាសនា​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ​ទេ​ សូម្បី​តែ​សេរីភាព​សារពត៌មាន​ក៏​គ្មាន​ដែរ​។ ជាក់ស្តែង នៅ​ក្នុង​របាយ​ការណ៍​ឆ្នាំ​២០០៨​របស់​ខ្លួន​ អង្គការ​អ្នក​សារពត៌មាន​គ្មាន​ព្រំ​ដែន​ បាន​សរសេរ​ជា​អាទិ៍​ថា"នគរបាល​នយោបាយ​ នៅ​វៀត​ណាម​ បាន​ចាត់​វិធានការ​ប្រឆាំង​នឹង​ការ​បោះពុម្ភ​ផ្សាយ​ផ្សេងៗ​​របស់​ពួក​អ្នក​ ជំទាស់​។ អ្នក​កាសែត​ម្នាក់ និង​ពួក​អ្នក​សរសេរ​អត្ថបទ​ប្រឆាំង​នឹង​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​​ តាមអ៊ីនធ័រណែត​ ចំនួន​ជាង​១០​នាក់​ ត្រូវ​បាន​កាត់ទោស​ឲ្យ​ជាប់​ពន្ធនាគារ​ ហើយ​អ្នក​កាសែត​បារាំង​ម្នាក់​ធ្វើ​ការ​ឲ្យ​វិទ្យុ​ប្រឆាំង​មួយ​ ត្រូវ​បាន​ចាប់​ខ្លួន​ ក្នុង​បទ​ភេរវកម្ម។"

និយាយ​រួម ប្រព័ន្ធ​នយោបាយ​នៃ​ប្រទេស​វៀតណាម​មាន​មូលដ្ឋាន​នៅ​លើ​អំណាច​នៃ​បក្ស​ កុម្មុយនិស្ត។ គឺ​គណៈកម្មាធិការ​មជ្ឈិម​និង​ការិយាល័យ​នយោបាយ​នៃ​បក្ស​ជា​អ្នក​អនុម័ត​រាល់ ​សេចក្តី​សម្រេចចិត្ត​សំខាន់ៗ។ បក្ស​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​វៀតណាម​មាន​វត្តមាន​នៅ​គ្រប់​ជាន់​ថ្នាក់​និង​គ្រប់​ទី​ កន្លែង ពី​រដ្ឋបាល​ជាតិ​និង​មូលដ្ឋាន ពី​កងទ័ព​និង​នគរបាល រហូត​ទៅ​ដល់​សាលា​រៀន​និង​សហគ្រាស​រដ្ឋ​ឬ​ឯកជន។

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ផ្ទុយ​ទៅ​វិញ​ នៅ​លើ​វិស័យ​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច ​វៀតណាម​យក​តម្រាប់​តាម​ចិន​ដោយ​បាន​បោះ​បង់​ចោល​ សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​​ផែនការ​បែរ​ទៅ​រក​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​ទី​ផ្សារ​និង​បើក​ចំហ​ប្រទេស​ ដើម្បី​ទទួល​វិនិយោគ​បរទេស។​

ថ្នាក់​ដឹក​នាំ​វៀតណាម​ បាន​ផ្តើម​ធ្វើ​សេរីកម្ម​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៨៦​។ កាល​នោះ​ ទី​ក្រុង​ហាណូយ​បាន​អនុម័ត​ច្បាប់​មួយ​ចំនួន​ បានអនុញ្ញាត​ឲ្យ​មានវិនិយោគ​បរទេស​ជា​លើក​ទី​មួយ​បង្អស់​។ គឺ​ជា​ការ​ផ្តើម​ឡើង​នៃ​នយោបាយ​doi moi ដែល​គេ​អាច​បក​ប្រែ​ថា​ជា​ កំណែ​ទម្រង់​ ឬ​ការ​​ផ្លាស់ប្តូរ​ឲ្យ​បាន​ប្រសើរ​ឡើង​​ស្រដៀង​គ្នា​នឹង​ពាក្យ​  Perestroïka នៅ​សហភាព​សូវៀត​សម័យ​​​លោក ​Gorbatchev​។

