November, 2016
now browsing by month
How Cambodia government invest in human capital?
Introduction:
Courtesy: NotEnoughGood
National capitals to build a country are categorized by different perspectives but human capital, social capital, natural capital, and cash flow capital, have been broadly discussed by researchers and academics. Hence, human capital has been viewed as the most important means leading to sustainable development.
But Cambodia has been criticized on its lacking of political will to develop “human capital”.
History Snapshot:
The aura of cold war devastated Cambodia in all fields, and human capital which is one of the essential backbones of this nation has been nationwide ruined. Socially, the social bonding and trust have been disintegrated. Natural resources have been plundered by the elites. Educational system has significantly been raised up from zero spot to some level of political propaganda. The theory of the more learned persons teach the less learned persons are pervasively implemented. School infrastructures are not sufficient to the need of viable schooling environment. Curriculum is not up to date. Teaching pedagogy and teachers’ salary are not an incentive to produce human resource at all.
The Continuing Lie of Young Bamboo Seeds are future of Old Bamboos:
This saying is very popular in Cambodia among other national proverbs. But after the cold war, no one has ever thought of or had political will to put it into action. Cambodian children who are considered the young bamboo seeds have continually been exploited and spoiled to the core. The teaching of respecting and preserving tradition and culture have been indulgent to degrade other qualities of students such as social competency and emotional maturity. These downgrading are at the verge of severe students’ vulnerability. In Western education systems, children starting from kindergarten have been vastly taken care to ensure they grow up with citizenship ability and responsibility. Schools are central of students’ transformation than pacification in among those countries.
As I observed, a pre-school education system operating in Canada at a provincial schools level, a research finding found 1 in 3 of B.C. children start school vulnerable in one or more areas that are critical to their healthy development. As I have always participated in Parents Council Meeting of school that my kid is learning with, the debate on children nutrients are not in the agenda because with developed countries, children have been taken care very well in providing sufficient nutrients for their mental and physical growth.
Cambodia is in contrast, as major families are living with dire poverty, the diets for children are plainly dominantly rice with less or none nutritious food. Lacking hygiene is also a big causes of disease and abnormal growth of children. As these nutrients and hygiene are basic need for children to healthily grow up has not been prioritized by the government, other factors of education development are remained speechless. Thus, political influence has been pervasively undermining children growth within schools compounds. Beside of attempting to influence professionalism and independence to conduct proper teaching profession of the teachers, the pressure of their not-make-end-meet salary is one of the obstacles politics has taken over the growth of children.
From now on, Cambodian children should be taken care and infused following indicators to ensure they are truly young bamboo seeds for old bamboos:
- Emotional maturity (ភាពចាស់ចិត្តចាស់គំនិត): students-centered pedagogy and allowing more space for children to play and learn from their own intuitive is better than to having teacher keep eyes on them as well as lead them in all time. Good teachers will teach students to seek knowledge by themselves by facilitating road-map for them. Schools of early childhood learning is exactly a playground. Children love to play, and they are grown up from such plays.
- Social competence(សមត្ថភាពសង្គម): working as a team is imperative to imply in this real world, not a dream world. Cambodian schools are good in helping students to walk alone into the uncertainty of their future. Many times, this model has failed students to incorporate with others in achieving common goals, and conflicts as well as violence has always happened in Cambodian society because of lacking team-building. Many world’s important days and holidays of the nation, are good in calendar and students are likely forced to memorize them. But in developed countries, pre-school students, kindergarten to grade 5, are involving with those days by different classroom activities such as drawing, visualizing, photo-copying, imagining, analyzing, and school tripping to those sites etc. It it normal to hearing students take turn to speak on microphone about the daily schedule and reporting news during each important session of schooling. It is normal to see students take care other students and helping them with traffic etc.
- Physical health and well-being(កាយពលនិងសុខមាលភាព): lacking nutrition and hygiene are one part, but school with no playground and community with no recreation center etc. are the most unaware by the government in bringing physical health, mental health, and well-being of the students.
- Communication skills and general knowledge(កំរិតទំនាក់ទំនងគ្នាល្អនិងចំណេះដឹងទូទៅ): my personal experience from grade 12 has been a live memo as I couldn’t communicate anything useful with the outside world at all. I cannot apply my knowledge from school with the real world at all. I asked myself that as I was a number one student in classroom on both math and literature made me shy, none-confrontational, avoiding, and unproductive at work like this or what?
- Language and cognitive development(ការអភិវឌ្ឍន៌ជំនាញភាសានិងបញ្ញាញាណ): in developed countries, students are encouraged to learn at least two languages. Many universities accept students with bilingual or multilingual only. Researches found ability to speak many languages assure students’ high competency.
