- Wednesday, 01 August 2012
- Ou Virak
- The announcement last week from Manila that Cambodia’s two largest
opposition parties – the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) and the Human Rights
Party (HRP) – are to merge under the banner of the Democratic Movement
for National Rescue (DMNR) represents a great sign of hope for
Cambodia’s beleaguered democracy.
For the first time in two decades, the Cambodian electorate may be given the option of a genuine and viable alternative to the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
However, to attract Cambodia’s disenchanted electorate back to the polling booth – turnout for this year’s commune elections was just 60 per cent compared to 87 per cent ten years ago – and to maximise its chances of winning next year’s general elections, the DMNR should take the following steps:
Put party policy before personalities: Political parties in Cambodia have traditionally been projections of party leaders – not only Hun Sen’s CPP but also Kem Sokha’s HRP and Sam Rainsy’s eponymous party. Policy issues are relegated, with voters encouraged to vote for individual personalities rather than the parties that offer them the most.
The merger announcement indicates that Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha – president and vice president of the DMNR respectively – are willing to let their personalities take a back seat to the profile of the new party. It is essential, however, that the DMNR can fulfil this profile.
It must ensure that its members take central stage and are allowed to help determine strategy and policy.
Move to the middle: In order to present itself as a viable alternative to the incumbent CPP, the DMNR must reach out to a broader section of society than the SRP’s and HRP’s current support base. While the DMNR should maintain the social goals of those parties, including reform of the country’s land sector, it should also expand its horizons and promote policies that will attract the business vote.
One way of doing this is to propose policies that appeal to small and medium-sized businesses: a pro-business approach which counters the CPP’s elitist policies that favour a small number of well-connected tycoons.
De-radicalise: The marginalisation of the opposition over the past 20 years has given rise to a tendency to promote radical causes to attract voters’ attention and score cheap political points. The most obvious example is the tendency of some opposition members – most famously Sam Rainsy – to chastise the CPP’s links to Vietnam and condemn the loss of Cambodian land to Vietnam.
While such reactions may have some validity, they have not generally been constructive or discerning. If the DMNR is to be truly democratic, it must steer clear of anti-Vietnamese sentiments.
Engage Cambodia’s youth: The CPP has ruled Cambodia for more than 30 years. The party leadership should be congratulated for its role in defeating the Khmer Rouge and for bringing peace and stability to this country. Rather than dwelling on these points, however, it is time for Cambodian politics – and the DMNR – to move on, reach out to the youth, so many of whom were born after the terrors of the 1970s and to whom the CPP’s achievements hold less resonance, and offer a vision whereby all sectors of society have a role to play and dreams to realise.
Promote gender equality: The CPP is now significantly outperforming the SRP and HRP in the area of female representation in politics. In the recent commune elections, 21 per cent of the CPP’s elected candidates were women, while only 11 per cent of the SRP’s elected candidates were women.
The HRP brought up the rear with a shameful 1.5 per cent. If the DMNR is to take office, it will do so riding the crest of a wave of hope and excitement. No such hope and excitement can exist if the new party is just another old boys’ club with the same backward patriarchal attitudes that are manifested in the SRP and HRP.
The DMNR must overcome these shortcomings and look to further gender balance in politics. It must listen to female perspectives from around the country and empower women to run as candidates in next year’s general elections.
Decreases in voter turnout in recent years have been testament to the growing conviction among the electorate that election results are a foregone conclusion and that real change can never really come from the ballot box.
For too long, the opposition has offered little more than a stamp of legitimacy for elections that they never really stood any chance of winning. After years of talks, the merger of the opposition parties represents the most exciting event in Cambodian politics for a long time.
These two erstwhile opponents must now seize their opportunity and offer the Cambodian voter – and the youth in particular – a viable alternative to the entrenched CPP for the first time in 20 years.
Friday 3 August 2012
Cambodia’s political merger: maximising the potential
Teachers protest relocation
- Teachers-in-training sit in a lecture hall at the National Institute of Education yesterday in Phnom Penh. Photograph: William Kelly/Phnom Penh Post
- Friday, 03 August 2012
- Chhay Channyda and Stuart White
- Rong Chhun, head of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association,
sent a letter to the Ministry of Education on Wednesday asking Minister
Im Sethy to rethink a policy that would strip teachers of the ability to
choose where they would be posted at the end of further education.
According to a letter by Chhun obtained by the Post, working teachers who returned to the National Institute of Education to receive their “A” certification – which allows them to teach secondary school – could choose to return to their old posts, unlike teachers with no prior experience.
However, new rules introduced on July 12 place experienced teachers on equal footing with their newly minted colleagues, leaving some to face reassignment to far away posts.
“This point makes new teachers want to show their dissatisfaction to the Education Ministry’s directive, because it causes difficulty for them to be far from home, leaving family, children and old parents with no one to look after them,” wrote Chhun.
An anonymous letter, sent to Chhun earlier in the week, which purports to represent the views of 400 teachers and ministry officials enrolled at the NIE, motivated Chhun to take action.
“If there was post selection [like under the new policy], we wouldn’t have spent money to study for a bachelor’s degree and to apply to the National Institute for Education,” the letter states.
Some “A” certification seekers at the NIE said that while they disagreed with the new rule, they would have preferred to issue complaints through the proper channels.
“I feel disappointed with the letter sent to Rong Chhun,” said one such teacher who declined to be named.
“This kind of letter is not our will.”
Chan Kunthear, another enrollee, said that the policy wasn’t inherently bad, but that its timing – just one month before the new teachers were slated to take their posts – was problematic.
“They should have issued it one year ago, and then we could have seen if we agreed [before we started the program],” she said.
Push for new traffic law
- Friday, 03 August 2012
- Khoun Leakhana
- A draft traffic law that has been as gridlocked in parliament as a
traffic jam on Monivong Boulevard during peak hour could be closer to
being green-lighted.
The National Road Safety Committee yesterday urged officials from multiple ministries to hasten approval of the new traffic law, which has been with the Council of Ministers for about two years.
Public Works and Transport Minister Tram Iv Tek, who also chairs the NRSC, told attendees at a workshop at the Sunway Hotel that the previous traffic law, which came into force in 2007, was overly complex, adding that a new law would both streamline the code and improve safety on Cambodia’s roads after the traffic death toll nearly reached 2,000 in 2011.
“The draft of the new traffic law came to existence after it was amended due to the complexity of the content of the old one,” he said, adding that the new traffic law also aims to make enforcement easier.
The new law will be sent to the National Assembly soon, Iv Tek added. According to a preliminary report from Road Crash and Victim Information System, accidents caused by driver error accounted for 95 per cent of collisions, with almost half resulting from speeding. Motorbike riders accounted for two thirds of casualties.
Khan Savoeun, secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior, said the ministry had done its best to revise the law many times to avert traffic problems.
“The majority of traffic accidents are caused by buses, vehicles carrying workers and carts which are always overloaded,” he said.
“Also, most of the passengers sit on the vehicle’s roof or don’t even fasten their seatbelt. The national police will equip all provinces with speed-controlling devices.”
Almost 70 per cent of all road fatalities resulted from head injuries, prompting Prime Minister Hun Sen himself to issue a video clip airing at the workshop and on a number of TV channels appealing to people to wear their helmets.
Immunity verdict today
- Friday, 03 August 2012
- David Boyle
- The fight for SRP lawmaker Mu Sochua’s parliamentary immunity is set to
end this morning when the Court of Appeal hands down a final ruling more
than three years after she was stripped of it.
In June 2009 Sochua unsuccessfully tried to sue Prime Minister Hun Sen for allegedly making derogatory comments about her during a speech in Kampot province.
Soon afterward the National Assembly stripped Sochua’s immunity, paving the way for Hun Sen to counter-sue for defamation, a case the premier won.
Sochua has long fought to have her name cleared completely in parliament and has continued to fight the case through the courts for three years.
At the time, rights groups criticised the government’s actions, calling it an abuse of power.
ASEAN diplomacy all at sea
- Friday, 03 August 2012
- David Boyle
The headaches at number 3, Samdech Hun Sen Street, have just been getting worse since the ASEAN summit at Phnom Penh’s Peace Palace in June descended into an ungainly squabble.
Cambodian diplomats and politicians at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have found themselves nose diving into a protracted bilateral dogfight with the Philippines – that has many commentators crowing is unbefitting of the ASEAN chair.
How Cambodia ended up trading barbs for weeks after the summit with a country separated from it by Vietnam and more than 1,000 kilometres of ocean has left many scratching their heads.
For the third time this week a Cambodian ambassador yesterday publicly bought into the dispute, which has raged over who was responsible for the failure of ASEAN to issue a foreign ministers joint communiqué during the summit for the first time in its 45-year history.
In The Japan Times Online yesterday, Cambodia’s ambassador in Tokyo, Hor Monirath, rehashed well-worn accusations that the Philippines and Vietnam had “hijacked” the communiqué by insisting it specifically mentioned their bilateral disputes with China over the South China Sea.
Cambodia’s assertion that bilateral disputes were an inappropriate topic for the communiqué has infuriated Manila, which counters that the hosts obstinately thwarted any attempt to even negotiate over the contentious sea.
The Philippines, Vietnam and a handful of other ASEAN countries all make claims to the immensely valuable waters through which about half the world’s shipping passes and which China argues belongs almost entirely to them.
Officials at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Philippines Embassy in Phnom Penh were not available for comment yesterday.
Some cheeky commentators and one anonymous diplomat quoted in The New York Times, have suggested Cambodia was a little too close to cash-riddled China rather than its ASEAN brothers during the talks.
Monirath, the son of Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, suggested in his article yesterday that “some media have gone as far as to try to paint a bleak picture of Cambodia’s Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations”, and defended the ASEAN chair’s actions during the summit.
“Cambodia tried to prevent the dispute from further flaring up and to avoid adding fuel to the fire,” he said in the “clarification” published by the Japanese news outlet.
But this latest retort came just two days after Phnom Penh’s ambassador to Manila was publicly summonsed by the Philippines to explain what they deemed was an inflammatory letter to the editor published in the Philippines Star and is, if anything, only likely to exacerbate increasingly heated diplomatic relations.
Both the Cambodian Foreign Ministry and the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs have engaged in public finger pointing, far away from the private corridors of civil diplomatic banter, variously accusing each other of “dirty politics”, “souring the mood” and “sabotage” at the summit.
Political analyst Lao Mong Hay said he was disappointed by the language and the fact that after Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa flew around the region to negotiate a face-saving ASEAN statement of principles on the South China Sea, the feud has continued.
“It seems at the foreign affairs level, Indonesia has done something positive already but it has not been able to unite or reunite and reconcile the two sides,” he said.
“I think we have talked enough about it [and] we should move on after this ASEAN statement; otherwise, you are playing into the Chinese hands.”
An undersecretary at the Indonesia Embassy in Phnom Penh who declined to be named, said the country “was always ready to step in whenever they need us to step in, but we still need for both sides to agree”.
ASEAN prides itself on a special relationship between members, dubbed the “ASEAN way” but one might wonder if the post-summit events have been an example of diplomacy the normal way or the ASEAN way.
Hor Namhong’s Comment over Controversy of Boeung Trabek Claims
AKP Phnom Penh, August 03, 2012
Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Hor Namhong has issued a short statement in response to a recent claim that he was in charge of Boeung Trabek prison camp during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979).
“It is unfortunate that those who continue to defend the legacy of the Khmer Rouge regime seek, in the interest of their defense, to deflect attention from themselves and their cases, by way of stirring up controversy around public figures like myself,” said H.E. Hor Namhong, who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in his statement dated Aug. 2.
“The Khmer Rouge regime is an epic tragedy that continues to haunt Cambodia’s people today. As a prisoner at Boeung Trabek reeducation camp where I lost two sisters, their husbands, children and a niece as well as countless colleagues, I have nothing but sorrow and empathy for the victims and their families,” he said.
“Cambodians continue to suffer from the crimes of the Khmer Rouge even today. The Khmer Rouge not only destroyed a generation of Cambodian people but also, in many ways, a civilization. We are still rebuilding this civilization today,” he said.
“The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia is a court of law, and not a political forum, and I believe attempts to politicize the court or stir up controversy are inappropriate,” said H.E. Hor Namhong, hoping that on day justice is done and the legacy of the Khmer Rouge is given its proper place in the dustbin of history-without defense or controversy.
By SOKMOM Nimul
Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Hor Namhong has issued a short statement in response to a recent claim that he was in charge of Boeung Trabek prison camp during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979).
“It is unfortunate that those who continue to defend the legacy of the Khmer Rouge regime seek, in the interest of their defense, to deflect attention from themselves and their cases, by way of stirring up controversy around public figures like myself,” said H.E. Hor Namhong, who is also Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in his statement dated Aug. 2.
“The Khmer Rouge regime is an epic tragedy that continues to haunt Cambodia’s people today. As a prisoner at Boeung Trabek reeducation camp where I lost two sisters, their husbands, children and a niece as well as countless colleagues, I have nothing but sorrow and empathy for the victims and their families,” he said.
“Cambodians continue to suffer from the crimes of the Khmer Rouge even today. The Khmer Rouge not only destroyed a generation of Cambodian people but also, in many ways, a civilization. We are still rebuilding this civilization today,” he said.
“The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia is a court of law, and not a political forum, and I believe attempts to politicize the court or stir up controversy are inappropriate,” said H.E. Hor Namhong, hoping that on day justice is done and the legacy of the Khmer Rouge is given its proper place in the dustbin of history-without defense or controversy.
By SOKMOM Nimul
Cambodian spokesperson's clarification on the issue of the South China Sea
Tuesday, 24 July 2012 18:48
Mr.
Koy Kuong, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation of Cambodia, has clarified as below the
Cambodian position on the issues of the South China Sea in response to
the Editor-in-Chiefs of the Cambodia Daily and the Phnom Penh Post,
respectively, following the publication of the latter’s controversial
articles entitled “ASEAN Founders in South China Sea Storm” and “ASEAN
Struggle for Unity”:
KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
Nation Religion King
*******
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and International Cooperation
July 19, 2012
Mr. Kevin Doyle, Editor-in-Chief
The Cambodia Daily
Dear Mr. Kevin Doyle,
After having read the article entitled “ASEAN Founders in South China Sea Storm” published in your newspaper on 18 July 2012, based on stories from Reuters in Manila, I wish to clarify the following:
First,
the brief malfunctioning of the microphone of the Philippine Secretary
of Foreign Affairs was purely a technical hiccup which can happen
anywhere around the world. In fact technical snags with microphones
occurred several times during the series of meetings between 8-13 July.
This little shortcoming should not have been blown out of proportion.
Second,
on the comment that “ASEAN Chairmanship this year is the worst”, I wish
to refute such a hasty and insulting conclusion based on non-consensus
on the South China Sea issue, one out of more than 130 points which were
discussed and agreed on. It is quite normal in a multilateral setting
for a meeting to turn into a heated exchange and failing to achieve a
common ground on issues that involve high stake of interests. It is also
normal and has always been the ASEAN Way to drop the disagreed points
for further deliberation and moved on with the many agreed areas. It was
unprecedented and very disappointing that some ASEAN member states
appeared bent on taking ship-scuttling position by imposing an ultimatum
that their demand must be fulfilled. As Chair of ASEAN, Cambodia would
like to keep the door open, thus giving a chance for further discussions
and amicable settlement of the conflicts by the parties concerned.
Third,
the assertion that Cambodia’s loyalty has been “bought” by China in
relation to the South China issue is completely ludicrous. If the
position taken by Cambodia is seen as having been “bought” by a larger
nation, then could it not be said the same for the position taken by
other sovereign states if it appears to be in line with that of a more
powerful nation? Like other sovereign country, Cambodia must have its
own position of principle to operate as an independent state, and would
not want the AMM to be hijacked by a bilateral dispute.
Forth,
since the report is filed by Reuters in Manila, it is not at all
surprising that the based source for the story has nothing positive to
say other than to paint a bleak picture of Cambodia’s Chairmanship of
ASEAN. Cambodia does not wish to be a polemic, keeping in mind and
aged-old Cambodian adage which says “If the dog bites you, do not bite
the dog”.