ក្រោយ​មក​ទៀត​ នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៩១​ ថ្នាក់​ដឹក​នាំ​វៀតណាម​ បាន​ផ្តើម​ធ្វើ​សេរីកម្ម​នៅ​លើ​វិស័យ​កសិកម្ម។​ ដី​ធ្លី​លែង​ជា​កម្មសិទ្ធិ​របស់​សមូហភាព។​ រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ទទួល​ស្គាល់​វិស័យ​ឯកជន​ និង​ធ្វើ​កំណែ​ទម្រង់​ក្រុមហ៊ុន​រដ្ឋ​។ នយោបាយ​doi moi បាន​នាំ​មក​យ៉ាង​លឿន​រហ័ស​ នូវ​លទ្ធផល​ល្អ​ហួស​ការ​ស្មាន​ និង​គួរ​ឲ្យ​ភ្ញាក់​ផ្អើល​ជា​ទី​បំផុត​។ នៅ​ចុង​ទសវត្សរ៍​ទី​៩០​ វៀតណាម​ដែល​ជា​ប្រទេស​ក្រ​គ្មាន​អង្ករ​ច្រក​ឆ្នាំង​ បាន​ក្លាយ​ជា​ប្រទេស​លក់​អង្ក​រចេញ​ទៅ​ក្រៅ​លំដាប់​ថ្នាក់​លេខ​មួយ​​ នៅ​ក្នុង​ពិភព​លោក​។ នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៩៥​ វៀតណាម​ក្លាយ​ជា​សមាជិក​នៃ​អាស៊ាន​ មាន​ទំនាក់​ទំនង​ទូត​ឡើង​វិញ​ជា​មួយ​សហរដ្ឋ​អាមេរិក​ ដែល​បាន​សម្រេច​ឈប់​ដាក់​ទណ្ឌកម្មសេដ្ឋកិច្ច​ទៅ​លើ​ប្រទេស​អតីត​សត្រូវ​មួយ​ នេះ​របស់​ខ្លួន​ នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៩៤​។

ជា​ការ​ពិត​ណាស់​ដែល​ថា​ សេរីកម្ម​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​នៅ​វៀតណាម​ មិន​បាន​នាំ​មក​ទន្ទឹម​គ្នា​នូវ​ប្រជាធិ បតេយ្យូបនីយកម្ម​នៃ​ប្រទេស​។ ក៏​ប៉ុន្តែ​ក្រុម​អ្នក​សង្កេតការណ៍​ អះអាង​ថាសព្វ​​ថ្ងៃ​នៅ​​​​​ផ្ទៃ​​ក្នុង​គណ បក្ស​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​វៀតណាម​ មាន​ការ​តស៊ូ​មតិ​យ៉ាង​ផុសផុល​ ជុំ​វិញ​ប្រធាន​រឿង​ពីរ​។ ប្រធាន​រឿង​ទី​មួយ​គឺ​ការ​ចាំ​បាច់​ក្នុងការបង្កើត​ឲ្យ​មាន​អង្គការ​មួយ​ ចំនួន​ដែល​មិន​អាស្រ័យ​​នឹង​​បក្ស​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ដូច​យ៉ាង​អង្គការ​ប្រយុទ្ធ​ប្រឆាំង​នឹង​អំពើ​ពុក​រលួយ​ជា​ដើម​។

គោល​ដៅ​ គឺ​ធ្វើ​យ៉ាង​ណា​ដើម្បី​ឲ្យ​មាន​បណ្តើរៗ​ ស្ថាប័ន​ឯករាជ្យ​ដែល​អាច​ទប់​កម្លាំង​ខ្លាំង​ជ្រុល​​របស់​គណបក្ស​​​ កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ ពីព្រោះ​ពិភព​លោក​ដែល​ផ្លាស់​ប្តូរ​ ទាមទារ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ការ​ផ្លាស់ប្តូរ​ដែរ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ប្រទេស​វៀតណាម​។

ប្រធាន​រឿង​ទី​ពីរ​នៃ​ការ​តស៊ូ​មតិ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ផ្ទៃ​ក្នុង​បក្ស​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ វៀតណាម​សព្វ​ថ្ងៃ​គឺ​ការ​រៀប​ចំ​ឲ្យ​​មាន​ តុល្យភាព​ល្អ​ រវាង​ចរន្ត​ពួក​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ខាង​ត្បូង​ និងចរន្ត​ពួក​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ខាង​ជើង​។ គួរ​បញ្ជាក់​ថា នៅ​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៧៥​ ក្រោយ​ពេល​ដែល​ទី​ក្រុង​សៃហ្កុងបាន​ធ្លាក់​ ពួក​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ដែល​បាន​បង្កប់​ខ្លួន​នៅ​វៀត ណាម​ខាងត្បូង​បាក់​កម្លាំង​ ទន់ខ្សោយ​ខ្លាំង​។ មូលហេតុ​ទី​មួយ​គឺបណ្តាល​​​មក​ពី​ក្នុង​ចន្លោះ​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៦៨​ និង​ឆ្នាំ​១៩៧៥​ ពួក​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​បង្កប់​ខ្លួន​ នៅ​វៀតណាម​ខាង​ត្បូង​ បាន​ស្លាប់​អស់​ច្រើន​។

ឯ​មូល​ហេតុ​ទី​ពីរ​ គឺ​បណ្តាល​មក​ពី​ ការ​បង្រួបបង្រួម​យ៉ាង​លឿន​រហ័ស វៀតណាម​​ខាងត្បូង​និង​វៀតណាម​ខាងជើង​ទៅ​ជា​ប្រទេស​តែ​មួយ​និង​ការ​លាត​ សន្ធឹង​របៀប​គ្រប់គ្រង​ប្រទេស​តាម​បែប​កុម្មុយនីស្ត​ ពី​ខាង​ជើង​មក​ខាង​ត្បូង​ ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​ចរន្ត​ពួក​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ខាង​ជើង​ មាន​ឥទ្ធិពល​ខ្លាំង​ជាង​ ចរន្ត​ពួក​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ខាង​ត្បូង​។

