Hun Sen and the dubious diplomas [-How about his own numerous and worthless PhDs?]
Dubious degree?
Another dubious degree?19 March 2009
By Ung Chamroeun
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French
On Wednesday 18 march, during the closing of the meeting for the work tally for the ministry of Education, Hun Sen recognized that the quality of the Cambodian education system is limited.“I noted that some Master and PhD degrees are too easy to obtain, and there are too many already. Cambodia must be the only country with so many diplomas. Furthermore, there are people who offer to ghost-write thesis!” Hun Sen indicated.
According to Hun Sen, competency must prime over the diplomas: “I don’t look at diplomas. To me, they must show competency. Some Master and PhD degree holders do not even know how to use a computer!” Hun Sen also cited the example set by Kuwait where the number of candidates to higher education is limited to 25. In Cambodia, hundreds of students obtain their Master or PhD degrees.
According the PM, the hiring of new civil servants or employees will be done though testing and not based on the diploma presented: “As an ASEAN member, our country needs human resources capable of working with our partners. However, when a PhD in international relations does not even know what ASEAN is, and what country it is made up of, it is a serious issue.”
Rong Chhun, President the Cambodia Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), welcomes Hun Sen’s acknowledgment of the reality of the Cambodian education system. “We are optimist because we have a lot of human resources, but we cannot compare the quality of Cambodia’s human resources to those of the neighboring countries. It is a shame for us, and I hope that the government will respect the declaration made by the PM,” Rong Chhun indicated while adding that education without quality is like a poisonous pill because it makes the situation worst.
According to the yearly report by the ministry of Education, Cambodia has 1,634 maternal schools, 6,476 primary schools, 1,006 junior high schools, 315 high schools and 77 higher education institutions both public and private. These higher education institutions receive more that 130,000 students, 864 of whom are pursuing a PhD degree, 11,681 a master degree, 110,000 a bachelor degree and 14,857 in preparation classes for a bachelor program.
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