Yours sincerely,
Koy Kuong
Spokesperson
KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
Nation Religion King
*******
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and International Cooperation
July 24, 2012
Mr. Alan Parkhouse
Editor-in-Chief
The Phnom Penh Post
Mr. Editor-in-Chief,
I
find the article entitled: "ASEAN Struggle for Unity" by Mr. Roger
Mitton, published in your newspaper, on 23 July 2012, full of wild and
ill conjectures and deliberately insulting for Cambodia.
First,
by referring to Cambodia as a “junior” member of ASEAN, Mr. Roger
Mitton has not only insulted Cambodia, but also ASEAN, in suggesting
that within ASEAN members are accorded and treated with higher or lower
status. As stipulated in the ASEAN Charter, all ASEAN members act on the
principle of equality and no member is considered lesser than others,
regardless of their wealth and physical size.
Second,
it is a fact the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' statement on ASEAN’s
Six-point Principles on the South China Sea was issued on 20 July 2012,
following Dr. Marty’s consultation with Cambodia, the Chair of ASEAN.
But one should not ignore the fact that in several restricted meetings
during the 45th AMM, Cambodia proposed to adopt a position
which is exactly the same as the ASEAN’s Six-point Principles, but it
was flatly rejected by two ASEAN Members having bilateral disputes in
the South China Sea. This makes one wonders whether there was a plan to
sabotage the 45th AMM that the same position put forth by the
ASEAN Chair was not accepted then by the two countries. In fact the
ASEAN’s Six-point Principles are even more fundamental and profound in
significance for ASEAN to apply in dealing with the South China Sea
issue, than the content of the rejected draft Joint Communiqué.
It is very regretful that, for the first time in 45 years, two ASEAN Members chose to block the 45th
AMM joint Communiqué with an ultimatum for inclusion of direct
reference to their bilateral disputes in the South China Sea. They
essentially hijacked the 45th AMM and make the Joint
Communiqué a hostage of their unyielding demand, a move completely
contrary to the ASEAN way which has always been to put aside for further
discussion any issue that members cannot achieve a consensus on.
Third,
the assertion of Roger Mitton that "Cambodia took Beijing's side”
ignoring its earlier promise to be a neutral mediator in regional
disputes such as the South China Sea, is itself a very biased and unfair
view. Cambodia's position of principle is that ASEAN should not take
side and the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting is not a Court to rule
against or in favour of any party in the disputes. As the ASEAN Chair
and as it is the role of the Chair of any meeting, Cambodia had to
prevent the already tensed situation from getting worse and to leave the
door open for future talks by countries concerned. By not adding fuel
to the fire, Cambodia has tried its best to fulfill its pledge to be a
neutral mediator.
Forth,
the reference to Cambodia as China's “proxy”, “paid” and “hired” by
China in the form of large investment to sideline the South China Sea
issue and to do “China's bidding” is really insane. Cambodia is only
trying to be neutral in the bilateral disputes. If Cambodia is seen as a
“paid proxy” for receiving large investment from a foreign country,
then the same could be said to other countries that receive large
investment from foreign countries.
Fifth,
those who said the Peace Palace was funded by China are simply ignorant
people. The building's construction was fully funded with the national
budget of Cambodia. China provided assistance for construction of the
adjacent building and not the Peace Palace where the Ministerial
Meetings were held. The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia has
all the documents on the expenditure for the Peace Palace's
construction.
Sixth, the allegation that Cambodia “showed the draft communiqué of the 45th
AMM to China in breach of ASEAN protocol” is extremely disparaging and
slanderous. Those who made such a scathing attack against Cambodia, has
no other intention than to defame Cambodia's credibly. When and where
did Roger Mitton or the person who paid him to blurt out such a
malicious accusation see Cambodia “show” the draft joint Communiqué to
China? Cambodia is also aware who have been hired to launch this
smearing and insulting campaign against it.
I
wish to request you to kindly publish my letter in full, as soon as
possible, in your newspaper for the readers' information, or face a
lawsuit, according to the Cambodia Penal Code, for inciting insults
against Cambodia.
Yours sincerely,
Koy Kuong
Spokesperson
Thursday 2 August 2012
Wednesday 1 August 2012
កម្ពុជានៅមិនទាន់មានច្បាប់គ្រប់គ្រងព័ត៌មានតាមបណ្ដាញសង្គម
ដោយ ទេព សុរ៉ាវី
2012-08-01
បណ្ដាញព័ត៌មានសង្គម ហ្វេសប៊ុក (Facebook) ដែលអាចប្រើប្រាស់ទាំងភាសាខ្មែរ និងបរទេស កំពុងតែក្លាយជាចំណាប់អារម្មណ៍ចំពោះពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរជាទូទៅ អ្នកនយោបាយ មន្ត្រីរាជការ ក្រុមអង្គការសង្គមស៊ីវិល ក្រុមយុវជន និងអ្នកសារព័ត៌មានជាដើម។
ទំព័ររបស់វិទ្យុអាស៊ីសេរី នៅក្នុងបណ្ដាញសង្គម ហ្វេសប៊ុក (Facebook)
ក្រុមអ្នកសារព័ត៌មាន មន្ត្រីច្បាប់ និងអ្នកនាំពាក្យទីស្ដីការគណៈរដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ថាការដែលអ្នកសារព័ត៌មានយករូបថត ពាក្យសន្ទនា (Comment) នៅលើបណ្ដាញព័ត៌មានសង្គម ហ្វេសប៊ុក មកចុះផ្សាយនៅលើទំព័រកាសែតរបស់ខ្លួន ឬតាមបណ្ដាញឃោសនានានា រួចធ្វើឲ្យប៉ះពាល់ដល់ផលប្រយោជន៍គេនោះ នៅមិនទាន់មានច្បាប់ណាមួយអាចគ្រប់គ្រង និងដាក់ទោសទណ្ឌនៅឡើយទេ។
ប្រធានសមាគមមិត្តអ្នកសារព័ត៌មានខ្មែរ លោក ឱម ច័ន្ទតារា ឲ្យដឹងថា មនុស្សគ្រប់រូបមានសិទ្ធិគ្រប់គ្រាន់ក្នុងការបញ្ចេញមតិ។ ការប្រើពាក្យឆ្លងឆ្លើយតាមសារអេឡិចត្រូនិកជាសាធារណៈនៅលើ ហ្វេសប៊ុក គឺមានន័យថា អ្នកសារព័ត៌មានអាចមានសិទ្ធិដកស្រង់ពាក្យ ឬភាសាអង់គ្លេសហៅថា ខ្វូត (Quote) របស់បុគ្គលសាធារណៈទាំងនោះមកប្រើ ឬចុះផ្សាយនៅលើទំព័រកាសែតរបស់ខ្លួនដោយមិនចាំបាច់សុំការអនុញ្ញាត ជាមុន។
លោកបន្តថា រាល់សម្រង់ពាក្យត្រូវមានប្រភពច្បាស់លាស់ ហើយអ្នកសារព័ត៌មានក៏ត្រូវគោរពវិជ្ជាជីវៈរបស់ខ្លួនឲ្យច្បាស់ ជៀសវាងយកសម្រង់ពាក្យពីប្រភពណាមួយដែលចុះផ្សាយទៅមានលក្ខណៈ ញុះញង់ និងបង្កមហន្តរាយដល់អ្នកដទៃ។
លោក ឱម ច័ន្ទតារា៖ «អ្នកព័ត៌មានគួរឆ្លាតវៃបន្តិច។ សំដីណាដែលជាសំដីពិត សំដីណាដែលជាសំដីពាក្យចចាមអារ៉ាម ដូច្នេះយើងត្រូវមានវិជ្ជាជីវៈដើម្បីប្រើប្រាស់បណ្ដាញ ប្រភពព័ត៌មានយើង។យើងកុំឲ្យឃើញថា កុំឲ្យតែមានទឹកយើងចេះតែផឹកមិនបានទេ»។
និពន្ធនាយកកាសែតរស្មីកម្ពុជា និងជាប្រធានក្លឹបអ្នកកាសែតកម្ពុជា លោក ប៉ែន សមិទ្ធិ ឲ្យដឹងថា កាសែតរស្មីកម្ពុជា ធ្លាប់បានដកស្រង់ Comment (មតិ) ពីប្រភពនៅលើហ្វេសប៊ុក មកចុះផ្សាយលើទំព័រកាសែត ដោយយល់ឃើញថា មតិទាំងនោះធ្វើឡើងជាសាធារណៈ ដោយមិនចាំបាច់សុំសិទ្ធិចុះផ្សាយជាមុន៖ «ទោះបីជាគាត់កំហិតជាមួយ Fan (អ្នកគាំទ្រ) គាត់ ១ពាន់ ២ពាន់នាក់ក៏ដោយ តែវាជាសាធារណៈ អ៊ីចឹងខ្ញុំយក ខ្ញុំចាត់ទុកថា នោះជា Commentមិនផ្លូវការ»។
តែទោះជាយ៉ាងណា លោក ប៉ែន សមិទ្ធិ បញ្ជាក់ថា អ្នកសារព័ត៌មាននៅតែត្រូវទទួលខុសត្រូវអត្ថបទរបស់ខ្លួនដែលដក ស្រង់សំដីប្រភពចេញពីហ្វេសប៊ុក។ ប្រសិនបើការចុះផ្សាយជាផ្លូវការធ្វើឲ្យប្រភពរបស់ខ្លួនប៉ះពាល់ ផលប្រយោជន៍ជាទ្រព្យសម្បត្តិ កិត្តិយស ឬប្រឈមនឹងការបាត់បង់ការងារជាដើម៖ «យើងត្រូវតែទទួលខុសត្រូវទៅ លើផលប៉ះពាល់ដែលកើតឡើងពីអ្វីដែលយើងប្រើ ដូចដែលយើង Interview (សម្ភាស) មនុស្សផ្សេងទៀតនៅខាងក្រៅអ៊ីចឹង។ តែច្បាប់ទំលាប់អំពីរឿងហ្នឹង នៅស្រុកខ្មែរយើងនៅមិនទាន់មានជាក់ស្ដែង»។
បណ្ដាញព័ត៌មានសង្គមដ៏ធំ ហ្វេសប៊ុក ត្រូវបានគេប្រើប្រាស់យ៉ាងសេរីនៅកម្ពុជា ដោយគ្មានច្បាប់គ្រប់គ្រង។ អ្នកនយោបាយ និងមន្ត្រីរាជការមួយចំនួននៅកម្ពុជា ក៏បានប្រើប្រាស់បណ្ដាញព័ត៌មាននេះ សម្រាប់ផ្សារភ្ជាប់ទំនាក់ទំនងសង្គម និងមិត្តភ័ក្ដិ។ ជួនកាលបុគ្គលខ្លះជ្រុលបង្ហោះរូបអាសអាភាស ខ្លះបន្លំឈ្មោះ និងរូបភាពក្នុងហ្វេសប៊ុក និងខ្លះទៀតឆ្លងឆ្លើយសារអេឡិចត្រូនិកជាលក្ខណៈបុគ្គល តែត្រូវបានក្រុមអ្នកកាសែតមើលឃើញ និងយកមកចុះផ្សាយជាផ្លូវការនៅលើទំព័រកាសែតរបស់ខ្លួន។
លោក ផៃ ស៊ីផាន អ្នកនាំពាក្យទីស្ដីការគណៈរដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ឲ្យដឹងថា ការជជែកនៅលើហ្វេសប៊ុក មិនស្ថិតជាលក្ខណៈឯកជនទៀតទេ ព្រោះគេដឹងជាទូទៅថា បណ្ដាញព័ត៌មាននេះជាសាធារណៈ ហើយអ្នកសារព័ត៌មានមានសិទ្ធិដកស្រង់សំដីរបស់មន្ត្រីអ្នកនយោបាយ ឬបុគ្គលណាមួយមកប្រើប្រាស់បានជាផ្លូវការ។
លោក ផៃ ស៊ីផាន៖ «កាលណា Social Network (បណ្ដាញសង្គម) លើសតែពីរនាក់ លើសពី Group (ក្រុម) គេពីរបីនាក់ វាលែងជា Privacy (ឯកជន) ល្គឹកណាគេនិយាយថា ហ្នឹងជាព័ត៌មានឯកជនរបស់ក្រុមគេ មិនអាចប្រើប្រាស់បានទេ អាហ្នឹងយើងប្រើប្រាស់អត់បានទេ។ តែបើគេអត់ដាក់ហាមនៅក្នុងហ្នឹង អាហ្នឹងយើងអាចប្រើប្រាស់បានហើយ ជាព័ត៌មានសាធារណៈហើយ»។
ប្រធានក្រុមអ្នកច្បាប់ការពារសិទ្ធិកម្ពុជា លោក សុក សំអឿន បានពន្យល់ផ្នែកច្បាប់ថា នៅកម្ពុជាមិនទាន់មានច្បាប់គ្រប់គ្រងព័ត៌មានតាមអ៊ីនធឺណិតនៅឡើយ ហើយគេមិនច្បាស់ដូចគ្នាថា រាល់ព័ត៌មានតាមហ្វេសប៊ុក អាចចាត់ទុកជាព័ត៌មានសាធារណៈ ដែលអាចប្រើជាផ្លូវការបាន ឬក៏អត់?
លោកបញ្ជាក់ថា អ្នកកាសែតដែលស្រង់មតិប្រភពពីហ្វេសប៊ុក យកមកប្រើ ដោយគេមិនមែនជាសមាជិក មិត្តភ័ក្ដិ (Friend) ដោយគ្មានការអនុញ្ញាតនោះ សាមីខ្លួន ឬប្រភពអាចដាក់ពាក្យប្ដឹងទៅអ្នកកាសែតបាន។ តែអ្វីជាឧបសគ្គ គឺការដាក់ពាក្យបណ្ដឹងនោះ អាចមានការលំបាក ត្រង់ថាកម្ពុជាមិនមានច្បាប់គ្រប់គ្រងព័ត៌មានតាមអ៊ីនធឺណិត ដែលគេពិបាកកំណត់ថា តើការដាក់ពាក្យប្ដឹងនោះស្ថិតក្រោមបទចោទអ្វីឲ្យបានច្បាស់?