ក៏ប៉ុន្តែ នៅ​ដើម​សតវត្សរ៍​ទី​២១​នេះ​ សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​មាន​តម្លៃ​ជាង​មនោគមវិជ្ជា​ បាន​ន័យ​ថា​តំបន់​ប៉ែក​​ខាង​ត្បូង​ ជា​ពិសេស​ទី​ក្រុង​សៃហ្កុង​ដែល​ជា​ក្បាល​ម៉ាស៊ីន​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​កំពុងស្គាល់ការ អភិវឌ្ឍន៍​លឿន​ជាង​តំបន់​ប៉ែក​ខាង​ជើង​ ជា​ហេតុ​ធ្វើ​ឲ្យ​ចរន្ត​ពួក​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​ខាង​ត្បូង​ មាន​ទឹក​មាត់​ប្រៃ​ឡើង​វិញ​។

លើស​ពី​នេះ​ទៅ​ទៀត​ ប្រជាជន​វៀតណាម​នៅ​បរទេស​ កូន​ចៅ​របស់​ជនភៀស​ខ្លួន​ Boat people ដែល​បាន​រៀន​សូត្រ​នៅ​អាមេរិក​ឬ​នៅ​អឺរ៉ុប​ ត្រឡប់​ចូល​មក​ក្នុង​មាតុ​ប្រទេស​វិញ​ ជា​ពិសេស​មករស់​នៅ​ទីក្រុង​សៃហ្កុង​ និង​រក​ស៊ី​មាន​បាន​ ក្លាយ​ជា​តួអង្គ​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​សំខាន់ៗ​ ដែល​ពី​អំណើះ​ត​ទៅ​ គណ បក្ស​កុម្មុយនិស្ត​វៀតណាម​ ត្រូវ​តែ​យក​ចិត្ត​ទុក​ដាក់​៕

The challenge of internationalisation in Hong Kong

By Way Kuo 08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

How many non-Chinese students study in Hong Kong? You would expect them to be flocking here. Our universities rank among the best in the world; our professors are well respected; we have strong historical ties to Britain; and Hong Kong, we are told, is Asia's world city, the bridge between East and West, the gateway to China.

But the reality is that relatively few non-Chinese students come here. Of the 56,921 full-time undergraduates on University Grants Committee-funded programmes in 2011-12, 1,057 came from Asia, outside mainland China, while 274 came from the rest of the world.

Many universities in North America and Europe have at least the same number of international students enrolled as the total number studying in Hong Kong.

This begs the question: Why? Why are so few non-Chinese students coming to Hong Kong? Or, for that matter, why so few from Taiwan? In fact, almost none came from Taiwan before 2008, the year I started to work at City University of Hong Kong.

So, really how internationalised is Asia's world city?

Internationalism needs a changed mindset

The essence of internationalisation is the ability to adapt to new circumstances, initiate cultural changes, overcome resistance to change, learn from other cultures and implement new ideas. It does not mean simply the ability to speak English, as a comparison between Hong Kong and South Korea reveals.

South Korea has changed beyond all recognition in the past 20 years, buoyed by the success of companies like Samsung and Hyundai. Its cultural exports, including Korean cuisine, television programmes and traditional medicine, are enjoyed throughout Asia, and its products are used all over the world.

Without a doubt, Seoul is an international city, headquarters to one of the most dynamic economies on earth. But what is interesting is that South Korea's success has not been due to the ability of its people to speak fluent English, just as Japan's economy was not built in the 1980s and 1990s on trilingualism and bi-literacy.

Most visitors to Seoul will agree that people in Hong Kong tend to have greater English language skills. Rather, South Korea's triumph has been to modify its mindset and change with the times.

The Koreans have shown that internationalisation is not wholly dependent on language skills; changing with the times is more crucial. In a globalised world, where our actions are heard, seen and evaluated beyond our borders, we must be able to anticipate the need for change at a deep structural, societal and cultural level.

Leadership, either by individuals or as a group, should mean standing up to be counted, forging ahead and taking responsibility for change to liberalise our ways of governance and implement creative innovations that raise global standards and benefit humankind.

So what is internationalisation in education, if it is not simply about learning English?

For me, it means more than language skills and exchanges for scholars and students. It means giving our young people the chance to understand their own culture first and opportunities to learn about other cultures.

It means establishing curriculum reforms that will create space for knowledge creation, original discoveries and innovative thinking by integrating learning and research. Most important of all, it requires a change of mentality, one that is free of prejudice, open to new ideas, adaptable and all-embracing.

The rise of Asia

Internationalisation isn't a new phenomenon. It has been around since humans first started interacting and finding common causes and ideals. Two thousand years ago, state-to-state exchanges during the Warring States period were the norm before China was unified.

The world continued learning from China until the 15th century and then, after the Industrial Revolution in Europe, the world began to modernise and the West grew in power. But now that East Asia is rising, we can learn just as much from the East as we do from the West, which is why we should develop confidence in our own areas of expertise.

