Before starting to make discussion about Cambodia’s education sector, I just want to ask all of you whether you used to pay informal school fee to your teachers while you were at the State-primary and secondary schools. According to the Constitution, all children are encouraged to enroll into the public schools with free of charge. But why does the Municipal Department of Education allow teachers to take money from students every day?
Recently, a few teachers at Phnom Penh’s Baktouk primary school have been suspended and accused of charging students with double informal school fee from 500 riel to 1,000 riel per day.
The Cambodia Daily quoted the director of Baktouk primary school as saying that “I repeatedly warned them about taking money from students, but they didn’t listen,” adding that “the school allows them to take only 500 riel, but they asked for much more.”
It is seen that bribery and corruption have been instilled into those pupils when they are at school. Parents are angry with teachers who force their children to pay money every day. By the way, if the students do not give money to teachers, they are possible to be threatened and their grads are also low as well.
The reason that teachers ask for money from students is because of their low salary that they cannot support their family. In fact, it is not obligation of children to pay them. The government has taken responsibility for all civil servants who have insufficient salary such as teachers, military, police and junior government officials…etc.
When I was at primary and secondary school, I never paid informal school fee to my teachers. But what I used to do is that I had to pay teacher tuition fee and bought a copies of lesion from teachers.
We know that teachers really cannot make a live with their low monthly salary. If teachers require all students to pay money every day, it means that they are teaching students how to commit corruption and bribery.
The government is late to take action against the corruption issues happening in all public sectors. Even traffic polices are using law in order to extort money from people.
People who learn to be corrupt as children will be corrupt as adults. If they don’t have the money to pay, they will be poor and uneducated. This needs to be address soon.