លោកបន្ថែមថា ជនរងគ្រោះ ឬប្រភពអាចដាក់ពាក្យប្ដឹងអ្នកកាសែតទៅតុលាការពីបទបរិហារកេរ្តិ៍ ប្រសិនបើការចុះផ្សាយនោះមិនពិត និងធ្វើឲ្យខូចខាតផលប្រយោជន៍របស់ខ្លួន៖ «បរិហារកេរ្តិ៍ក៏មានការ ពិបាកដែរ។ ដែលហៅថា បរិហារកេរ្តិ៍ ឬញុះញង់បាន ទាល់តែយើងធ្វើក្នុងទីសាធារណៈដែរ ដូច្នេះមតិនឹងវាផ្សព្វផ្សាយជាសាធារណៈ ឬអត់...? មានន័យថា នរណាក៏មើលបាន។ កាលណាមនុស្សលើពិភពលោកមើលបាន ចុះមនុស្សដែលអត់មានអ៊ីនធឺណិត និងកុំព្យូទ័រមើលមិចបាន ដូច្នេះហើយទាល់តែមានច្បាប់បញ្ជាក់ទើបបាន យើងមិនអាចយកអាហ្នឹងទៅបកស្រាយទទេៗទេ»។
អ្នកគ្រប់គ្រងបច្ចេកទេសឃ្លាំមើលការរំលោភសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនៃអង្គការ លីកាដូ (Licadho) លោក អំ សំអាត ឲ្យដឹងថា ការដកស្រង់សំដីប្រភពពីហ្វេសប៊ុក ដោយគ្មានការអនុញ្ញាត ជាការរំលោភសិទ្ធិឯកជន ដែលធ្វើឲ្យប៉ះពាល់កិត្តិយស កេរ្តិ៍ឈ្មោះ និងអាចប៉ះពាល់ដល់ការងាររបស់គេ៖ «ខ្ញុំគិតថា វាជាការរំលោភទៅលើសិទ្ធិរបស់គេមួយដែរ គិតថា វាមិនទាន់មានបទល្មើសណាមួយដែលអាចចោទប្រកាន់បាន ប៉ុន្តែសាមីខ្លួនគេអាចប្តឹងបាន»។
ទោះជាមានការពិបាកក្នុងការគ្រប់គ្រងព័ត៌មានតាមប្រព័ន្ធ អ៊ីនធឺណិតក៏ដោយ ក៏ប្រធានក្លឹបអ្នកកាសែតកម្ពុជា លោក ប៉ែន សមិទ្ធិ មិនចង់ឲ្យរដ្ឋាភិបាលបង្កើតច្បាប់នេះនោះទេ ដោយបានលើកឡើងថា គួរតែឲ្យប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរមានសេរីភាពអាចផ្សព្វផ្សាយព័ត៌មានតាម បច្ចេកវិទ្យាទំនើបឲ្យបានពេញលេញ ខណៈដែលរដ្ឋាភិបាលកម្ពុជា កំពុងធ្វើសេចក្ដីព្រាងនៃច្បាប់គ្រប់គ្រងអ៊ីនធឺណិតនោះ។
សម្រាប់លោក អំ សំអាត ក៏បានស្នើសុំឲ្យអ្នកលេងហ្វេសប៊ុក គួរមានការប្រុងប្រយ័ត្នខ្ពស់ និងកុំភ្លេចខ្លួនរាល់ការបង្ហោះរូបភាព និងការបញ្ចេញមតិនៅលើហ្វេសប៊ុក ដើម្បីកាត់បន្ថយការចុះផ្សាយដោយគ្មានការអនុញ្ញាត។ ម្យ៉ាងវិញទៀតគួរតែសរសេរកំណត់សំគាល់មួយនៅខាងក្រោម រាល់ការបញ្ចេញមតិ ដោយបញ្ជាក់ថា ការបញ្ចេញមតិនោះវាអាចប្រើប្រាស់តែក្នុងមិត្តភ័ក្ដិរបស់ខ្លួន ប៉ុណ្ណោះ មិនអាចយកចុះផ្សាយជាសាធារណៈបានទេ៕
យុវជនខ្មែរចាប់អារម្មណ៍អាជីពជាអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវកាន់តែច្រើន
http://www.khmer.rfi.fr/report-01-08-12
ក្នុងរយៈពេលប៉ុន្មានឆ្នាំចុងក្រោយនេះ យុវជនខ្មែរចាប់អារម្មណ៍លើអាជីពជាអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវកាន់តែច្រើនឡើង។ យុវជនអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវឯករាជ្យមួយក្រុមដែលមានគ្នាប្រមាណជា២០នាក់ ដឹកនាំដោយលោក កែម ឡី បាននិងកំពុងធ្វើការស្រាវជ្រាវលើប្រធានបទមួយចំនួនក្នុងនោះ ក៏មានផងដែរ គម្រោងស្រាវជ្រាវពីភាពមិនប្រក្រតីលើការប្រឡងបាក់ឌុបក្នុងពេល ប៉ុន្មានថ្ងៃខាងមុខទៀតនេះ។
ក្នុងរយៈពេលប៉ុន្មានឆ្នាំចុងក្រោយនេះ យុវជនខ្មែរចាប់អារម្មណ៍លើអាជីពជាអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវកាន់តែច្រើនឡើង។ យុវជនអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវឯករាជ្យមួយក្រុមដែលមានគ្នាប្រមាណជា២០នាក់ ដឹកនាំដោយលោក កែម ឡី បាននិងកំពុងធ្វើការស្រាវជ្រាវលើប្រធានបទមួយចំនួនក្នុងនោះ ក៏មានផងដែរ គម្រោងស្រាវជ្រាវពីភាពមិនប្រក្រតីលើការប្រឡងបាក់ឌុបក្នុងពេល ប៉ុន្មានថ្ងៃខាងមុខទៀតនេះ។
ក្រុមស្រាវជ្រាវឯករាជត្រៀមស៊ើបអង្កេតបញ្ហាពុករលួយពេលប្រឡងបាក់ឌុប
ដោយ លាង ដឺលុច
ក្រុមអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវឯករាជមួយក្រុម បានប្រកាសថា ពួកគេនឹងបើកយុទ្ធនាការស៊ើបអង្កេតរកអំពើពុករលួយក្នុងពេលប្រឡង សញ្ញាបត្រមធ្យមសិក្សាទុតិយភូមិនៅសប្តាហ៍ក្រោយនេះ។ សំណូក និងភាពមិនប្រក្រតីនៅក្នុងពេលប្រឡងបាក់ឌុបត្រូវបានរិះគន់ យ៉ាងខ្លាំងជារៀងរាល់ឆ្នាំដោយអង្គការក្រៅរដ្ឋាភិបាល និងគណបក្សប្រឆាំង។ នៅឆ្នាំនេះ មានសិស្ស១១ម៉ឺននាក់ដែលត្រូវចូលរួមប្រលងសញ្ញាបត្រទុតិយភូមិនេះ។
ការស៊ើបអង្កេតរកអំពើពុករលួយនៅក្នុងការប្រឡងសញ្ញាបត្រ
ទុតិយភូមិ ដែលគេហៅថាការប្រឡងបាក់ឌុបនោះ
នឹងត្រូវធ្វើឡើងដោយក្រុមអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវឯករាជមួយក្រុមដែលដឹកនាំ
ដោយលោកកែម ឡី។
ជាការស្រាវជ្រាវក្នុងក្របខណ្ឌរាជធានីភ្នំពេញប៉ុណ្ណោះ។
ក្រុមអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវយ៉ាងហោច ២០នាក់
នឹងឈជើងនៅក្នុងមណ្ឌលប្រលងចំនួន១០ក្នុងរាជធានីភ្នំពេញ
ហើយនឹងជួបសម្ភាសន៍បេក្ខជនប្រលងដើម្បីបំពេញសំណួរប្រមាណ២០សំណួរ។
លោកកែម ឡី ប្រធានក្រុមអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវឯករាជដែលមានគំនិតផ្តួចផ្តើមបើកការ ស្រាវជ្រាវនេះ បានពន្យល់ថា ការស្រាវជ្រាវនេះមានគោលបំណងដើម្បីបង្ហាញអោយបានច្បាស់ ថាតើវាពិតជាមានអំពើពុករលួយមែនក្នុងពេលកន្លងមក ឬយ៉ាងណា ខណៈដែលមានអង្គការ និងគណបក្សប្រឆាំងបានរិះគន់បញ្ហានេះ ហើយក្រសួងអប់រំបានច្រានចោល និងបដិសេធការរិះគន់ទាំងនេះនោះ។
លោកកែម ឡី អះអាងថា ២សប្តាហ៍ ក្រោយការស្រាវជ្រាវនេះ លោកនឹងផ្សព្វផ្សាយលទ្ធផល ជាមួយនឹងអនុសាសន៍ផ្ញើទៅក្រសួងអប់រំ។
សម្រាប់ប្រធានក្រុមអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវដដែល ការលើកឡើង និងការរិះគន់អំពីភាពមិនប្រក្រតីក្នុងពេលប្រលងបាក់ឌុបក្នុងពេល កន្លងមក បានបង្ហាញអំពីភាពធ្ងន់ធ្ងរនៃស្ថានភាពអប់រំ ហើយប្រសិនបើវាជាការពិតនោះ គឺក្រសួងអប់រំត្រូវមានវិធានការច្បាស់លាស់។
គួរបញ្ជាក់ថា ស្របពេលដែលវិស័យបច្ចេកវិទ្យាកំពុងរីកចំរើន ទូរស័ព្ទទំនើបត្រូវបានគេប្រើប្រាស់នៅក្នុងពេលប្រឡងនេះ ដើម្បីស្វែងរកចំលើយពីខាងក្រៅ។ នេះមិនទាន់រាប់អំពីការផ្តល់លុយអោយមេប្រយោគដែលនៅតែកើតមាន។
នៅក្នុងពេលប្រឡងសញ្ញាបត្រទុតិយភូមិឆ្នាំនេះ មានបេក្ខជន១១ម៉ឺននាក់ដែលត្រូវប្រលងក្នុង២៥៤មណ្ឌលនៅទូទាំងប្រទេស។ ការប្រឡងនឹងប្រព្រឹត្តទៅពីថ្ងៃទី៦ ដល់ថ្ងៃទី៨សីហា៕
លោកកែម ឡី ប្រធានក្រុមអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវឯករាជដែលមានគំនិតផ្តួចផ្តើមបើកការ ស្រាវជ្រាវនេះ បានពន្យល់ថា ការស្រាវជ្រាវនេះមានគោលបំណងដើម្បីបង្ហាញអោយបានច្បាស់ ថាតើវាពិតជាមានអំពើពុករលួយមែនក្នុងពេលកន្លងមក ឬយ៉ាងណា ខណៈដែលមានអង្គការ និងគណបក្សប្រឆាំងបានរិះគន់បញ្ហានេះ ហើយក្រសួងអប់រំបានច្រានចោល និងបដិសេធការរិះគន់ទាំងនេះនោះ។
លោកកែម ឡី អះអាងថា ២សប្តាហ៍ ក្រោយការស្រាវជ្រាវនេះ លោកនឹងផ្សព្វផ្សាយលទ្ធផល ជាមួយនឹងអនុសាសន៍ផ្ញើទៅក្រសួងអប់រំ។
សម្រាប់ប្រធានក្រុមអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវដដែល ការលើកឡើង និងការរិះគន់អំពីភាពមិនប្រក្រតីក្នុងពេលប្រលងបាក់ឌុបក្នុងពេល កន្លងមក បានបង្ហាញអំពីភាពធ្ងន់ធ្ងរនៃស្ថានភាពអប់រំ ហើយប្រសិនបើវាជាការពិតនោះ គឺក្រសួងអប់រំត្រូវមានវិធានការច្បាស់លាស់។
គួរបញ្ជាក់ថា ស្របពេលដែលវិស័យបច្ចេកវិទ្យាកំពុងរីកចំរើន ទូរស័ព្ទទំនើបត្រូវបានគេប្រើប្រាស់នៅក្នុងពេលប្រឡងនេះ ដើម្បីស្វែងរកចំលើយពីខាងក្រៅ។ នេះមិនទាន់រាប់អំពីការផ្តល់លុយអោយមេប្រយោគដែលនៅតែកើតមាន។
នៅក្នុងពេលប្រឡងសញ្ញាបត្រទុតិយភូមិឆ្នាំនេះ មានបេក្ខជន១១ម៉ឺននាក់ដែលត្រូវប្រលងក្នុង២៥៤មណ្ឌលនៅទូទាំងប្រទេស។ ការប្រឡងនឹងប្រព្រឹត្តទៅពីថ្ងៃទី៦ ដល់ថ្ងៃទី៨សីហា៕
Tuesday 31 July 2012
Payments illegal, says ACU chief
- Tuesday, 31 July 2012
- Stuart Alan Becker
- Om Yentieng, president of the government’s Anti-Corruption Unit, speaks to a packed house last night at Sunway Hotel in Phnom Penh. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post
- People who make illegal facilitation payments to get government services
will now face harsh penalties under Cambodia’s Anti-Corruption Law,
just as the government officials who receive the money face charges,
according to the President of Cambodia’s Anti-Corruption Unit.
Speaking to a packed house last night at Sunway Hotel, the President of Cambodia’s Anti-Corruption Unit Orm Yentieng said the law was on the ACU’s side and that corruption in Cambodia was going to be reduced over time.
“If you think your government salary is too low, you can get out of the position,” Orm Yentieng said, earning a round of applause.
During his speech and question-and-answer session at the CAMFEBA event, attended by many of Phnom Penh’s business leaders, the ACU chief reviewed one of the cases he had been working on, involving a US$200 payment to an official working for the Ministry of the Interior.
“If you agree to give $200, you are both going to be the victim, and you will be caught as well. The law is strict. If you do it wrong, you should be caught.”
The ACU president said that as part of the unit’s recent work, information had been disseminated to 1,700 communes around Cambodia assuring local government officials that they face punishment for corruption activities.
“Only a few ask for money. The rest cooperate with us,” he said.
“We tell them: do not take any more money, and if you take it you are facing consequences. The taker and giver of the money, both of you, will be punished,” he said. “If we are not strict, we won’t be able to deal with it.”
“If you are a government official and ask for money and they don’t it to give you, you will be caught, and this is printed out in big words in front of the commune offices. We did that on 1,700 communes. If we catch you doing that, we will send you to court. We are spreading, we can hear you, we can see you, and we’ve got more force coming up.”
Orm Yentieng said the ACU had been given special powers to record conversations and take photographs.
“It is not heartless on the part of the private sector not to pay facilitation payments. They have to do this. We’re not wasting time. We will push it, the faster the better. If the Ministry of Interior asks you for money, come and talk to me. He promised us in writing he will not take any money. Now is the time to enforce it. We will be waiting for you at ACU and we won’t step back.”
Orm Yentieng mentioned the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) a few times during his speech.
“The CDC is not poor; everyone has a car and there’s hardly any space for parking. We spend an hour to find a parking space. We have much more parking at the Anti-Corruption Unit,” he said, getting another round of applause.
The ACU president said Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon had agreed with the ACU that a list of formal facilitation fees would be prepared so that receipts of facilitation payments could be kept on record.
Comparing institutionalised corruption in Cambodia to a disease, the ACU president said people should take the medicine. “If you are sick, do you want to take the medicine or not? Do you want to die? We do not have a choice.”
He acknowledged that government salaries are low, but that they would rise slowly during the coming years.
“Tighten your seat belt,” he said.
One of the things business people in Cambodia should not have to pay for is a change of business address, which is a common occurrence when businesses expand.
“We should be thanking the private sector for providing us with the information. We should not be asking for money for these changes,” he said.
The ACU president appealed to the audience to “come quietly” to talk about cases.
“We can help you in any case. Come quietly and talk to us,” he said, adding that citizens with permission from the ACU could make recordings of conversations and take photographs that could later be used in court.
“If people from the private sector ask permission from the ACU, you can take pictures and make recordings. The ACU alone cannot find proof, but needs the cooperation from private sector and the cooperation is easier than doing it alone. The ACU needs to find new proof and evidence to present in court.” He added that sources would be protected.
AMCHAM and IBC Chairman Brett Sciaroni said he had known Orm Yentieng for 20 years and his job was the second most difficult in Cambodia, following that of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“He is seriously committed to changing the mentality,” Sciaroni said.
Why Professional Development for Teachers is Critical
By Simon Quattlebaum | Substitute Teacher, New Jersey Public Schools
Educators must understand the concepts in processing professional development and what it means to education. The National Staff Development Council (2007) created a set of nine standards that all professional development should follow. They include content knowledge and quality teaching, research-basis, collaboration, diverse learning needs, student learning environments, family involvement, evaluation, data-driven design, and teacher learning.
However, it does not determine whether accountable measures are being gathered to determine if this information has benefited the education system as a whole.
Professional development refers to the development of a person in his or her professional role. According to Glattenhorn (1987), by gaining increased experience in one’s teaching role they systematically gain increased experience in their professional growth through examination of their teaching ability. Professional workshops and other formally related meetings are a part of the professional development experience (Ganzer, 2000). Much broader in scope than career development, professional development is defined as a growth that occurs through the professional cycle of a teacher (Glattenhorn, 1987). Moreover, professional development and other organized in-service programs are deigned to foster the growth of teachers that can be used for their further development (Crowther et al, 2000). One must examine the content of those experiences through which the process will occur and how it will take place (Ganzer, 2000; Guskey, 2000).
This perspective, in a way, is new to teaching in that professional development and in-service training simply consisted of workshops or short term courses that offered teachers new information on specific aspects of their work (Brookfield, 2005). Champion (2003) posited that regular opportunities and experiences for professional development over the past few years had yielded systematic growth and development in the teaching profession.
Many have referred to this dramatic shift as a new image or a new module of teacher education for professional development (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2001: Walling & Lewis, 2000). In the past 15 years there have been standards-based movements for reform (Consortium for Policy Research in Education, 1993; Hord, 2004; Kedzior & Fifield, 2004: Sparks, 2002). The key component of this reform effort has been that effective professional development has created a knowledge base that has helped to transform and restructure quality schools (Guskey, 1995; Willis, 2000).
Much of the available research on professional development involves its relationship to student achievement. Researchers differ on the degree of this relationship. Variables are the school, teacher, student level related to the level of learning within the classroom, parent and community involvement, instructional strategies, classroom management, curriculum design, student background knowledge, and student motivation (Marzano, 2003). Based upon a review of several studies, Marzano (2003) concluded that the professional development activities experienced by teachers have a similar impact on student achievement to those of the aforementioned variables.