Universities in Hong Kong should take full advantage of the city's unique cultural and geographical position to enhance their influence as intermediaries between China, Asia and the West.

They should seek cross-border collaborations that develop innovative education programmes and research enterprises with Asian and Western perspectives, and create new paradigms, structures and growth points for global advancement.

Internationalisation grows from our own culture. No matter which way one looks, people in Hong Kong first need to embrace Chinese culture and language, mindful that it is paid greater attention by the rest of the world than ever before.

In some ways, since my arrival in Hong Kong, I have felt that the United States is actually closer to China than Taiwan is; and that Taiwan is closer to China than Hong Kong is, in spite of geographic proximity and historical connections.

In this regard, the US is more internationalised than Taiwan, which is more internationalised than Hong Kong. Keep in mind, too, that no one is likely to come to study in Hong Kong simply because we use English; otherwise, why are there far more foreign students in Beijing or Shanghai than in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong and its universities have to consider what to offer the rest of the world.

Estimates suggest Asia will constitute about 70% of the global demand for higher education in 15 years time. How are we to respond in the context of internationalisation? Only when a greater number of students from the rest of the world are studying in Hong Kong universities can we say that we are making some progress towards internationalisation.

* Professor Way Kuo is the president of City University of Hong Kong. This article was first published as “Hong Kong as Asia's First City? Not yet” in the South China Morning Post and is republished with permission.
 

 

 

The online, free education revolution accelerates in Australia

The Australian08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

Two Australian universities are going through the final planning phases before the prototype of a free online learning platform aimed at disadvantaged people, particularly in developing nations, is given its first test run, writes Julie Hare for The Australian.

The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and Wollongong University are among 15 institutions that will contribute courses to the Open Education Resource University, which is being run by WikiEducator. USQ Vice-chancellor Jan Thomas described it as a “try before you buy” option to higher education. Under the prototype, students will not need to pay to study unless they want to be assessed.

Full report on The Australian site

Julie Hare 

From: The Australia

 July 03, 2012 12:00AM

Jan Thomas, vice chancellor of USQ, says the race is on to find new educational paradigms. Source: Supplied

 

THE building momentum behind free online higher education has been given another shot in the arm after UNESCO announced it will ask governments worldwide to commit to developing, promoting and making available open educational resources. 

Meanwhile, two Australian universities are going through the final planning phases before the prototype of a free online learning platform aimed at disadvantaged people particularly in developing nations is given its first test run.

The University of Southern Queensland and Wollongong University are among 15 institutions which will contribute courses to the Open Education Resource University, which is being run by WikiEducator.

USQ vice-chancellor Jan Thomas described it as a “try before you buy” option to higher education.
Under the prototype, students will not need to pay to study unless they want to be assessed.
Professor Thomas said OERU would also be priced at a fraction of normal university units. She said by picking up subjects from the various institutions involved it would, in theory, be possible to graduate at a quarter of the cost of a full degree.

Professor Thomas said one just needed to look to India to see the potential, and need, for such an offering.

“The number of higher education students is expected to double in the next 10 to 20 years,” she said.
“We need new paradigms for educational delivery that allow us to cope with the astronomical growth projected.”

Under the arrangement, each institution will offer at least two courses – the equivalent to one full-year subject. Academic volunteers will provide free tutorial support.

Professor Thomas said rather than cannibalising existing offerings, the OERU would more likely act as a feeder into existing online degrees with credit or advanced standing.

“We are removing cost as the major barrier to learning, opening the door to students from a variety of backgrounds, including stay-at-home mothers, students from third world countries, and so on.
The UNESCO declaration was presented at the World Open Educational Resources (OER) Congress in Paris in June. The congress is a partnership between UNESCO and the non-profit Commonwealth of Learning.

Helping Asian students understand regional accents

08 July 2012 Issue No:229

Researchers at the University of Nottingham have developed a computer program that helps Asian students improve their understanding of accented English speech in noisy environments.

The team of researchers from the schools of psychology, education, and English realised that some Asian students found it difficult to understand the range of different English accents spoken in Britain.

They identified that some of the students had particular difficulties with differentiating sounds at the end of English words (rope versus robe) and at the start (tin versus thin).

Such problems with spoken English can make continuous speech difficult to follow, given that misunderstanding just one word can potentially change the whole interpretation of a sentence. The difficulties are also magnified in non-optimal listening situations such as on a telephone or in places such as shopping centres where there can be a lot of ambient noise.

To tackle the problem, the researchers developed a computerised Spoken English Discrimination, or SED, training program. This can be used to train Chinese speakers in how to detect differences in speech sounds in adverse conditions, such as accented speech, or in situations where there are a number of other sounds in the background.

The research team secured development money for the project through the European funded Innovation Fellowship scheme and via Nottingham’s own Hermes Fellowship. The awards enabled the team to develop the product, assess the market demand and identify business collaboration opportunities.