Why Cambodia Government is Lacking Political Will in Education?
By looking at the budget allocating for Education from previous years, and the budget draft for this upcoming year of 2017, Education is likely not in priority for the government at all. According to VOA news, government draft law indicated increase 20.4 percent or 822 millions USD in Defence, Security and Public Order. While education and health sector are not sufficient. According H.E.Son Chhay, spending on Education is allocated 2.7 percent of total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) comparing to Vietnam is 5.5 percent, Indonesia is 4.5, and Thailand is 4.5 percent.
While Cambodia has obtained peace, the need on spending on arm-force is questionable while the needed sectors such education and health are not within government’s priority.
Voters Registration Appeal
Political Paradigm of Pragmatism from the Khmer Youth part 84
Op-Ed: The CEROC
This part (84), Mr. Sophan is appealing of eligible Cambodian voters to register to vote collectively in order to push for a positive change of the country. Since the election in 1993 organized by the United 
Nations, election was inclusive and nondiscriminatory by allowing all Cambodian voters to vote regardless of where they are residing. Many Cambodians overseas were able to join the election through different poling stations that UNs arranged in key cities such as New York, Paris, and Canberra etc.
During this period of voters registration, our current NEC has failed itself by not making any significant decision-making to allowing or facilitating for Cambodians overseas to register to vote at all.
This inability is a failure to respect the will of the people from all walks of life. Hence, the worse intention of any body or party who has worked hard to manipulate the result of election, that doesn’t reflect the will of the voters, should not be vital to the dignity and survival of that person or part at all.
National Budget Drafting and Budgeting Law 2017
Today, I am intrigued to the mandate and agenda of CNRP’s Members of Parliamentary Team who has likely placed the budget drafting 2017 as their priority to advance their tasks within the parliamentary mechanism. This approach would help Cambodian voters to:
- Ensure budget is being in balance between domestic revenue and expenditure by minimizing foreign loan.
- Ensure money is used in the right targets by allocating into key ministries such as Education, Health Sector, and Local Governance etc.
- Ensure decision control and can be used as benchmarks to gauge performance.
- Ensure auditing process that is effective, independent, and recurrent.
- Etc.
Establishing an effective criticism towards the uses of budget is very imperative, and by having sufficient evidence, this loyal opposition party CNRP can conduct blaming effort as well as impeachment those responsible of top-level managements.
The 42 pages budget draft is full of informative data and economic jargon. Reviewing those million digits from a not-economic student, we might see some equilibrium and none-equilibrium, but expertise can help us on these. Hence, collection of revenue from casino and lottery-bets is incremental comparing between 2016 and 2017. This tell us that Cambodian people are gambled more, or gambling more. But there is some sign of positive figure of forest concession which is reduced while the mine concession is increased.
The CEROC commemorated 25 years of Paris Peace Agreement and appealed the rights to vote
Op-Ed: The CEROC
Political Paradigm of Pragmatism from the Khmer Youth part 83
២៥ ឆ្នាំកន្លងមកនេះដែលប្រជាពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរនៅក្រៅប្រទេសត្រូវបានគេដកហូតសិទ្ធិចូលរួមបោះឆ្នោតទាំងស្រុង។ អ៑ុនតាក់បានរៀបចំអោយពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរនៅក្រៅមានសិទ្ធិបោះឆ្នោត ប៉ុន្តែរាប់ចាប់តាំងពីឆ្នាំ១៩៩៨រៀងមក គជបដែលគេមើលឃើញថាមិនមានសមត្ថភាពនិងពោរពេញដោយភាពលំអៀង មិនសំរួលអោយខ្មែរនៅក្រៅប្រទេសបានបោះឆ្នោតទេ។ ក្នុងរដូវកាលនៃការចុះឈ្មោះបោះឆ្នោតសព្វថ្ងៃ ក៏មិនបានសំរួលអោយខ្មែរនៅក្រៅប្រទេសបានចូលរួមផងដែរ។
តើនេះជាការរំលោភសិទ្ធិពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរនៅក្រៅប្រទេសឬទេ? តើពលរដ្ឋខ្មែរដែលនៅក្រៅប្រទេសជាម្ចាស់ឆ្នោតនោះ គួរធ្វើយ៉ាងណា?
25 years has been passed that Cambodians overseas have been deprived full rights to vote in Cambodia elections. UNTAC allowed Cambodians overseas to vote, but after 1998, the new established NEC who were full of incompetency and bias didn’t allow Cambodians overseas to vote. During this season of voters registration, NEC has not facilitated for accessibility of Cambodians overseas to register vote-name.
Is this a grave violation over rights of Cambodians overseas? And Cambodians overseas who are the owner of this right should do what next?