Opportunities for active learning, content knowledge, and the overall coherence of staff development are the top three characteristics of professional development. Opportunities for active learning and content specific strategies for staff development refer to a focus on teacher application of learned material. Overall coherence refers to the staff development program perceived as an integrated whole and development activities building upon each other in a consecutive fashion. Marzano (2003) warned, however, that standardized staff development activities which do not allow for effective application would be ineffective in changing teacher behavior.
Richardson, (2003) published a list of characteristics associated with effective professional development, stating that such programs would optimally be:
“statewide, long term with follow-up; encourage collegiality; foster agreement among participants on goals and visions; have a supportive administration; have access to adequate funds for materials, outside speakers, substitute teachers, and so on; encourage and develop agreement among participants; acknowledge participants existing beliefs and practices; and make use of outside facilitator/staff developers.” (p. 402)
Kedzior and Fifield (2004) described effective professional development as a prolonged facet of classroom instruction that is integrated, logical and on-going and incorporates experiences that are consistent with teachers’ goals; aligned with standards, assessments, other reform initiatives, and beset by the best research evidence. Elmore (2002) described professional development as sustained focus over time that is consistent with best practice.
- – - -
References
Brookfield, S. (2005). Power of critical theory for adult learning and teaching. Berkdire, Great Britain: McGraw-Hill Education.
Champion, R. (2003). Taking measure: The real measure of professional development program’s effectiveness lies in what participants learned. Journal of Staff Development, 24(1), 1–5.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (2001). Beyond certainty: Taking an inquiry stance on practice. In A. Lieberman & L. Miller (Eds.), Teachers caught in the action: Professional development that matters (pp. 45–61). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Elmore, R. (2002). Bridging the gap between standards and achievement: The imperative for professional development education [Brochure]. Washington, DC: Albert Shanker Institute.
Ganzer, T. (Ed.) (2000). Ambitious visions of professional development for teachers [Special Issue]. National Association for Secondary School Principals, (84)618
Glattenhorn, A. (1987). Cooperative professional development: Peer centered options for teacher growth. Educational Leadership, (3)45, 31-35.
Guskey, T. R. (1995). Professional development in action: New paradigms and practices. (T. R. Guskey & M. Huberman, Eds.) New York: Teachers College Press.
Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Hord, S. M. (Ed.). (2004). Learning together leading together: Changing schools through professional learning communities. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Kedzior, M., & Fifield, S. (2004). Teacher professional development. Education Policy Brief, 15(21), 76–97.
Marzano, R. J. (2003). What works in school: Translating research into action. Alexandria,, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Miles, K. H., Olden, A., Fermanich, M., & Archibald, S. (2004). Inside the blackbox of school spending on professional development: Lessons from comparing five urban districts. Journal of Education and Finance 30(1) 1-26.
Richardson, V. (2003). The dilemmas of professional development. Phi Delta Kappan, 84(5), 401–406.
National Staff Development Council (2001). NSDC’s Standards for Staff Development. Oxford, OH. Author.
National Staff Development Council (2007). Professional development. Retrieved
March 15, 2009, from http://www.NSDC.org/connect/about/index.cfm.
Walling, B., & Lewis, M. (2000). Development of professional development pre-service teachers: Longitudinal and comparative analysis. Action Teacher Education, 22(2a), 63-67
Educators must understand the concepts in processing professional development and what it means to education. The National Staff Development Council (2007) created a set of nine standards that all professional development should follow. They include content knowledge and quality teaching, research-basis, collaboration, diverse learning needs, student learning environments, family involvement, evaluation, data-driven design, and teacher learning.
However, it does not determine whether accountable measures are being gathered to determine if this information has benefited the education system as a whole.
Professional development refers to the development of a person in his or her professional role. According to Glattenhorn (1987), by gaining increased experience in one’s teaching role they systematically gain increased experience in their professional growth through examination of their teaching ability. Professional workshops and other formally related meetings are a part of the professional development experience (Ganzer, 2000). Much broader in scope than career development, professional development is defined as a growth that occurs through the professional cycle of a teacher (Glattenhorn, 1987). Moreover, professional development and other organized in-service programs are deigned to foster the growth of teachers that can be used for their further development (Crowther et al, 2000). One must examine the content of those experiences through which the process will occur and how it will take place (Ganzer, 2000; Guskey, 2000).
This perspective, in a way, is new to teaching in that professional development and in-service training simply consisted of workshops or short term courses that offered teachers new information on specific aspects of their work (Brookfield, 2005). Champion (2003) posited that regular opportunities and experiences for professional development over the past few years had yielded systematic growth and development in the teaching profession.
Many have referred to this dramatic shift as a new image or a new module of teacher education for professional development (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2001: Walling & Lewis, 2000). In the past 15 years there have been standards-based movements for reform (Consortium for Policy Research in Education, 1993; Hord, 2004; Kedzior & Fifield, 2004: Sparks, 2002). The key component of this reform effort has been that effective professional development has created a knowledge base that has helped to transform and restructure quality schools (Guskey, 1995; Willis, 2000).
Much of the available research on professional development involves its relationship to student achievement. Researchers differ on the degree of this relationship. Variables are the school, teacher, student level related to the level of learning within the classroom, parent and community involvement, instructional strategies, classroom management, curriculum design, student background knowledge, and student motivation (Marzano, 2003). Based upon a review of several studies, Marzano (2003) concluded that the professional development activities experienced by teachers have a similar impact on student achievement to those of the aforementioned variables.
Opportunities for active learning, content knowledge, and the overall coherence of staff development are the top three characteristics of professional development. Opportunities for active learning and content specific strategies for staff development refer to a focus on teacher application of learned material. Overall coherence refers to the staff development program perceived as an integrated whole and development activities building upon each other in a consecutive fashion. Marzano (2003) warned, however, that standardized staff development activities which do not allow for effective application would be ineffective in changing teacher behavior.
Richardson, (2003) published a list of characteristics associated with effective professional development, stating that such programs would optimally be:
“statewide, long term with follow-up; encourage collegiality; foster agreement among participants on goals and visions; have a supportive administration; have access to adequate funds for materials, outside speakers, substitute teachers, and so on; encourage and develop agreement among participants; acknowledge participants existing beliefs and practices; and make use of outside facilitator/staff developers.” (p. 402)
Kedzior and Fifield (2004) described effective professional development as a prolonged facet of classroom instruction that is integrated, logical and on-going and incorporates experiences that are consistent with teachers’ goals; aligned with standards, assessments, other reform initiatives, and beset by the best research evidence. Elmore (2002) described professional development as sustained focus over time that is consistent with best practice.
- – - -
References
Brookfield, S. (2005). Power of critical theory for adult learning and teaching. Berkdire, Great Britain: McGraw-Hill Education.
Champion, R. (2003). Taking measure: The real measure of professional development program’s effectiveness lies in what participants learned. Journal of Staff Development, 24(1), 1–5.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (2001). Beyond certainty: Taking an inquiry stance on practice. In A. Lieberman & L. Miller (Eds.), Teachers caught in the action: Professional development that matters (pp. 45–61). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Elmore, R. (2002). Bridging the gap between standards and achievement: The imperative for professional development education [Brochure]. Washington, DC: Albert Shanker Institute.
Ganzer, T. (Ed.) (2000). Ambitious visions of professional development for teachers [Special Issue]. National Association for Secondary School Principals, (84)618
Glattenhorn, A. (1987). Cooperative professional development: Peer centered options for teacher growth. Educational Leadership, (3)45, 31-35.
Guskey, T. R. (1995). Professional development in action: New paradigms and practices. (T. R. Guskey & M. Huberman, Eds.) New York: Teachers College Press.
Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Hord, S. M. (Ed.). (2004). Learning together leading together: Changing schools through professional learning communities. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Kedzior, M., & Fifield, S. (2004). Teacher professional development. Education Policy Brief, 15(21), 76–97.
Marzano, R. J. (2003). What works in school: Translating research into action. Alexandria,, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Miles, K. H., Olden, A., Fermanich, M., & Archibald, S. (2004). Inside the blackbox of school spending on professional development: Lessons from comparing five urban districts. Journal of Education and Finance 30(1) 1-26.
Richardson, V. (2003). The dilemmas of professional development. Phi Delta Kappan, 84(5), 401–406.
National Staff Development Council (2001). NSDC’s Standards for Staff Development. Oxford, OH. Author.
National Staff Development Council (2007). Professional development. Retrieved
March 15, 2009, from http://www.NSDC.org/connect/about/index.cfm.
Walling, B., & Lewis, M. (2000). Development of professional development pre-service teachers: Longitudinal and comparative analysis. Action Teacher Education, 22(2a), 63-67
News from Europe: Continuing Higher Education as a Core Mission
By Robert S. Lapiner | Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Continuing Education, New York University
Until the expansion of the European Union in the late 1980’s, it would have been difficult to generalize about the place of post-tertiary education in European countries. Although each nation had its own expression of forms of adult learning—going back to diverse 19th-century models for worker education—many social, cultural and economic factors contributed to the absence of a developed continuing higher education infrastructure comparable to the U.S. and Canadian experience.
These included the historically small percentage of adults who completed university study; the large government sector comprising a higher percentage of the workforce than in North America, and traditions of employment continuity everywhere. As for those long-serving employees (including those in executive roles) needing to update their knowledge, in-service training delivered in-house had been normative. Perhaps most relevant, until the past three decades, voluntary job mobility was universally regarded as a somewhat alien, American concept. Thus there was not much demand from individuals seeking to access university-validated study opportunities that could help them position themselves for career change.
Moreover, the operational and academic structures that have existed for some time for adults seeking to earn their first degree were—outside of Britain and Soviet-dominated Europe—rarely found within traditional universities. As for non-degree learning opportunities, schools of commerce or of engineering and applied science have long organized programs for the benefit of their alumni (or for in-service training purposes for employees of their official quasi-governmental “industry sponsors”) but each operated generally in specific disciplinary niches and for narrowly defined institutionally affiliated communities.
Conditions have changed in the two short decades since the unification of Germany and the nearly doubling in size of the EU. European governments—singly and together under the EU banner—have marched sometimes fitfully and sometimes in remarkable concord toward greater convergence in many areas, most notably in matters of education, cross-border training and professional certification, within the broad framework of European social policy. Paralleling the earlier successful initiatives to encourage more traditional-age student mobility and facilitate credit-transfer within Europe (manifest in pioneering programs like ERASMUS and TEMPUS), the European Commission of Education and Culture and the Directorate for Education and Training have spearheaded a number of efforts modeling a fundamental commitment to the expansion of continuing education capabilities, by establishing coordinating bodies and funding incentives to facilitate relationships between higher education and industry (it is uplifting to see the leitmotif that Continuing Education is a key instrumentality for nurturing those vital relationships).
A CE leadership community has of course also emerged in Europe over the past few decades. Opportunities for professional development, promulgation of best practices, and inter-institutional and cross-border collaboration are fostered in relatively young organizations like the EUCON (European Union Continuing Education Association), the global ICDE (International Continuing and Distance Education Association), along with interest groups found within EAIE (the European Association of International Education) and the EUA (the European University Association). Brussels has been particularly assiduous in promoting inter-European cooperation among research institutes to study and measure the worlds of lifelong learning and continuing professional development, with the necessary goal of fostering a data framework for research, evaluation and assessment, as well to identify emerging best practices. A multitude of studies often aligned with OECD- and UNESCO-generated research reports, attest to these efforts (some are referenced below).
This blossoming of activity reflects the changing needs of society, of course, but it has not emerged only as a response to market opportunity. It has been accelerated by political initiatives: across the European Union, the education ministries of its 27 member governments (and those in the applicant queue, like Turkey) have all affirmed EU resolutions that lifelong learning and adult continuing higher education are among the fundamental responsibilities of higher education institutions (HEI’s). Because national governments establish educational policy and remain (for the time being) the principal funding sources of higher education across Europe, where private institutions are relatively few outside of self-standing professional schools, these widely shared affirmations come with formal expectations both of state investment and institutions providing evidence of demonstrated outcomes. The overarching commitment is legally enshrined in principles in the Lisbon Treaty (the governing set of laws for members of the European Union). Further, the EU has set specific goals as evidence of compliance: 12.5% of adults aged 25-64 shall be enrolled annually in forms of higher education-based continuing education or vocational training.
There is little doubt that the multi-national endorsements from EU member countries of these policy objectives are shaping the general direction of higher education across the Continent. They are not just well-intentioned pronouncements from government advisory panels or commissions of educational professionals and industry champions of higher education à la U.S. practice. They have the force of law.
Despite the diversity of needs and conditions across a broad landscape, it should be especially heartening for our professional community to note that insisting upon strengthened continuing education and lifelong learning capabilities have consistently emerged as critical elements of the anticipated role of HEI’s for the health of the “Europe of Knowledge” and in the promotion of social harmony—key issues of the Lisbon Treaty. In particular, the governments have articulated a clear correlation between the role CE programs can and should have at the macro level, in disseminating the products of university research labs to fuel the capacity of European industry and commerce to be at the forefront of innovation for high quality manufacturing and services in the global knowledge economy. And at the micro level, in keeping members of the demographically ageing European workforce of professionals informed about new methodologies, technologies, and other changing conditions, to help them stay up-to-date and productive—especially as Europeans are increasingly facing the need to remain actively employed far longer than recent generations.[1]
For these many reasons, it is not hard to understand the ways continuing education is seen as representing a structured higher educational expression of the “social dimension” of universities, as articulated in the Bologna Process. [2]
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References
[1] See Draft 2008 joint progress report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the ‘Education & Training 2010’ work programmer, “Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and innovation.” Council of the European Union. No. Cion prop.: 15292/07 EDUC 211 SOC 460 + ADD 1. See also the conclusions of The Council of the European Union of 12 May 2009, regarding a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (‘ET 2020’), in Official Journal of the European Union, “Notices from European Institutions and Bodies,” May 28, 2009, pp. C 119/2-119/10.
[2] Cf. Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Funding and the Social Dimension. European Commission, 2011. Available at eacea.ec.europa.eu/education,eurydice
Until the expansion of the European Union in the late 1980’s, it would have been difficult to generalize about the place of post-tertiary education in European countries. Although each nation had its own expression of forms of adult learning—going back to diverse 19th-century models for worker education—many social, cultural and economic factors contributed to the absence of a developed continuing higher education infrastructure comparable to the U.S. and Canadian experience.
These included the historically small percentage of adults who completed university study; the large government sector comprising a higher percentage of the workforce than in North America, and traditions of employment continuity everywhere. As for those long-serving employees (including those in executive roles) needing to update their knowledge, in-service training delivered in-house had been normative. Perhaps most relevant, until the past three decades, voluntary job mobility was universally regarded as a somewhat alien, American concept. Thus there was not much demand from individuals seeking to access university-validated study opportunities that could help them position themselves for career change.
Moreover, the operational and academic structures that have existed for some time for adults seeking to earn their first degree were—outside of Britain and Soviet-dominated Europe—rarely found within traditional universities. As for non-degree learning opportunities, schools of commerce or of engineering and applied science have long organized programs for the benefit of their alumni (or for in-service training purposes for employees of their official quasi-governmental “industry sponsors”) but each operated generally in specific disciplinary niches and for narrowly defined institutionally affiliated communities.
Conditions have changed in the two short decades since the unification of Germany and the nearly doubling in size of the EU. European governments—singly and together under the EU banner—have marched sometimes fitfully and sometimes in remarkable concord toward greater convergence in many areas, most notably in matters of education, cross-border training and professional certification, within the broad framework of European social policy. Paralleling the earlier successful initiatives to encourage more traditional-age student mobility and facilitate credit-transfer within Europe (manifest in pioneering programs like ERASMUS and TEMPUS), the European Commission of Education and Culture and the Directorate for Education and Training have spearheaded a number of efforts modeling a fundamental commitment to the expansion of continuing education capabilities, by establishing coordinating bodies and funding incentives to facilitate relationships between higher education and industry (it is uplifting to see the leitmotif that Continuing Education is a key instrumentality for nurturing those vital relationships).
A CE leadership community has of course also emerged in Europe over the past few decades. Opportunities for professional development, promulgation of best practices, and inter-institutional and cross-border collaboration are fostered in relatively young organizations like the EUCON (European Union Continuing Education Association), the global ICDE (International Continuing and Distance Education Association), along with interest groups found within EAIE (the European Association of International Education) and the EUA (the European University Association). Brussels has been particularly assiduous in promoting inter-European cooperation among research institutes to study and measure the worlds of lifelong learning and continuing professional development, with the necessary goal of fostering a data framework for research, evaluation and assessment, as well to identify emerging best practices. A multitude of studies often aligned with OECD- and UNESCO-generated research reports, attest to these efforts (some are referenced below).