The research team was led by Nicola Pitchford and Walter van Heuven from the school of psychology. Pitchford said the findings showed that SED training did have a significant impact in terms of enabling Asian students to differentiate between sounds.

“There has already been interest from government organisations through to a major Chinese mobile phone company, which is interested in developing it into an educational phone app,” Pitchford said.

“In China alone, over 300 million people are involved in learning and teaching English, so we are very excited about the programme’s potential.”

The university is also looking to integrate SED training into existing English language teaching schemes because it covers specific cultural elements, accents and different noisy backgrounds, issues that are normally not included in language courses.

PhDs – What model works for developing countries?

By Devi D Tewari 08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

Doctoral research is often dubbed the ‘primary function of universities’. It supplies important academic training with the main focus on creating a highly skilled and knowledgeable labour force with great competence in influencing the ideas of wider society.

The acquisition of a PhD has become the yardstick for measuring the quality of research output in countries as well as contributing new research-oriented ideas.

The models, practices and procedures for the awarding of a PhD degree have been extensively transformed since its introduction in Germany in 1810 at the University of Berlin. At that time, the awarding of a PhD meant a candidate had to attend and contribute at seminars, submit a self-written and acceptable dissertation or thesis characterised by originality and creativity, and pass a comprehensive oral examination.

Between the 1860s and 1930s PhD studies permeated North America, Canada, Australia and Britain as well as other parts of Europe. In North America, Yale was the first university to commission PhD studies and was later joined by other institutions, including Harvard and the Universities of Michigan and Pennsylvania.

In the United States, the requirements for the awarding of a PhD were extended to include undertaking a set of specialised courses, enrolling for three years, demonstrating a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language, passing a comprehensive examination, submitting a dissertation and passing an oral examination.

Australia and Britain adopted and modified the American system in accordance with their indigenous conditions. The methods of examination for PhDs were therefore part of the warp and weft of the traditions and cultures of these countries.

Two distinguished models emerged

By the close of the 1950s two highly distinguished models of examining PhD dissertations had emerged and were practised by, first, Britain, Australia and some Commonwealth nations and, second, universities in the US and Canada.

The quality of a PhD dissertation depended on the nature of supervision and the models used to examine it. In the American system, supervision was administered by a team of academics led by a principal supervisor. In the British system, only one supervisor undertakes the whole moderation process.

PhD candidate status is granted only after the student has passed a comprehensive examination under the American model, but under the European model PhD candidacy is granted upon the successful defence of a research proposal.

The American PhD system has many checks and balances to control for quality. For example, a PhD student must pass a set of coursework covering the duration of about 12 to 18 months, in addition to the comprehensive examination.

The comprehensive examination is a very important feature of the American system and comprises both written and oral elements. A student who fails the comprehensive examination is given the opportunity to take it again within a year. If the student fails the second time s/he is advised to withdraw from the programme.

To control for quality in the European system, a PhD student must successfully pass a proposal defence seminar. This system absolutely eliminates the need for coursework and favours a good proposal written and defended by the student in the presence of the proposal examination committee. A failure to defend the proposal successfully prevents the university from granting a PhD candidacy.

Different models of dissertation examination

However, in the examination of the dissertation the two models differ sharply.

Under the American model, a group of academicians – internal and external, including the principal supervisor – examine the student’s work. These academics form the dissertation examination committee, which examines the student both orally and on the basis of a written submission.

The supervisor is a very important figure in the whole process and his or her importance is based on the premise that s/he is an intellectual who is interested in producing another intellectual through the production of a dissertation by the student.

Therefore the supervisor is guided by intellectual ethical guidelines, which will ensure the authenticity and quality of the dissertation. However, the external examiner holds the veto power and fails the candidate if the dissertation is of low quality.

In the European model, examiners are appointed to evaluate the dissertation and the main supervisor is excluded. This model excludes the supervisor on the basis that his or her judgement may be clouded by self-interest even in the case of a low quality dissertation.

The examiners, who may be local or international, together with the dean or deputy dean, form the dissertation referees committee. The role of the committee is to make a summary report on the results of the various reports submitted by the different examiners.

Compared to the American model, the European model committee is relatively less powerful since it cannot decide on whether to pass or fail a candidate. The examiners make this decision.

Conclusions

Based on these distinctions, it is clear that the American model is more painstaking and has multi-stage confirmations to control for quality of the candidate and dissertation. However, it is expensive to adopt and implement.

Both models of PhD dissertation examination have their limitations and their strength is seen in the assumptions concerning the human nature of the supervisor(s) involved.

The European system works on the premise of the vested interest underpinning human nature, while the American system believes that advancement in knowledge inculcates ethical values into the supervisor(s), making him or her turn their back on any vested interest.

Replicating the American system in developing countries, where the knowledge industry and research ethics are still in their infant stages, is unattainable as the required standards are weak and not suitable for ensuring the integrity of the dissertation examination process.

It is therefore better to begin with the European system, but gradually implement the American system as the knowledge industry and research ethics approach the required standards.

Some institutions, such as the Indian institutes of management and Indian institutes of technology, have however switched to the American model and have produced good results and become world-class institutions.

* Devi D Tewari is a professor in the school of accounting, economics and finance at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
 

English spreads as teaching language in universities worldwide

Andrew Green, Wang Fangqing, Paul Cochrane, Jonathan Dyson and Carmen Paun08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

The Politecnico di Milano, one of Italy's most prestigious universities, will teach and assess most of its degree and all of its postgraduate courses in English from 2014. While the move proved controversial in Italy, it is far from unusual – universities worldwide have been switching wholly or partly to teaching in English for a number of reasons.

This became clear during interviews with academics and higher education officials in a selection of countries around the world.

Chief among the reasons for the marked shift towards teaching in English, especially at postgraduate level, were improved graduate employment and mobility prospects and the need for graduates who can speak English for international trade.

But there are also challenges, including a shortage of lecturers who are proficient in English, the costs involved and local resistance.

Rwanda

One particularly illuminating example is in Africa. Former Belgian colony Rwanda once taught mainly in French or the indigenous Kinyarwanda dialect, but switched to English as the primary language of educational instruction in 2008.

It changed partly in order to integrate better with nations that cooperate as the East African Community – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi – the majority of them English-speaking in official circles.

The switch has also helped to distance Rwanda from France, which the Rwandan government has accused of arming the 1994 Hutu genocide against the minority Tutsi population.

The Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in the capital city was one of the first to convert fully. Focusing first on English-taught technical classes, it is now expanding English usage across the arts and humanities.

However, four years on, students and instructors still struggle with English, said Professor John Severin Mshana, KIST’s vice-rector for academics. “It's a problem for students to understand what lecturers are saying,” he said.

This stemmed from not having enough primary and secondary school teachers with English fluency, he added. So KIST offers remedial English classes to students.

Despite the challenge, Mshana said he has never heard anyone question the transition. Quite the opposite, because “to be bilingual is a benefit”.

China

Meanwhile, Chinese universities have been adding bilingual lectures to curricula to comply with a 2007 government requirement for more lectures in English and Chinese to improve the overall quality of Chinese students, as the Ministry of Education put it.

Ningbo University in the key east China trading port of Ningbo, Zhejiang province, started trialling bilingual teaching then, and has a small number of English lectures, including some taught partly in English.

Around half of these are finance-related, including international clearance, international finance and accounting.

“English-teaching makes our students more competitive if they want to seek jobs in foreign companies or banks. It will also benefit our students planning to study abroad,” said Zhang Ying, a curriculum specialist at Ningbo.

Other lectures, such as liberal arts and scientific engineering, use just Chinese. "For one thing, the English level of Chinese students is not good enough. For another, we lack English-speaking teachers,” Zhang told University World News.

Limited budgets are another constraint. Ningbo usually seeks teachers among overseas returnees, or sends its own teachers abroad for short-term language training. "It costs a lot more if we hire returnees, let alone foreign teachers.”

However, Zhang added, a “foreign language cannot be quickly improved in just six months. That's why we are still trialling the English-teaching programme."

Middle East

In the Middle East, English is the official language of long-established American universities in Lebanon, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and is rapidly becoming the language of choice at new universities in the region.

In Lebanon, for instance, students over the past decade have increasingly opted for English over French at university despite being schooled in French. Again, job opportunities are typically cited as the major reason.

This has not generally caused problems, but there has been some resistance in the more conservative Gulf countries – and there have recently been moves towards a greater role for Arabic in higher education.

In Qatar, English has been gradually imposed on schools as well as at the state-owned Qatar University, where most subjects are now taught in English. Also, Qatar Foundation's Education City has six branch-campuses of leading American universities.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one academic based in Qatar told University World News: "Some Qataris are not happy about English being the dominant language, as they feel it is at the expense of Arabic and a further blow to their culture.

“This is a pressing issue at Qatar University as English is the course language at the Education City universities.”

Latin America

In Latin American universities too, teaching in English is increasingly common. It is driven largely by job opportunities opening up at overseas companies investing in Latin America, and as more students look to work overseas.

Ecuador is typical, and Universidad San Francisco de Quito in the capital city Quito leads the way.

Students must reach an advanced level of English before they can graduate. A growing number of courses, including psychology, sociology and education, are now taught mostly in English, with each specifying a number of credits that students must take in the language.

“The use of English here has been growing over the past five years,” said Rhys Davies, English coordinator at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. “We are always looking for teachers to teach in English, and lots are now from the US and the UK.

“Students know how important it could be for their professions and embrace any opportunity to improve language skills.” Another factor is the growing number of students becoming postgraduates in the US, Davies added.

Europe

In Europe, professors in The Netherlands have complained of Dutch becoming a second-class language and students have not been generally happy about the spread of English.

Competition for foreign students has seen English gain ground since 2009 depending on subject and degree level. Dutch prevails for bachelor degrees, and English at masters level. International programmes are largely in English.

At the University of Amsterdam, two bachelor of arts programmes – economics; and business, liberal arts and sciences – are in English, as are 87 masters and research masters programmes.