This blossoming of activity reflects the changing needs of society, of course, but it has not emerged only as a response to market opportunity. It has been accelerated by political initiatives: across the European Union, the education ministries of its 27 member governments (and those in the applicant queue, like Turkey) have all affirmed EU resolutions that lifelong learning and adult continuing higher education are among the fundamental responsibilities of higher education institutions (HEI’s). Because national governments establish educational policy and remain (for the time being) the principal funding sources of higher education across Europe, where private institutions are relatively few outside of self-standing professional schools, these widely shared affirmations come with formal expectations both of state investment and institutions providing evidence of demonstrated outcomes. The overarching commitment is legally enshrined in principles in the Lisbon Treaty (the governing set of laws for members of the European Union). Further, the EU has set specific goals as evidence of compliance: 12.5% of adults aged 25-64 shall be enrolled annually in forms of higher education-based continuing education or vocational training.
There is little doubt that the multi-national endorsements from EU member countries of these policy objectives are shaping the general direction of higher education across the Continent. They are not just well-intentioned pronouncements from government advisory panels or commissions of educational professionals and industry champions of higher education à la U.S. practice. They have the force of law.
Despite the diversity of needs and conditions across a broad landscape, it should be especially heartening for our professional community to note that insisting upon strengthened continuing education and lifelong learning capabilities have consistently emerged as critical elements of the anticipated role of HEI’s for the health of the “Europe of Knowledge” and in the promotion of social harmony—key issues of the Lisbon Treaty. In particular, the governments have articulated a clear correlation between the role CE programs can and should have at the macro level, in disseminating the products of university research labs to fuel the capacity of European industry and commerce to be at the forefront of innovation for high quality manufacturing and services in the global knowledge economy. And at the micro level, in keeping members of the demographically ageing European workforce of professionals informed about new methodologies, technologies, and other changing conditions, to help them stay up-to-date and productive—especially as Europeans are increasingly facing the need to remain actively employed far longer than recent generations.[1]
For these many reasons, it is not hard to understand the ways continuing education is seen as representing a structured higher educational expression of the “social dimension” of universities, as articulated in the Bologna Process. [2]
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References
[1] See Draft 2008 joint progress report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the ‘Education & Training 2010’ work programmer, “Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and innovation.” Council of the European Union. No. Cion prop.: 15292/07 EDUC 211 SOC 460 + ADD 1. See also the conclusions of The Council of the European Union of 12 May 2009, regarding a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (‘ET 2020’), in Official Journal of the European Union, “Notices from European Institutions and Bodies,” May 28, 2009, pp. C 119/2-119/10.
[2] Cf. Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Funding and the Social Dimension. European Commission, 2011. Available at eacea.ec.europa.eu/education,eurydice
ការរិះគន់ពីគុណភាពនៃការបំពេញការងាររបស់មន្ត្រីរាជការ
ដោយ ទីន ហ្សាការីយ៉ា
ក្រុមអ្នកតាមដានសង្គម រិះគន់ការបំពេញការងាររបស់មន្ត្រីរាជការមួយចំនួន ថាធ្វើការបែបការិយាធិបតេយ្យ និងអសមត្ថភាពនៅក្នុងការគ្រប់គ្រងស្ថាប័ននីមួយៗ។
ក្រុមអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវផ្នែកអភិវឌ្ឍន៍សង្គម បានលើកឡើងថា មន្ត្រីរាជការបម្រើការងារនៅតាមស្ថាប័នរដ្ឋ ធ្វើការបាត់បង់នូវក្រមសីលធម៌ វិជ្ជាជីវៈ និងគ្មានវិន័យ ពីព្រោះថា នៅតាមស្ថាប័នទាំងនោះ បុគ្គលិកនីមួយៗធ្វើការមិនបង្កភាពងាយស្រួលដល់អ្នកទៅទទួលសេវា នោះឡើយ។អ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវបានពន្យល់ថា មន្ត្រីរាជការទាំងអស់ ទោះបីជាបំពេញការងារប្រចាំថ្ងៃមិនសកម្ម មិនយកចិត្តទុកដាក់នឹងការងារយ៉ាងណាក៏ដោយ ក៏ពួកគេមិនប្រឈមនឹងការទទួលទោសកំហុសអ្វីដែរ ពិសេសមិនប្រឈមនឹងការដកចេញពីការងារដូចបុគ្គលិកបម្រើការងារនៅ ក្រុមហ៊ុនឯកជននោះទេ ដែលបញ្ហាទាំងនេះវារាំងស្ទះដល់ការអនុវត្តការងារឲ្យមាន ប្រសិទ្ធភាព។
អ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវផ្នែកអភិវឌ្ឍន៍សង្គម លោក កែម ឡី មានប្រសាសន៍ថា អស់រយៈពេលជាង ៣០ឆ្នាំកន្លងមកនេះ ទាំងរដ្ឋាភិបាល ទាំងប្រទេសជាម្ចាស់ជំនួយ បានមើលរំលងអំពីការបំពេញការងាររបស់មន្ត្រីរាជការដែលបម្រើការងារ នៅស្ថាប័នរដ្ឋ ពីព្រោះថា រដ្ឋាភិបាល ឬក្រសួងនីមួយៗ មិនមានតារាងវិភាគទៅលើតួនាទី និងភារកិច្ចរបស់មន្ត្រីនីមួយៗឲ្យបានច្បាស់លាស់។
លោក កែម ឡី៖ «រដ្ឋាភិបាលមិនហ៊ានធ្វើការវិភាគមុខងារ និងភារកិច្ចស៊ីជម្រៅ ទោះបីជាមានការជួយប្រាក់ឧបត្ថម្ភពីភ្នាក់ងារពិសេស PAC មានPOC មានជួយច្រើនក្ដី ហើយភ្នាក់ងារជាដៃគូជួយអភិវឌ្ឍក៏ទទួលស្គាល់ថា មិនមានប្រសិទ្ធភាពដែរ»។
ការបម្រើការងាររបស់មន្ត្រីរាជការនៅតាមស្ថាប័នរដ្ឋនីមួយៗ បានបង្កការលំបាកដល់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋនៅពេលប្រជាពលរដ្ឋត្រូវការទៅ រត់ការឯកសារនានា ដូចជាការទៅបង់ពន្ធដីធ្លី ការរត់ការស្នើសុំបើកអាជីវកម្មផ្សេងៗ ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋត្រូវការរង់ចាំពេលវេលាច្រើនថ្ងៃ ពេលខ្លះត្រូវបង់លុយក្រោមតុជូន ឬសូកប៉ាន់ ជាថ្នូរនឹងការរត់ការលឿន ឬ ដើម្បីឲ្យគេយករៀបចំឯកសារជូនឲ្យបានឆាប់រហ័សជាដើម។
ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋនៅទីក្រុងភ្នំពេញ ឈ្មោះ មុន្នី បានឲ្យដឹងថា កាលពីសប្ដាហ៍មុនលោកបានទៅបង់ពន្ធរថយន្តនៅខណ្ឌទួលគោក ត្រូវចំណាយពេលចំនួនបីថ្ងៃទើបបង់ពន្ធបាន។ លោក មុន្នី អះអាងថា ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋភាគច្រើនដែលមិនដឹងរឿងអំពីការសូកប៉ាន់ ត្រូវឈររង់ចាំមន្ត្រីពន្ធដារទទួលយកឯកសាររបស់ខ្លួន ដែលចំណាយពេលទៅបង់ពន្ធជាច្រើនដង ប៉ុន្តែបើដឹងអំពីរបៀបបង់លុយក្រោមតុជូនគេ ទើបគេសម្រួលឯកសារបានលឿន។
លោក មុន្នី៖ «ដល់ពេលយើងដាក់ឯកសារ យើងដាក់ខាងមុខហ្នឹង យើងអត់ដឹងរឿងចេះតែចាំគេ ពីរបីថ្ងៃ ជួនកាលមន្ត្រីពន្ធដារប្រាប់ថា អស់ហើយក្រដាសពន្ធតំលៃ ២៥ម៉ឺនរៀល ១២ម៉ឺននោះ ខ្ញុំស្ដាប់ទៅវង្វេង។ ដល់ពេលចាំយូរពេក ខ្ញុំចុះមកកន្លែងផ្ញើម៉ូតូ សួរគេទៅ គេប្រាប់ឲ្យទៅបង់ខាងក្រោយ គេរត់ការឲ្យ ឲ្យគេ ២ម៉ឺន៥ពាន់ទៅ»។
ឆ្លើយតបទៅនឹងបញ្ហានេះ មន្ត្រីជាន់ខ្ពស់នៃគណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជា និងជាប្រធានគណៈកម្មការសេដ្ឋកិច្ច និងសវនកម្មនៃរដ្ឋសភា លោកបណ្ឌិត ជាម យៀប បានទទួលស្គាល់ថា កន្លងមកការអនុវត្តការងាររបស់មន្ត្រីរាជការខ្លះ ធ្វើការងារព្រងើយកន្តើយនឹងការងាររបស់ខ្លួនមែន។
លោកបណ្ឌិត ជាម យៀប បានបំភ្លឺថា បច្ចុប្បន្ននេះរដ្ឋាភិបាលមានវិធានការតឹងតែងចំពោះមន្ត្រីប្រព្រឹត្ត អំពើពុករលួយទាំងឡាយ ដោយរដ្ឋាភិបាលបានបង្កើតអង្គភាពប្រឆាំងអំពើពុករលួយជាដើម៖ «ឥឡូវ មន្ត្រីមួយចំនួនកំពុងដាក់នៅក្នុងការពិនិត្យរបស់រដ្ឋ អង្គភាពប្រឆាំងអំពើពុករលួយ ដែលគេចង់បាន អ៊ីចឹងយើងកំពុងរឹតត្បិត យើងមិនអាចព្រួញមួយបាញ់បានសត្វបានទាំងបីម្ដងបានទេ»។
ទោះបីជាយ៉ាងណាក៏ដោយ ក្រុមអ្នកវិភាគបានពន្យល់ថា ប្រព័ន្ធការងាររបស់មន្រ្តីរាជការបច្ចុប្បន្ននេះ បុគ្គលិករដ្ឋធ្វើការលឿន និងយកចិត្តទុកដាក់នោះ លុះត្រាណាបុគ្គលិកទាំងនោះធ្វើការនៅចំកន្លែងដែលមានលុយ។ មានន័យថា គេមានឱកាសដើម្បីទទួលសំណូកបាន ទោះបីជាកម្ពុជា មានស្ថាប័នប្រឆាំងអំពើពុករលួយក្ដី។ ក្រុមអ្នកវិភាគបានឲ្យដឹងថា ការអនុវត្តការងារនៅស្ថាប័នរដ្ឋ ជាការបង្កើតការិយាធិបតេយ្យនៅក្នុងស្ថាប័នរដ្ឋ។
អ្នកវិភាគឯករាជ្យ លោកបណ្ឌិត សុខ ទូច មានប្រសាសន៍ថា មន្ត្រីរាជការបម្រើការងារនៅស្ថាប័នរដ្ឋបច្ចុប្បន្នមានបញ្ហាជា ច្រើន ដែលរដ្ឋាភិបាលត្រូវតែពង្រឹងវិន័យឡើងវិញ ពីព្រោះថា មន្ត្រីរាជការមិនគោរពពេលវេលា វាខុសពីបុគ្គលិកធ្វើការនៅស្ថាប័នឯកជន រាល់ពេលបំពេញតួនាទី ឬផ្ដល់សេវាជូនប្រជាពលរដ្ឋទាល់តែមានលុយសូកពីប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ ទើបគេរហ័សរហួនធ្វើការ។
លោកបណ្ឌិត សុខ ទូច៖ «ការិយាធិបតេយ្យបង្កើតអន្ទាក់កាន់តែច្រើន ដើម្បីទទួលផល លាភពីភាពយឺតយ៉ាវហ្នឹង។ ទី២ នីតិវិធីនៃការបង្កភាពសាំញ៉ាំហ្នឹងកាន់តែច្រើន។ ឧទាហរណ៍ដូចជាបង់ពន្ធដី នីតិវិធីស្មុគស្មាញ ដែលប្រជាជនខ្មែរយើងមិនសូវចេះ ធ្វើឲ្យមានការលំបាក»។
អ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវផ្នែកអភិវឌ្ឍន៍សង្គម បានពន្យល់ទៀតថា មន្ត្រីរាជការគេកម្រឃើញត្រូវថ្នាក់លើរបស់ខ្លួនដាក់ពិន័យ ឬដកចេញពីតួនាទីនោះ ដោយសារវាជាប់ពាក់ព័ន្ធនឹងរឿងនយោបាយ។ មានន័យថា មន្ត្រីរាជការភាគច្រើនជាសមាជិកគណបក្សកាន់អំណាច និងជាប់សែស្រឡាយរបស់មន្ត្រីធំនៅក្នុងក្រសួង ឬស្ថាប័នទាំងនោះ។
ម្យ៉ាងវិញទៀត លោក កែម ឡី ជាអ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវផ្នែកអភិវឌ្ឍន៍សង្គម បានអះអាងថា មន្ត្រីរាជការថ្នាក់ក្រោមធ្វើការមិនមានប្រសិទ្ធភាពនោះ ក៏វាទាក់ទងទៅនឹងប្រាក់បៀវត្សនៅមានកម្រិតទាបដែរ។ លោកបញ្ជាក់ថា ទោះបីជារដ្ឋាភិបាលមានគោលនយោបាយដំឡើងប្រាក់បៀវត្សជូនមន្ត្រី រាជការក្នុង ១ឆ្នាំ ចំនួន ១៥% ក្ដី ប៉ុន្តែបើប្រៀបធៀបចំណូលថវិកាជាតិក្នុងឆ្នាំ១៩៩៣ មានប្រមាណ ៧០ ទៅ ៨០លានដុល្លារក្នុងមួយឆ្នាំ រីឯចំណូលថវិកាជាតិក្នុងឆ្នាំ២០១០ និងឆ្នាំ២០១១ មានជាង ១.៧០០លានដុល្លារ ដូច្នេះការដំឡើងប្រាក់ខែ ១៥% នេះ នៅមានកម្រិតទាបនៅឡើយ។
លោក កែម ឡី៖ «តែប្រាក់បៀវត្ស កាលពីឆ្នាំ១៩៩៣ មានតិចបំផុតពី ២០ដុល្លារ និង ៣០ដុល្លារ ប៉ុន្តែបច្ចុប្បន្នកំណើនសេដ្ឋកិច្ចឡើងច្រើនហើយ ប្រាក់បៀវត្សមានត្រឹម ៣០ដុល្លារ ឬ ៤០ដុល្លារទេ ដូច្នេះកំណើតសេដ្ឋកិច្ចបច្ចុប្បន្នឡើងលើសពីមុនប្រហែល ២០ដង ដូច្នេះរដ្ឋាភិបាលគួរតែពិចារណាឡើងវិញចំពោះបញ្ហានេះ»។
ដោយឡែកចំពោះអ្នកវិភាគឯករាជ្យ លោកបណ្ឌិត សុខ ទូច វិញ មានទស្សនៈថា ការអនុវត្តការងារមិនល្អរបស់បុគ្គលិករដ្ឋនោះ វាមិនជាប់ពាក់ព័ន្ធនឹងកម្រិតប្រាក់ខែទាបទាំងស្រុងនោះទេ សំខាន់បំផុតគឺស្ថិតនៅលើក្រមសីលធម៌ វិជ្ជាជីវៈរបស់មន្ត្រីរាជការ និងវិន័យ។
ក្រុមអ្នកវិភាគបានផ្ដល់អនុសាសន៍ថា ដើម្បីកែប្រែឲ្យមន្ត្រីរាជការអនុវត្តការងារមានប្រសិទ្ធភាព រដ្ឋាភិបាលត្រូវកំណត់ឲ្យមន្ត្រីរាជការមានក្រមសីលធម៌ វិជ្ជាជីវៈ និងគោរពវិន័យ រើសមនុស្សដាក់ធ្វើការឲ្យត្រូវជំនាញ និងមានសមត្ថភាព កុំជ្រើសរើសយកមនុស្សតែក្រុមបក្សខ្លួនឯង។
ឆ្លើយតបទៅនឹងបញ្ហានេះ លោកបណ្ឌិត ជាម យៀប បានពន្យល់ថា ប្រទេសកម្ពុជាបានឆ្លងកាត់របបកម្ពុជាប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ។ អ្នកចេះដឹងភាគច្រើនត្រូវគេកាប់សម្លាប់នៅក្នុងរបបខ្មែរក្រហម ដូច្នេះមន្ត្រីរាជការមួយចំនួនបម្រើការនៅស្ថាប័នរដ្ឋខ្វះ សមត្ថភាព។ ប៉ុន្តែលោកអះអាងថា បច្ចុប្បន្ននេះ រដ្ឋាភិបាលកំពុងកែទម្រង់បន្តិចម្ដងៗ និងមានវិធានការតឹងរ៉ឹងចំពោះមន្ត្រីរាជការដែលប្រព្រឹត្តអំពើ ពុករលួយនោះ៕
គុណភាពអប់រំនៅកម្ពុជាត្រូវតែពង្រឹង!