Since 1996, almost all courses at Maastricht University have switched to, or started up in, English. Some staff and students worried about their English proficiency, so the university has student admission requirements based on TOEFL and IELTS English language exams.

"For teaching and support staff, courses are offered to improve their level of English," a spokesperson said.

Using English has attracted students from Anglophone countries. The Netherlands is seen as an option by students from the UK, where tuition fees have tripled of late. Within a broader strategy, teaching in English has seen a doubling over 10 years in the proportion of foreign students registered at Maastricht.

The Dutch approach to English usage in universities is echoed in some other European countries, including Germany and Scandinavian nations.

Oxford 'admitting more students from poor backgrounds'

Oxford is admitting more teenagers from poor performing state schools and deprived backgrounds amid government pressure to create a more diverse student body, it has emerged. 

 By Graeme Paton, Education Editor

New figures show a 75 per cent increase in offers made to disadvantaged students who were fast-tracked for interview at the elite university this year.

It was also revealed that more than four-in-10 teenagers who applied after attending an Oxford summer school – set up for bright pupils from poor areas – have been given a provisional place in 2012.

This was twice as high as the average offer rate for other students.

The disclosure underlines the lengths to which the university is now going to recruit bright candidates from “under-represented groups”.

It follows a series of high-profile attacks by the Coalition on Britain’s most selective universities.

Last year, Nick Clegg accused Oxford and Cambridge of being effectively biased against poor pupils, saying they had to ensure “British society is better reflected” in their admissions to justify state funding.

Universities are now being ordered to set targets for the number of disadvantaged students being admitted to ensure the poor are not deterred by tuition fees of up to £9,000.
It has prompted concerns that universities are being forced to place "widening access" above maintaining high academic standards.

But Prof Andrew Hamilton, the Oxford vice-chancellor, said the latest figures showed the university was “passionately committed to attracting talented students whatever their circumstances”.
“By offering the most generous financial support in the country, we have made it more likely that those from under-represented socio-economic backgrounds will choose Oxford,” he said. “We hope our message is getting across: If you have the ability, Oxford will remove all barriers.”
Currently, Oxford uses a special system to ensure bright applicants from poor backgrounds are “flagged” up to admissions tutors during the applications process – ensuring they receive a fair interview.

Students gain a flag if their school is below the national average at GCSE or A-level, if they have been in care for more than three months or come from a deprived postcode.
According to figures, 573 candidates were shortlisted for interviews after being “flagged” by the university. Of those, 185 have won offers this year. This compares with 106 who were given offers in 2011 – representing a rise of 75 per cent in just 12 months.

Separate figures show the number of students being given conditional offers after attending Oxford summer schools – staged each summer for pupils from schools and colleges “which historically have had limited progression to Oxford”.

According to data, some 444 students who attended a summer school went on to apply to the university this year. Of those, 185 – or 41 per cent – received an offer.
This was twice as high as the acceptance rate for other students, the university said.
In total, 17,243 people applied to Oxford for entry in 2012 and 3,536 received the offer of a place – a 20.5 per cent success rate.

Top universities warned over 'slow' admissions progress in UK

The Telegraph08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

The number of disadvantaged students admitted to sought-after UK institutions remained flat last year, it was claimed. The Office for Fair Access said attempts to attract more applicants had been too “slow” and all institutions would be expected to set more ambitious targets for 2012-13, writes Graeme Patron for The Telegraph.

It emerged that fewer students from disadvantaged backgrounds were admitted to England’s 33 leading universities last year with some form of financial support. But more undergraduates claimed a full bursary, figures showed, suggesting that a far larger share of available cash is being concentrated on the very poorest students, at the expense of partial subsidies handed to those from lower middle-class households.

Figures also showed that the amount of financial help being invested in deprived students increased across the English higher education system from £403.7 million (US$629 million) in 2009-10 to £424.2 million last year.

Full report on The Telegraph site

Government pushes for national university mergers in Taiwan

The China Post08 July 2012 Issue No:229

Taiwan’s Ministry of Education will actively move to promote mergers among national universities, to counter the steady drop in student numbers caused by the declining birth rate and to better integrate university education resources, reports The China Post.

According to officials, the ministry has worked out regulations governing the mergers of universities, and will set up a merger screening committee to screen merger plans filed by national universities. In addition, it has amended the University Act to drop the regulation that stipulates university merger plans should be approved by academic affairs meetings for national universities. The amendment was ratified by the legislative Yuan.

Based on the revised act, the ministry can directly propose a merger plan of national universities to the executive Yuan for approval after taking various factors into account. Ministry officials said that Taiwan boasts the highest density of universities in the world, with a total of 162 universities, including 53 national universities and 109 private ones, in a land area of only 36,000 square kilometres.

Full report on the China Post site

Gov't pushes for national university mergers

The China Post news staff--The Ministry of Education (MOE) will actively move to promote mergers among national universities to counter the steady decline in the number of students caused by the increasingly low birth rate and to better integrate university education resources, according to MOE officials. 

The MOE has worked out a set of regulations governing the mergers of universities, and will set up a merger screening committee to screen merger plans filed by national universities, with the committee to be headed by the education minister or the political vice minister.