ទស្សនៈព្រឹត្តិការណ៍សេដ្ឋកិច្ចខ្មែរ
ដោយ គី សុខលីម
ពីមួយឆ្នាំទៅមួយឆ្នាំ ប្រទេសកម្ពុជាបានផលិតធនធានមនុស្សកាន់តែច្រើនឡើងៗ។ ជាក់ស្តែង សាលារៀនដែលជាថ្នាលបណ្តុះបណ្តាលធនធានមនុស្សបានបើកទ្វារកាន់តែ ច្រើនឡើងៗ ទាំងនៅក្នុងទីក្រុងភ្នំពេញ ទាំងនៅតាមបណ្តាខេត្តនានានៅក្នុងប្រទេស។
ក្នុងមួយឆ្នាំៗនិសិត្សច្រើនពាន់ម៉ឺននាក់បានចេញពីសាកល វិទ្យាល័យ។ ជាការពិត ជារៀងរាល់ឆ្នាំ មាននិសិ្សតច្រើនពាន់នាក់បានបញ្ចប់ការសិក្សាមែន ប៉ុន្តែសំណួរដែលកំពុងចោទឡើង គឺទាក់ទងទៅនឹងគុណភាពអប់រំ នៅក្នុងប្រទេសក្រីក្រមួយនេះ។ ប្រសិនបើគេនិយាយក្នុងក្របខណ្ឌក្នុងប្រទេស និងផ្អែកលើហេតុផលក្រោយរបបប៉ុលពត ជាការមិនអាចប្រកែកបានគឺថា គុណភាពអប់រំរបស់កម្ពុជាមានការរីកចម្រើនទៅមុខគួរសមមែន ប៉ុន្តែប្រសិនបើគេធ្វើការប្រៀបធៀបគុណភាពអប់រំរបស់កម្ពុជាជាមួយ ប្រទេសនៅក្នុងតំបន់ ឬប្រទេសអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ធំៗវិញ វិស័យអប់រំកម្ពុជាស្ថិតនៅឆ្ងាយដាច់ពីគេសឹងហៅមិនឮ។
តើមូលហេតុអ្វីបានជាវិស័យអប់រំកម្ពុជានៅទន់ខ្សោយ?
មូលហេតុមានច្រើន ប៉ុន្តែ បញ្ហាធំៗកត់សម្គាល់មានដូចជា៖ ទី១ គឺដោយសារប្រាក់ខែគ្រូបង្រៀននៅតាមសាលារដ្ឋមានចំនួនតិចតួច។ ប្រាក់ខែមិនអាចរស់បានធ្វើអោយគ្រូបង្រៀនគ្មានចំណង់នឹងបង្រៀន ឡើយ។
ទី២៖គឺដោយសារគ្រូបង្រៀនមួយចំនួនបាត់បង់ក្រមសីលធម៌ មានន័យថា ប្រាក់ខែរដ្ឋទាបមែន ប៉ុន្តែពួកគេអាចរកក្រៅបានគួរសម។ រកកម្រៃក្រៅផ្លូវការបានច្រើនហើយ ប៉ុន្តែពួកគេនៅតែគ្មានឆន្ទៈនឹងបង្រៀនដដែល។ នេះគឺដោយសារការបាត់បង់សតិសម្បជញ្ញៈក្នុងនាមជាអ្នកបណ្តុះបញ្ញា ញាណ។
បញ្ហាទី៣ដែលទាញទម្លាក់គុណភាពអប់រំដែរនោះ គឺគុណភាពគ្រូបង្រៀនតែម្តង។ គ្រូបង្រៀននៅតាមសាលារដ្ឋមួយចំនួនមិនមែនចេញមកពីសិស្សឆ្នើម ប្រចាំសាលាទេ។ ដោយសារប្រាក់ខែគ្រូបង្រៀនទាប សិស្សឆ្នើមភាគច្រើនមិនចង់ក្លាយខ្លួនទៅជាសាស្រ្តចារ្យឡើយ។
មូលហេតុទី៤ដែលរុញច្រានអោយគុណភាពអបរំមានកម្រិតទាបដែរនោះ គឺដោយសារសាកលវិទ្យាល័យមួយចំនួនគិតពីរឿងចំណេញប្រាក់កាសច្រើនជាង គិតពីគុណភាពសិក្សា។ សាកលវិទ្យាល័យខ្លះមិនហ៊ានរឹតបន្តឹងវិន័យខ្លាំងទេ ពីព្រោះពួកគេខ្លាចនិសិ្សតមិនចុះឈ្មោះរៀននៅទីនោះ។ ការគិតរបៀបនេះវានឹងរុញច្រានគុណភាពអប់រំខ្មែរអោយធ្លាក់ទៅរក មហន្តរាយថែមទៀត។
មូលហេតុចុងក្រោយដែលគ្រោះថ្នាក់ខ្លាំងដែរនោះ គឺការសូកប៉ាន់ ដើម្បីចៀសវាងការប្រឡងធ្លាក់ពីកម្រិតមួយទៅកម្រិតមួយ។
អ្នកតាមដានសភាពការណ៍សង្គមសេដ្ឋកិច្ចនៅក្នុងប្រទេសកម្ពុជាបាន អត្ថាធិប្បាយថា រដ្ឋាភិបាលគួរពិចារណាបន្ថែមទៀតពីរឿងគុណភាពអប់រំនេះ។ គុណភាពមនុស្សគឺជារឿងស្លាប់រស់របស់គ្រួសារ សហគមន៍ និងប្រទេសជាតិ។
កាលពីសម័យដើម កុលសម្ព័ន្ធនីមួយៗវាយប្រហារគ្នាតាមរយៈកម្លាំងបាយ ដើម្បីកាន់កាប់អំណាចនៅក្នុងតំបន់ណាមួយ។ ប៉ុន្តែក្នុងសម័យសតវត្សរ៍ទី២១នេះ សហគមន៍នីមួយៗ ឬប្រទេសនីមួយៗលែងប្រយុទ្ធគ្នាតាមកម្លាំងបាយទៀតហើយ។ តែជាការប្រយុទ្ធគ្នាដោយប្រើប្រាស់បញ្ញាញាណ។ តាមរយៈបញ្ញាញាណនេះ ប្រទេសខ្លះ ដូចជា ប្រទេសជប៉ុនជាដើម ធ្លាប់ក្លាយជាមហាអំណាចសេដ្ឋកិច្ចទី២ បន្ទាប់ពីសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកមុននឹងផ្តល់តំណែងនេះទៅអោយប្រទេសចិនវិញ។
ឯាកមកនិយាយពីប្រទេសកម្ពុជាវិញ ប្រសិនបើកម្ពុជាចង់ក្លាយទៅជាប្រទេសមហាអំណាច ឬចង់ក្លាយខ្លួនទៅជាប្រទេសមួយដែលតំបន់ ឬពិភពលលោកទទួលស្គាល់នោះ ការផលិតធនធានមនុស្សដែលមានគុណភាពខ្ពស់គឺជារឿងចាំបាច់បំផុត។ ជាពិសេស នៅក្នុងបរិបទដែលប្រទេសកម្ពុជាត្រូវប្រកួតប្រជែងក្នុងក្របខណ្ឌ សហគមន៍អាស៊ាន រួមជាមួយប្រទេសដទៃទៀត នៅឆ្នាំ២០១៥ខាងមុខនេះ។
សូមកុំភ្លេចថា គ្រួសារមួយ សហគមន៍មួយ ប្រទេសជាតិមួយ ដែលសម្បូរទៅដោយមនុស្សមានចំណេះដឹងប្រកបដោយគុណភាពខ្ពស់ គ្រួសារនោះ សហគមន៍នោះ ប្រទេសនោះពិតជាអភិវឌ្ឍលឿនជាងគ្រួសារ សហគមន៍ឬប្រទេសដែលមិនសូវមានអ្នកចេះដឹង៕
ដោយ គី សុខលីម
ពីមួយឆ្នាំទៅមួយឆ្នាំ ប្រទេសកម្ពុជាបានផលិតធនធានមនុស្សកាន់តែច្រើនឡើងៗ។ ជាក់ស្តែង សាលារៀនដែលជាថ្នាលបណ្តុះបណ្តាលធនធានមនុស្សបានបើកទ្វារកាន់តែ ច្រើនឡើងៗ ទាំងនៅក្នុងទីក្រុងភ្នំពេញ ទាំងនៅតាមបណ្តាខេត្តនានានៅក្នុងប្រទេស។
ក្នុងមួយឆ្នាំៗនិសិត្សច្រើនពាន់ម៉ឺននាក់បានចេញពីសាកល វិទ្យាល័យ។ ជាការពិត ជារៀងរាល់ឆ្នាំ មាននិសិ្សតច្រើនពាន់នាក់បានបញ្ចប់ការសិក្សាមែន ប៉ុន្តែសំណួរដែលកំពុងចោទឡើង គឺទាក់ទងទៅនឹងគុណភាពអប់រំ នៅក្នុងប្រទេសក្រីក្រមួយនេះ។ ប្រសិនបើគេនិយាយក្នុងក្របខណ្ឌក្នុងប្រទេស និងផ្អែកលើហេតុផលក្រោយរបបប៉ុលពត ជាការមិនអាចប្រកែកបានគឺថា គុណភាពអប់រំរបស់កម្ពុជាមានការរីកចម្រើនទៅមុខគួរសមមែន ប៉ុន្តែប្រសិនបើគេធ្វើការប្រៀបធៀបគុណភាពអប់រំរបស់កម្ពុជាជាមួយ ប្រទេសនៅក្នុងតំបន់ ឬប្រទេសអភិវឌ្ឍន៍ធំៗវិញ វិស័យអប់រំកម្ពុជាស្ថិតនៅឆ្ងាយដាច់ពីគេសឹងហៅមិនឮ។
តើមូលហេតុអ្វីបានជាវិស័យអប់រំកម្ពុជានៅទន់ខ្សោយ?
មូលហេតុមានច្រើន ប៉ុន្តែ បញ្ហាធំៗកត់សម្គាល់មានដូចជា៖ ទី១ គឺដោយសារប្រាក់ខែគ្រូបង្រៀននៅតាមសាលារដ្ឋមានចំនួនតិចតួច។ ប្រាក់ខែមិនអាចរស់បានធ្វើអោយគ្រូបង្រៀនគ្មានចំណង់នឹងបង្រៀន ឡើយ។
ទី២៖គឺដោយសារគ្រូបង្រៀនមួយចំនួនបាត់បង់ក្រមសីលធម៌ មានន័យថា ប្រាក់ខែរដ្ឋទាបមែន ប៉ុន្តែពួកគេអាចរកក្រៅបានគួរសម។ រកកម្រៃក្រៅផ្លូវការបានច្រើនហើយ ប៉ុន្តែពួកគេនៅតែគ្មានឆន្ទៈនឹងបង្រៀនដដែល។ នេះគឺដោយសារការបាត់បង់សតិសម្បជញ្ញៈក្នុងនាមជាអ្នកបណ្តុះបញ្ញា ញាណ។
បញ្ហាទី៣ដែលទាញទម្លាក់គុណភាពអប់រំដែរនោះ គឺគុណភាពគ្រូបង្រៀនតែម្តង។ គ្រូបង្រៀននៅតាមសាលារដ្ឋមួយចំនួនមិនមែនចេញមកពីសិស្សឆ្នើម ប្រចាំសាលាទេ។ ដោយសារប្រាក់ខែគ្រូបង្រៀនទាប សិស្សឆ្នើមភាគច្រើនមិនចង់ក្លាយខ្លួនទៅជាសាស្រ្តចារ្យឡើយ។
មូលហេតុទី៤ដែលរុញច្រានអោយគុណភាពអបរំមានកម្រិតទាបដែរនោះ គឺដោយសារសាកលវិទ្យាល័យមួយចំនួនគិតពីរឿងចំណេញប្រាក់កាសច្រើនជាង គិតពីគុណភាពសិក្សា។ សាកលវិទ្យាល័យខ្លះមិនហ៊ានរឹតបន្តឹងវិន័យខ្លាំងទេ ពីព្រោះពួកគេខ្លាចនិសិ្សតមិនចុះឈ្មោះរៀននៅទីនោះ។ ការគិតរបៀបនេះវានឹងរុញច្រានគុណភាពអប់រំខ្មែរអោយធ្លាក់ទៅរក មហន្តរាយថែមទៀត។
មូលហេតុចុងក្រោយដែលគ្រោះថ្នាក់ខ្លាំងដែរនោះ គឺការសូកប៉ាន់ ដើម្បីចៀសវាងការប្រឡងធ្លាក់ពីកម្រិតមួយទៅកម្រិតមួយ។
អ្នកតាមដានសភាពការណ៍សង្គមសេដ្ឋកិច្ចនៅក្នុងប្រទេសកម្ពុជាបាន អត្ថាធិប្បាយថា រដ្ឋាភិបាលគួរពិចារណាបន្ថែមទៀតពីរឿងគុណភាពអប់រំនេះ។ គុណភាពមនុស្សគឺជារឿងស្លាប់រស់របស់គ្រួសារ សហគមន៍ និងប្រទេសជាតិ។
កាលពីសម័យដើម កុលសម្ព័ន្ធនីមួយៗវាយប្រហារគ្នាតាមរយៈកម្លាំងបាយ ដើម្បីកាន់កាប់អំណាចនៅក្នុងតំបន់ណាមួយ។ ប៉ុន្តែក្នុងសម័យសតវត្សរ៍ទី២១នេះ សហគមន៍នីមួយៗ ឬប្រទេសនីមួយៗលែងប្រយុទ្ធគ្នាតាមកម្លាំងបាយទៀតហើយ។ តែជាការប្រយុទ្ធគ្នាដោយប្រើប្រាស់បញ្ញាញាណ។ តាមរយៈបញ្ញាញាណនេះ ប្រទេសខ្លះ ដូចជា ប្រទេសជប៉ុនជាដើម ធ្លាប់ក្លាយជាមហាអំណាចសេដ្ឋកិច្ចទី២ បន្ទាប់ពីសហរដ្ឋអាមេរិកមុននឹងផ្តល់តំណែងនេះទៅអោយប្រទេសចិនវិញ។
ឯាកមកនិយាយពីប្រទេសកម្ពុជាវិញ ប្រសិនបើកម្ពុជាចង់ក្លាយទៅជាប្រទេសមហាអំណាច ឬចង់ក្លាយខ្លួនទៅជាប្រទេសមួយដែលតំបន់ ឬពិភពលលោកទទួលស្គាល់នោះ ការផលិតធនធានមនុស្សដែលមានគុណភាពខ្ពស់គឺជារឿងចាំបាច់បំផុត។ ជាពិសេស នៅក្នុងបរិបទដែលប្រទេសកម្ពុជាត្រូវប្រកួតប្រជែងក្នុងក្របខណ្ឌ សហគមន៍អាស៊ាន រួមជាមួយប្រទេសដទៃទៀត នៅឆ្នាំ២០១៥ខាងមុខនេះ។
សូមកុំភ្លេចថា គ្រួសារមួយ សហគមន៍មួយ ប្រទេសជាតិមួយ ដែលសម្បូរទៅដោយមនុស្សមានចំណេះដឹងប្រកបដោយគុណភាពខ្ពស់ គ្រួសារនោះ សហគមន៍នោះ ប្រទេសនោះពិតជាអភិវឌ្ឍលឿនជាងគ្រួសារ សហគមន៍ឬប្រទេសដែលមិនសូវមានអ្នកចេះដឹង៕
កម្ពុជាត្រូវសង់វត្តបន្ថែម ឬមជ្ឈមណ្ឌលស្រាវជ្រាវ-មន្ទីរពិសោធន៍?