 

In addition, the MOE has also amended the University Act to drop the regulation that stipulates university merger plans should be approved by academic affairs meetings for national universities. The amendment was ratified by the Legislative Yuan.

Based on the revised Act, the MOE can directly propose a merger plan of national universities to the Executive Yuan for approval after taking into account factors including the overall development of higher education, the distribution of educational resources, the geographic conditions of the relevant universities and other related issues.

MOE officials said that Taiwan now boasts the highest density of universities in the world, with a total of 162 universities, including 53 national universities and 109 private ones on a land area of only 36,000 square kilometers.

As it runs counter to the R.O.C. Constitution for the Ministry of Education to request mergers of private universities, the ministry has no other choice but to carry out mergers of national universities to cope with the growing difficulty in recruiting new students as a result of the ever-declining birth rate.

Ho Cho-fei, director of the Department of Higher Education under the MOE, said that the education ministry will move to study the feasibility of mergers between national universities in accordance with the scale of universities involved, their respective academic fields, education resources allocated to students, and geographic conditions, in a bid to secure an optimal scale of economy for the expanded universities.

In addition, national universities in remote areas such as National Taitung University and National Penghu University of Science and Technology won't be merged.

Over the past few years, planned mergers among some national universities have failed to proceed smoothly, including the merger between National Taiwan University and National Taipei University of Education; National Tsing Hua University and National Hsinchu University of Education; as well as National Cheng Kung University and Tainan National University of the Arts.

For instance, the merger between National Tsing Hua University and National Hsinchu University ofa Education was submitted to the Ministry of Education as early as 2006, but both universities failed to reach a consensus on how to carry out the merger, the official name of the merged university, and the personnel arrangement.

 

Call for region to join forces for better education

The Nation-Asia News Network08 July 2012 Issue No:229

 

Thailand is working to join hands with more of its neighbours in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to drive the region's educational improvement – starting with research sharing – according to a top education official, writes Wannapa Khaopa for The Nation-Asia News Network.

“Thailand and Malaysia will probably invite other countries, like Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore to provide collaboration in education [matters]," Anek Permvongseni, secretary-general of the Office of the Education Council, said at the Fourth Thailand Malaysia joint educational research conference.

"In the future, we may work together to jointly create educational curricula or share instructional media to learn English and studying of maths. So, when students look to further higher education, Malaysian students can study a programme in English in Thailand under the co-created curricula," he said, adding that teaching and learning using technology for the future was also an issue of interest to the region.

Full report on AsiaOne News site  

 

Call for Asean to work together for better education

 

 

 

 

By Wannapa Khaopa
The Nation/Asia News Network

Thursday, Jul 05, 2012 Thailand is working to join hands with more of its neighbours in Asean to drive the region's educational improvement, starting with research sharing, a top education official told The Nation recently.

"Thailand and Malaysia will probably invite other countries, like Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore to provide collaboration in education [matters]," Anek Permvongseni, secretarygeneral of the Office of the Education Council said at the Fourth ThailandMalaysia joint educational research conference.

"In the future, we may work together to jointly create educational curricula or share instructional media to learn English and studying of math. So, when students look to further higher education, Malaysian students can study a programme in English in Thailand under the cocreated curricula," he said, adding that teaching and learning using technology for the future was also an issue of interest to the region.

"Next year, Thailand and Malaysia and the three other countries will probably share research in topics that all consider significant for sharing," Anek added.
He proposed that Singapore could be the model for lessons learned in teaching math and science for other countries.

Also, with its strength in English communication, Singapore could share its teaching and learning of the language with others.
Students' performances in science and math in most countries in Southeast Asia, except Singapore, were weak, he said.

Malaysia's Educational Planning and Research Division Deputy Director, Haji Zainal Aalam Hassan said at the conference: "If countries in Southeast Asia join in the conference, maybe Malaysia can share in this transforming education. Singapore is strong in PISA and TIMSS (the programme for international student assessment, and trends in international mathematics and science study) and would probably share with us if we invited them."

Also, Mohd Subri Mat Isa, director of Private Education Division in Malaysia agreed with the collaboration expansion.

"Probably, we should move on from here so that our neighbours can benefit from the collaboration of Malaysia and Thailand.

"Under the concept of Asean, probably we can think about expanding this to our friends, like Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. "So, they can learn from the collaboration what Malaysia and Thailand have done. Also, Thailand and Malaysia can learn from them in terms of classroom research.
"We won't know what our neighbouring countries, like Indonesia, Singapore or Brunei can offer in terms of their collaboration and benefits for everybody unless we come together," he said.
The conference is being held from July 26 in Chiang Mai under the theme "ResearchDriven Education Reforms: Raising the Quality of Teaching and Learning towards the International Standards."

It is presenting eight policy researches and 20 classroom researches offered by Thai and Malaysia presenters.

Attending are 150 Thai and Malaysian policy makers, practitioners and teachers.
The previous three conferences were alternately organised in Thailand and Malaysia