- Tuesday, 31 July 2012
- ប៉ែន មីរ៉ាន់ដា
- វត្តអារាម ជាទីសក្ការរបស់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរប្រមាណ ៩០ %
ដែលកាន់សាសនាព្រះពុទ្ធ ដែលជាសាសនារបស់រដ្ឋ។
យើងកត់សម្គាល់ឃើញថា ចំនួនព្រះសង្ឃ និងវត្តអារាម កំពុងតែកើនឡើង
ហើយការសាងសង់ ត្រូវបានយកចិត្តទុកដាក់ ដោយរាជរដ្ឋាភិបាល
និងសប្បុរសជននានា។ តែបើក្រឡេកមើលចំនួន
និងទំនើបកម្មមជ្ឈមណ្ឌលស្រាវជ្រាវ និងមន្ទីរពិសោធន៍វិញ
មិនមានការកើនឡើងគួរឲ្យកត់សម្គាល់ឡើយ។
ឈរលើគោលការណ៍អា ស៊ានដែលនឹងបង្កើតសមាគមសេដ្ឋកិច្ចអាស៊ាន (ASEAN Economic Community, AEC) ត្រឹមឆ្នាំ ២០១៥ និងគោលការណ៍សកលភាវូបនីយកម្ម កម្ពុជានឹងប្រឈមការប្រកួតប្រជែងផលិតផលទាំងបរិមាណនិងគុណភាពនៅលើ ទីផ្សារតំបន់ និងពិភពលោក។
តើកម្ពុជា ត្រូវត្រៀមលក្ខណៈបែបណាខ្លះ ដើម្បីកែប្រែការប្រឈមឲ្យទៅជាឱកាស ពាណិជ្ជកម្ម និងសេដ្ឋកិច្ច? តើរដ្ឋាភិបាល ឬសប្បុរសជន ពាណិជ្ជករ គួរប្រើថវិកាខ្លះ ដើម្បីការសាងសង់មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលស្រាវជ្រាវ និងមន្ទីរពិសោធន៍វិទ្យាសាស្ត្រដែរឬទេ?
ជាដំបូង តួនាទីវត្តអារាមពិតជាសំខាន់ណាស់ សម្រាប់ពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរដូចជា ការផ្តល់ពុទ្ធដីកា និងដំបូន្មាន របស់ព្រះសង្ឃ ដល់ពុទ្ធសាសនិក និងជាកន្លែងផ្ដល់ចំណេះដឹង។ វត្តអារាមក៏ជាទីស្នាក់អាស្រ័យ របស់និស្សិតបុរស ដែលមកពីទីជនបទដើម្បីបន្តការសិក្សាថ្នាក់ឧត្តមនៅទីក្រុង។ អត្ថបទមួយរបស់ Arnaldo Pellini (2004) ក៏បានបង្ហាញឧទាហរណ៍ របស់សមាគមវត្តអារាមក្នុងស្រុកស្ទោង ខេត្តកំពង់ធំ ដែលដើរតួនាទីជាសមាគម ថវិកា និងស្រូវសម្រាប់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ។ បើតាមស្ថិតិរបស់ក្រសួងធម្មការ និងសាសនា ដែលដកស្រង់ដោយសារព័ត៌មាន Xinhua គិតមកត្រឹមខែមេសាឆ្នាំ២០១០ មានវត្តអារាមចំនួន ៤៣៩២ និងព្រះសង្ឃច្រើនជាង ៥ ម៉ឺនអង្គ ក្នុងប្រទេសកម្ពុជា។ បើយើងគិតពីសមាមាត្រភាគរយព្រះសង្ឃ និងប្រជាជនសរុប ១៣,៣៩៥,៦៨២ (NIS, 2008) គឺស្មើ ០.៤ %។
ម្យ៉ាងវិញ ទៀត ថវិកា ដែលត្រូវសាងសង់វិហារ និងកុដិ ក្នុងវត្ត នីមួយៗយ៉ាងហោចក៏ត្រូវចំណាយពី ២០ ទៅ ៣០ ម៉ឺនដុល្លារអាមេរិកដែរ ហើយបើយើងមានមហិច្ឆតាដើម្បីធ្វើទំនើបកម្មវត្តទាំងអស់ដែលមាន ស្រាប់ យ៉ាងហោចណាស់ក៏ត្រូវការថវិកាជិតមួយកោដិដុល្លារអាមេរិកដែរ។ ការសាងសង់ទៀតសោត ពពាក់ពពូនគ្នានៅតែតំបន់ជិតៗ ហើយតំបន់ឆ្ងាយៗ ជាពិសេសតំបន់ព្រំដែនដែលត្រូវការប្រជាពលរដ្ឋរស់នៅឲ្យបានច្រើន នោះ ក៏មិនសូវជាមានដែរ។
តើយើងទទួលបានអ្វីខ្លះ ពីការអភិវឌ្ឍបែបនេះ? ពិតណាស់ ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ មានទីវត្តអារាមទូលាយស្អាតបាត សម្រាប់ជួបជុំគ្នាពេលមានបុណ្យទានម្ដងៗ។ តែបើក្រឡេកមើលព្រះសង្ឃមួយចំនួនតូច បានបង្ហាញភាពឡូយឆាយដាក់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ និងវាយឫកស្មើគហិបតី សម័យទុំទាវ ដែលនេះ ជាការខកចិត្តរបស់ពុទ្ធសាសនិក ដែលចំណាយអស់កម្លាំងញើសឈាម ដើម្បីឧបត្ថម្ភ វិស័យពុទ្ធសាសនា។ ម្យ៉ាងទៀត បើក្រឡេកមើលទៅព្រះសង្ឃតាមវត្តអារាមក្នុងក្រុងភ្នំពេញ គេនឹងឃើញព្រះសង្ឃក្មេងៗជាច្រើនដែលរវល់ជជែកតាមទូរស័ព្ទសាធា រណៈក្បែររបងវត្ត។ តាមការពិតទៅ វ័យ ១៨-៣៥ ឆ្នាំ គឺជាវ័យដ៏សស្រាក់សស្រាំក្នុងការងារ ដើម្បីប្រយោជន៍គ្រួសារនិងសង្គមជាតិ ហើយបើយើងសម្លឹងមើល សីលធម៌សង្គមខ្មែរបច្ចុប្បន្ន ដែលកំពុងធ្លាក់ចុះ រួមមានទាំងការរំលោភសេពសន្ថវ: (កាមកិលេស) ការសម្លាប់វាយតប់ ដែលករណីខ្លះត្រឹមតែមើលមុខគ្នានោះ វាប្រាសចាកនឹងសីលប្រាំ សម្រាប់ពុទ្ធសាសនិកទូទៅ។
តាមពិតទៅ យើងគួរតែមិនមានក្ដីបារម្ភ ពីបញ្ហាសីលធម៌សង្គមទេ ព្រោះយើងមានព្រះសង្ឃយ៉ាងច្រើន ដែលជាអ្នកប្រដៅសាសនា ក្នុងសង្គមយើង តែហេតុអ្វីបានជាបទល្មើសទាំងនេះ នៅតែកើតមានឡើង និងកំពុងបន្តកើនឡើង? ឬមួយក៏អ្វីដែលយើងបានចំណាយយ៉ាងច្រើននោះមិនមានប្រសិទ្ធភាព?
បច្ចេក វិទ្យាក្នុងអត្ថបទនេះ មិនសំដៅទៅលើព័ត៌មានវិទ្យានោះទេ តែយើងចង់ផ្ដោតទៅលើបច្ចេកវិទ្យា កសិកម្ម និងចំណីអាហារដែលដើរតួសំខាន់សម្រាប់ខឿនសេដ្ឋកិច្ចជាតិ។
សម្តេច នាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ហ៊ុន សែន ធ្លាប់មានប្រសាសន៍ថា៖«យើងគួរតែអភិវឌ្ឍបច្ចេកវិទ្យាកសិកម្មរបស់ យើងឲ្យបានដូចប្រទេស ដទៃ។ បើយើងនឹកពីប្រទេសបារាំង យើងនឹងស្គាល់ស្រាទំពាំងបាយជូរពី Bordeaux ប្រូមា និងថ្លើមក្ងានដ៏ថ្លៃ»។
តើយើងត្រូវការអ្វី ដើម្បីឈានទៅដល់ការអភិវឌ្ឍផលិតផល និងផលិតកម្មជាទ្រង់ទ្រាយធំ?
ចម្លើយ គឺ យើងត្រូវឆ្លងកាត់ការស្រាវជ្រាវនិងកែលម្អតាមបែបវិទ្យាសាស្ត្រនៅ ក្នុងមជ្ឈមណ្ឌលស្រាវជ្រាវ ឬមន្ទីរពិសោធន៍។
ឧទាហរណ៍ ប្រសិនបើយើងចង់ផលិតទឹកដោះគោ ដើម្បីបំពេញតម្រូវការទីផ្សារក្នុងស្រុក និងក្រៅស្រុក នៅប្រទេសកម្ពុជា ដែលមានអាកាសធាតុក្នុងតំបន់ត្រូពិកក្ដៅ-សើម យើងត្រូវប្រើពេលបង្កាត់ខ្វែងពូជគោទឹកដោះ និងពូជក្នុងស្រុក ដែលធន់នឹងស្រេ្តស ហើយបើយើងចង់បានសាច់គោ ដែលមានរសជាតិឆ្ងាញ់ ផលិតភាពខ្ពស់ ប្រើចំណីតិច យើងក៏ត្រូវបង្កាត់សម្រាំងពូជដោយត្រូវប្រើបច្ចេកទេស បង្កាត់សិប្បនិម្មិត ផ្ទេរអំប្រ៊ីយ៉ូ...។ល។ បើយើង ចង់បានពូជដំណាំ ដែលធន់នឹងភាពរាំងស្ងួត សត្វល្អិត ទិន្នផលខ្ពស់ គុណភាពល្អ យើងអាចប្រើបច្ចេកវិទ្យា Genetic Modified Organism (GMO) ការបណ្ដុះ ជាលិកា...។ល។
បច្ចេកវិទ្យាទាំងនេះ ក៏អាចប្រើដើម្បីការពារពូជសត្វកម្រនិងរុក្ខជាតិកម្រ ក្នុងប្រទេសកម្ពុជាបានដែរ។ តើយើងមានលទ្ធភាពពេញលេញសម្រាប់ការផ្លាស់ប្តូរនេះ ឬនៅ? ចមើ្លយគឺពិតជាមិនទាន់ទេ ហើយពិតណាស់ដើម្បីធើ្វវាបានយើងត្រូវការពេលវេលា ថវិកា ធនធានមនុស្ស និងទីកនែ្លង។
យើងមានមជ្ឈមណ្ឌលស្រាវជ្រាវ ឬមន្ទីរពិសោធន៍វិទ្យាសាស្រ្តតិចតួចណាស់ ខ្លះមិនដំណើរការទៀត បើតាមការប៉ាន់ស្មាន ការសាងសង់មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលស្រាវជ្រាវ ឬមន្ទីរពិសោធន៍វិទ្យាសាស្រ្ត ដោយបំពាក់ឧបករណ៍បរិក្ខារទំនើប អាចមានតមៃ្លថៃ្លជាងវត្តអារាម ពី ២ ទៅបីដង តែយើងក៏មិនត្រូវការរហូតដល់ទៅជិត ៥ ពាន់កនែ្លងនោះដែរ ត្រឹមតែ ១ ភាគ ៥០ នៃចំនួននេះ វាច្រើនពេកទៅហើយសម្រាប់កម្ពុជា។
បញ្ហា មួយទៀត ជម្រើសរបស់និសិ្សត សម្រាប់ការរៀនវិស័យកសិកម្ម ក្នុងប្រទេសកម្ពុជាក៏មានតិចទៅទៀត ខណៈដែលកម្ពុជា ជាប្រទេសកសិកម្មស្រាប់។ ដូចដែលធ្លាប់ឮមកហើយ ឪពុកម្តាយ បានឲ្យដំបូន្មានទៅកូនសម្រាប់ការជ្រើសរើសរៀនវិស័យណា ដែលពេលចេញទៅធ្វើការ មានម៉ាស៊ីនត្រជាក់ មិនហាលថ្ងៃនិងភ្លៀង និងកាប់ គាស់ដី។
ជាលទ្ធផល រៀងរាល់ឆ្នាំ មាននិសិ្សតដែលបញ្ចប់ឧត្តមសិក្សាផ្នែកគ្រប់គ្រង ព័ត៌មានវិទ្យា ធនាគារ ដែលធ្វើការមិនប្រើជំនាញទាំងនេះ។ ដូច្នោះ ការកសាង និងបង្កើនចំនួនមជ្ឈមណ្ឌលស្រាវជ្រាវ និងមន្ទីរពិសោធន៍វិទ្យាសាស្រ្តជាភាពចាំបាច់ ដែលនឹងបង្កើតការងារបន្ថែមដល់និស្សិត និងជួយជំរុញស្តង់ដារ វិទ្យាសាស្រ្ត និងគុណភាពផលិតផល ដើម្បីប្រកួតប្រជែង ជាមួយប្រជាជាតិដទៃ។
សរុបសេចក្តីមក ការបង្កើនសន្ទុះការសាងសង់វត្តអារាម ក្នុងប្រទេសកម្ពុជា នាពេលបច្ចុប្បន្ន គួរតែមិនមានភាពចាំបាច់ ជាងការអភិវឌ្ឍ និងស្រាវជ្រាវវិទ្យាសាស្រ្ត លើផ្នែកកសិកម្មទេ។ សិស្ស និងនិសិ្សតក៏គួរតែមិនចាំបាច់បារម្ភ និងរារែកចំពោះការជ្រើសរើស និងប្រឡូកក្នុងវិស័យកសិកម្ម និងការស្រាវជ្រាវវិទ្យាសាស្រ្ត លើផ្នែកនេះដែរ។
វាជាខឿនសេដ្ឋកិច្ចដ៏ចម្បង របស់ប្រទេសជាតិនាពេលបច្ចុប្បន្ន និងទៅអនាគត ហើយយើងគួរតែត្រៀមខ្លួន ពង្រឹងសមត្ថភាពបន្ថែមលើវិស័យនេះ ដែលយើងបានឈានជើងចូលអង្គការពាណិជ្ជកម្មពិភពលោក (WTO) ហើយនឹងឈានជើងចូលសមាគមសេដ្ឋកិច្ចអាស៊ាន (AEC) នាពេលខាងមុខ៕ ដោយ ប៉ែន មីរ៉ាន់ដា និស្សិតថ្នាក់បណ្ឌិត នៅសាកលវិទ្យាល័យ New England នៅប្រទេសអូស្ដ្រាលី
Sunday 29 July 2012
Unscrupulous agents get Chinese students into US schools
Time 29 July 2012 Issue No:232
Because many Chinese students have trouble making sense of the American
admissions process, a huge industry of education agents has arisen in
China to help guide them – and, in some cases, to do whatever it takes
to get them accepted, writes Justin Bergman for Time.
This autumn, David Zhu will join an exodus of Chinese students boarding planes for the leafy, beer-soaked campuses of American colleges and universities, a dream his parents have had since they started saving a $157,000 nest egg for his education. The 21-year-old hired an education agent in China to clean up and ‘elaborate’ on the essay he submitted as part of his application.
Stories like Zhu’s are becoming increasingly common, and this has created a thorny ethical dilemma in the US. According to a 2010 report by the consultancy Zinch China, eight out of every 10 Chinese undergraduate students use an agent to file their applications. And with such intense competition among agents, cheating is rampant, the group says.
This autumn, David Zhu will join an exodus of Chinese students boarding planes for the leafy, beer-soaked campuses of American colleges and universities, a dream his parents have had since they started saving a $157,000 nest egg for his education. The 21-year-old hired an education agent in China to clean up and ‘elaborate’ on the essay he submitted as part of his application.
Stories like Zhu’s are becoming increasingly common, and this has created a thorny ethical dilemma in the US. According to a 2010 report by the consultancy Zinch China, eight out of every 10 Chinese undergraduate students use an agent to file their applications. And with such intense competition among agents, cheating is rampant, the group says.
This fall, David Zhu will join an exodus of Chinese students
boarding planes for the leafy, beer-soaked campuses of American colleges
and universities. Zhu, currently a student at Shanghai’s prestigious
Fudan University, will be enrolling at Oregon State University to pursue
a bachelor’s degree in business — a dream his parents have had since
they started saving a $157,000 nest egg for his education. But like many
Chinese students who don’t speak English fluently, Zhu might not have
been accepted without a little help. The 21-year-old hired an education
agent in China to clean up
and “elaborate” on the essay he submitted as part of his
application. “Actually, the agency helped my application to some
extent,” he says.
Stories like Zhu’s are becoming increasingly common as the ranks of Chinese students going abroad for college continue to swell. Because many Chinese students have only basic knowledge of foreign universities and have trouble making sense of complicated applications, a huge industry of education agents has arisen in the country to help guide them — and, in some cases, to do whatever it takes to get them accepted. This has created a thorny ethical dilemma in the U.S. While many American schools are elated by the influx of Chinese students as they’ve scrimped and saved to make ends meet in the economic downturn, some educators worry that the reliance of Chinese students on agents has led to some unintended — and troubling — consequences.
Stories like Zhu’s are becoming increasingly common as the ranks of Chinese students going abroad for college continue to swell. Because many Chinese students have only basic knowledge of foreign universities and have trouble making sense of complicated applications, a huge industry of education agents has arisen in the country to help guide them — and, in some cases, to do whatever it takes to get them accepted. This has created a thorny ethical dilemma in the U.S. While many American schools are elated by the influx of Chinese students as they’ve scrimped and saved to make ends meet in the economic downturn, some educators worry that the reliance of Chinese students on agents has led to some unintended — and troubling — consequences.
(MORE: Why Are China’s Universities Losing Their Star Students?)
Although Chinese students have been going to America to study for decades, their numbers have spiked dramatically in the past few years. In the 2010–11 school year, more than 157,000 Chinese students were enrolled at institutions of higher learning in the U.S. — a 22% increase over the previous year and tops among all countries. (Second-place India had just 104,000.) The largest increase has been among undergrads: China sent nearly 57,000 to the U.S. in 2010–11, up from 10,000 five years earlier. For the wealthy, an overseas education is becoming almost standard. A survey conducted by China’s Hurun Report found that 85% of rich Chinese parents planned to send their kids abroad to study. The U.S. is their preferred destination, followed by the U.K. and Canada.
While there are a host of reasons for this explosion, money and prestige appear to be the most important factors. Not only can more Chinese families now afford to pay the tuition at a foreign university, they also view it as a better investment in their children’s future. Universities in the West are revered in China, and homegrown schools — even the best ones — fail to measure up. “I think the college education in China is not very practical,” says Vincent Sun, another Fudan student who will be enrolling at MIT this fall to pursue a master’s degree in finance. “When I will be searching for a job, I think a degree from a very famous [foreign] university is a huge thing I think that will put me into a very good place.” Ironically, a foreign university can also be a fallback for Chinese students who don’t do well enough on the national exam, the gaokao, to get into a Chinese school — there’s always an American college willing to take their tuition dollars.
But many of these students would probably never make it to America without a middleman to pave the way. According to a 2010 report by Zinch China, a consultancy that advises U.S. colleges and universities on China, 8 out of every 10 Chinese undergraduate students use an agent to file their applications. And with such intense competition among agents — not to mention ambitious students and their overzealous parents — cheating is rampant, the group says. It estimates that 90% of recommendation letters from Chinese students are fake, 70% of college application essays are not written by the students, and half of all high school transcripts are falsified. “The world of higher education is becoming extremely competitive, much more so than it was even 10 years ago, and I think the kids are looking for an edge,” says Tom Melcher, chairman of Zinch China. “Everyone is looking around and saying, ‘Well, everyone else is cheating, why shouldn’t I?’”
(MORE: These Schools Mean Business)
Another issue that concerns some admissions officers in the U.S. is where the money is coming from. Not only are agents paid by families in China — up to $10,000 before bonuses, according to Zinch — some American schools also have contracts with agents that guarantee them a commission for each student they enroll. This practice constitutes a potential conflict of interest, says Philip Ballinger, head of a commission launched by the Washington-based National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) to study the issue of foreign recruiting. “If money is first, then perhaps the interest of student or the person that’s involved is not first,” he says.
What’s desperately needed is greater oversight in China and the U.S. — something both sides are now trying to address. The Chinese government realizes that doctored transcripts are a problem: earlier this year, it launched a new service to verify students’ high school grades for foreign universities. But because there are literally thousands of agents operating in China, cheating will persist. “The Chinese kids, when I talk to them, they sort of think it’s the schools’ fault. The schools will say you have to have a recommendation letter from a guidance counselor, and Chinese kids don’t have guidance counselors,” Melcher says. Zhu, the student enrolling at Oregon State, says his agent didn’t falsify documents beyond the “elaborated” essay, but he believes doing so is sometimes a necessary evil. “Some schools in China test students by very hard questions beyond their abilities, so the scores students get are very low. So the students who want to go to the USA, they had to change their scores,” he says. “But the students are still very good students because they’re in the best schools in Shanghai.”
In the U.S., there are hopes that the NACAC committee investigating overseas recruiting practices will bring much needed clarity to a situation that has been a relative free-for-all in recent years. While federal law prohibits colleges and universities from paying commissions to recruit students in the U.S., there is no statute against doing it internationally. NACAC has a policy against it, but enforcement has been put on hold while its investigation is continuing. The group’s second meeting is set for this fall; recommendations are expected to come in 2013.
(MORE: Why Is College Enrollment Dropping?)
Although it acknowledges that fraud is a major concern, NACAC is focusing initially on the question of whether universities should be permitted to pay overseas recruiters commissions. Mitch Leventhal, vice chancellor for global affairs at the State University of New York (SUNY) and an outspoken pro-recruiter advocate, argues that agents can provide a legitimate and useful service for foreign students, provided they operate in a professional and transparent way. He says it’s ridiculous to suggest that universities should stop using agents. “That’s sticking your head in a hole. They’re not going to go away because market demand is there, so the best way to address it is to engage them and identify the good ones.”
Leventhal believes he’s found a way to do that. He’s founder of an organization called the American International Recruitment Council, which has developed a rigorous process for certifying international agents. Agents must volunteer and pay a fee for the service, which involves a third-party investigation of their business, an external review by two members of U.S. universities and a confidential complaint system. So far, the group has certified about 45 agents, who benefit, Leventhal says, from having increased access to U.S. schools. And after agents are thoroughly vetted, he sees nothing wrong with paying them commissions, so long as the schools are also transparent about it. At SUNY, the fee is 10% of the student’s first-year tuition. “No one likes to pay a commission to a real estate broker when we buy a house because it’s another expense,” he says. “But we don’t deny the fact that a real estate broker works on commission and deserves to earn something for their effort.”
This sentiment isn’t shared by everyone. Mark Sklarow, head of the Washington-based Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), says students in China are better served by so-called educational consultants, who are paid solely by families (not by U.S. universities) to find the best educational match for students. Dozens of consultants in China have applied to become IECA members, but the organization must first ensure they’ve never accepted money from a college or university and they’ve never engaged in fraudulent practices. He believes that as Chinese students become more familiar with the U.S. application process, they’ll increasingly turn to consultants like these to help them make decisions about colleges rather than put all their trust in agents.
Sklarow says the U.S. is at a turning point too. For the past five years, colleges and universities were “balancing their budgets on Chinese students,” but he thinks the pressure is now on them to find a way to regulate the system. “I think until American colleges stand up and say we need a way to guarantee that the students we accept, that the records we’re looking at are whole, complete and legitimate, the problem continues to grow.”
Although Chinese students have been going to America to study for decades, their numbers have spiked dramatically in the past few years. In the 2010–11 school year, more than 157,000 Chinese students were enrolled at institutions of higher learning in the U.S. — a 22% increase over the previous year and tops among all countries. (Second-place India had just 104,000.) The largest increase has been among undergrads: China sent nearly 57,000 to the U.S. in 2010–11, up from 10,000 five years earlier. For the wealthy, an overseas education is becoming almost standard. A survey conducted by China’s Hurun Report found that 85% of rich Chinese parents planned to send their kids abroad to study. The U.S. is their preferred destination, followed by the U.K. and Canada.
While there are a host of reasons for this explosion, money and prestige appear to be the most important factors. Not only can more Chinese families now afford to pay the tuition at a foreign university, they also view it as a better investment in their children’s future. Universities in the West are revered in China, and homegrown schools — even the best ones — fail to measure up. “I think the college education in China is not very practical,” says Vincent Sun, another Fudan student who will be enrolling at MIT this fall to pursue a master’s degree in finance. “When I will be searching for a job, I think a degree from a very famous [foreign] university is a huge thing I think that will put me into a very good place.” Ironically, a foreign university can also be a fallback for Chinese students who don’t do well enough on the national exam, the gaokao, to get into a Chinese school — there’s always an American college willing to take their tuition dollars.
But many of these students would probably never make it to America without a middleman to pave the way. According to a 2010 report by Zinch China, a consultancy that advises U.S. colleges and universities on China, 8 out of every 10 Chinese undergraduate students use an agent to file their applications. And with such intense competition among agents — not to mention ambitious students and their overzealous parents — cheating is rampant, the group says. It estimates that 90% of recommendation letters from Chinese students are fake, 70% of college application essays are not written by the students, and half of all high school transcripts are falsified. “The world of higher education is becoming extremely competitive, much more so than it was even 10 years ago, and I think the kids are looking for an edge,” says Tom Melcher, chairman of Zinch China. “Everyone is looking around and saying, ‘Well, everyone else is cheating, why shouldn’t I?’”
(MORE: These Schools Mean Business)
Another issue that concerns some admissions officers in the U.S. is where the money is coming from. Not only are agents paid by families in China — up to $10,000 before bonuses, according to Zinch — some American schools also have contracts with agents that guarantee them a commission for each student they enroll. This practice constitutes a potential conflict of interest, says Philip Ballinger, head of a commission launched by the Washington-based National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) to study the issue of foreign recruiting. “If money is first, then perhaps the interest of student or the person that’s involved is not first,” he says.
What’s desperately needed is greater oversight in China and the U.S. — something both sides are now trying to address. The Chinese government realizes that doctored transcripts are a problem: earlier this year, it launched a new service to verify students’ high school grades for foreign universities. But because there are literally thousands of agents operating in China, cheating will persist. “The Chinese kids, when I talk to them, they sort of think it’s the schools’ fault. The schools will say you have to have a recommendation letter from a guidance counselor, and Chinese kids don’t have guidance counselors,” Melcher says. Zhu, the student enrolling at Oregon State, says his agent didn’t falsify documents beyond the “elaborated” essay, but he believes doing so is sometimes a necessary evil. “Some schools in China test students by very hard questions beyond their abilities, so the scores students get are very low. So the students who want to go to the USA, they had to change their scores,” he says. “But the students are still very good students because they’re in the best schools in Shanghai.”
In the U.S., there are hopes that the NACAC committee investigating overseas recruiting practices will bring much needed clarity to a situation that has been a relative free-for-all in recent years. While federal law prohibits colleges and universities from paying commissions to recruit students in the U.S., there is no statute against doing it internationally. NACAC has a policy against it, but enforcement has been put on hold while its investigation is continuing. The group’s second meeting is set for this fall; recommendations are expected to come in 2013.
(MORE: Why Is College Enrollment Dropping?)
Although it acknowledges that fraud is a major concern, NACAC is focusing initially on the question of whether universities should be permitted to pay overseas recruiters commissions. Mitch Leventhal, vice chancellor for global affairs at the State University of New York (SUNY) and an outspoken pro-recruiter advocate, argues that agents can provide a legitimate and useful service for foreign students, provided they operate in a professional and transparent way. He says it’s ridiculous to suggest that universities should stop using agents. “That’s sticking your head in a hole. They’re not going to go away because market demand is there, so the best way to address it is to engage them and identify the good ones.”
Leventhal believes he’s found a way to do that. He’s founder of an organization called the American International Recruitment Council, which has developed a rigorous process for certifying international agents. Agents must volunteer and pay a fee for the service, which involves a third-party investigation of their business, an external review by two members of U.S. universities and a confidential complaint system. So far, the group has certified about 45 agents, who benefit, Leventhal says, from having increased access to U.S. schools. And after agents are thoroughly vetted, he sees nothing wrong with paying them commissions, so long as the schools are also transparent about it. At SUNY, the fee is 10% of the student’s first-year tuition. “No one likes to pay a commission to a real estate broker when we buy a house because it’s another expense,” he says. “But we don’t deny the fact that a real estate broker works on commission and deserves to earn something for their effort.”
This sentiment isn’t shared by everyone. Mark Sklarow, head of the Washington-based Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), says students in China are better served by so-called educational consultants, who are paid solely by families (not by U.S. universities) to find the best educational match for students. Dozens of consultants in China have applied to become IECA members, but the organization must first ensure they’ve never accepted money from a college or university and they’ve never engaged in fraudulent practices. He believes that as Chinese students become more familiar with the U.S. application process, they’ll increasingly turn to consultants like these to help them make decisions about colleges rather than put all their trust in agents.
Sklarow says the U.S. is at a turning point too. For the past five years, colleges and universities were “balancing their budgets on Chinese students,” but he thinks the pressure is now on them to find a way to regulate the system. “I think until American colleges stand up and say we need a way to guarantee that the students we accept, that the records we’re looking at are whole, complete and legitimate, the problem continues to grow.”
Read more: http://world.time.com/2012/07/26/forged-transcripts-and-fake-essays-how-unscrupulous-agents-get-chinese-students-into-u-s-schools/?iid=tsmodule#ixzz221ym3E6F
Universities admit more poor students in China
Xinhuanet29 July 2012 Issue No:232
A little more than a month after sitting the gaokao, China's
college entrance exam, Zeng Mengyao is celebrating her results. She will
attend Xiamen University in China's eastern Fujian Province. Zeng's
dream to be admitted to a prestigious university would have been crushed
without the national preferential policy introduced by the Ministry of
Education this year, reports Xinhuanet.
According to this year's college admission plan, 12,100 higher education vacancies will be allocated to students from 680 poverty-stricken counties in 21 provincial areas. Residents in these counties had an annual per capita income of CNY2,676 (US$418) last year, about half the national average.
Statistics from the Ministry of Education show that the national average admission rate in some leading universities last year was 8.5%, while the number in the 680 impoverished counties was 5.7%. Zeng fell eight points short of the admission score set by Xiamen University, yet she will soon be heading there thanks to the new policy
According to this year's college admission plan, 12,100 higher education vacancies will be allocated to students from 680 poverty-stricken counties in 21 provincial areas. Residents in these counties had an annual per capita income of CNY2,676 (US$418) last year, about half the national average.
Statistics from the Ministry of Education show that the national average admission rate in some leading universities last year was 8.5%, while the number in the 680 impoverished counties was 5.7%. Zeng fell eight points short of the admission score set by Xiamen University, yet she will soon be heading there thanks to the new policy
UNITED KINGDOM Private college to award its own degrees
BBC News29 July 2012 Issue No:232
A private college in London has been given the power to award its own
degrees in a move the government says will increase competition in
England's higher education system, writes Angela Harrison for BBC News.
Regent's College, which is in London's Regent's Park, says it hopes to get university status in the near future. It is one of two private colleges being given degree-awarding powers this week and which are the first to get the right since the coalition government came to power. The identity of the second college has not yet been made public.
Until now, people studying at Regent's College have received degrees through its partnerships with various universities and institutions, including the Open University. Students study for British and American degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Most pay fees of about £14,000 a year.
Regent's College, which is in London's Regent's Park, says it hopes to get university status in the near future. It is one of two private colleges being given degree-awarding powers this week and which are the first to get the right since the coalition government came to power. The identity of the second college has not yet been made public.
Until now, people studying at Regent's College have received degrees through its partnerships with various universities and institutions, including the Open University. Students study for British and American degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Most pay fees of about £14,000 a year.
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