John Bingham wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2019 6:17 pm

xandreu wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2019 5:08 pm

That's when the reality hit me that schools here, at least private schools, are not schools. They're businesses. The students aren't students, they're customers, or at least, their parents are.

Even the parents were in on the scam. They knew full well that their little darlings scores at the end of every term were based on false pretenses, but it just didn't seem to matter. Nobody, not the students, not the school, not the Khmer teachers nor the parents could have cared less. The only ones who did care seemed to be the foreign teachers.

I changed school after a while but I have to be honest, in my experience, most private schools tend to operate in similar ways here.

It's good that the government have cracked down on cheating in government run schools, I guess there's not much they can do about private ones.

There are differences between private schools here. Many of the less expensive ones are more just language centers than real schools with balanced curriculums. The much more expensive actual international schools do not allow cheating or plagiarism.

There are many good schools. Even the cheap ones. My Khmer friends do not like the cheats. You know that for sure JB. Expose and publicise - everyone will thank you.

From India to America, people cheat, whether it is climbing up the side of a building to pass answers in or paying a million dollars to get your unqualified kid into UCLA, it happens. Society no longer cares about character, it cares about results regardless of how they are achieved.

clutchcargo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2019 6:43 pm

explorer wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2019 6:26 pm

clutchcargo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2019 6:11 pm

explorer wrote: ↑Thu Nov 28, 2019 6:05 pm It is sad that Cambodians don't think about the big picture. If they focused on giving students the best education they can, instead of getting as much money under the table as possible, Cambodians would be better educated, which would result in the country getting better.

With respect, I think you have your western hat on. This is Asia (actually Cambodia)..

Things will improve over time..

Will they?

Do you think I can come back some time in the future and the system will be more fair?

Do you think I can come back some time in the future and there will be less people living in poverty?

There will be more large buildings built by Chinese and other investors, but will life really be better for the poor people?

I like to think so.. but who knows? I'd rather be a glass half full guy than half empty..

I'm just making the point that I think you are using a western mindset that just doesn't apply here. Cambodia is a developing country after all..

And if you go thru life here with that mindset I think you will think badly of khmers rather than accept that this is the way things are.. I believe we westerners shouldn't unduly impose our standards here..after all, we are guests.

If I wanted Cambodia to be like my home country, I wouldn't be here..

Positiveness is key. Good for you, CC. It's good to have somebody reminding the negative Nancy's like myself that Cambodia isn't a lost cause.

Now let's be real: Education is a failure in Cambodia. If human capital isn't keeping up with world's average, chances are development will be skewed (in a bad way). There will be a need for a plan B.

The current state of the labor force (~80% of the population is unskilled and/ or under-educated) has prevented the country from going to the next step of the manufacturing process observed in normally developing countries. Garment is still the main employing sector in Cambodia and that may not even last. Forget about Foxconn or Tesla opening assembly plants in Cambodia in the near future.

I personally don't think Explorer is walking around the place with a big fat Western hat on and wielding two loaded shotguns. He's addressing some valid points. You can go through life asking yourself that kind of questions without thinking badly of Cambodians. I will never accept the way things are. Never. If it was that easy to embrace Western stupidity (social media, outrageously expensive sneakers, lack of respect for the elderly, gas guzzling SUVs, consumerism, trash TV and so on), then it shows that people were given choices, and they made really poor fucking choices. Was it caused by a lack of education? Perhaps...

I have a question for you CC: if you were born and raised in some poor developing country and for some reason came up with Jeff Bezos' money, what would you do?

clutchcargo wrote: ↑Fri Nov 29, 2019 10:41 am

Queef wrote: ↑Fri Nov 29, 2019 9:33 am I have a question for you CC: if you were born and raised in some poor developing country and for some reason came up with Jeff Bezos' money, what would you do?

I think I'd rather discuss with you the issue of Cambodians being upset over Amazon selling Angkor Wat toilet seat covers & floor mats...

Wait... I think we did that already

lol nice one. That still doesn't answer my question.

explorer wrote:Most teachers run extra classes which students pay for. Those who don't attend extra classes normally don't get taught enough to pass exams. So they are forced to attend and pay if they want to pass.

How does this differ from the Khmer kids who attend after school classes at the English schools taught by foreigners? So quite a few members of CEO benefit from this as well.

Or the kids who attend cram schools in Korea, Japan, and most of Asia? The bar is set low in Cambodia (passing school) and high over there (your entire future depends on the exam score).

Interestingly enough, the national exam was introduced in Taiwan as the great equalizer. Even the poor could be guaranteed a good future if they achieved a good score.

All of the other points the various posters make are clearly cheating that only hurts the students in the short run and the country in the long run.

newkidontheblock wrote: ↑Fri Nov 29, 2019 12:04 pm How does this differ from the Khmer kids who attend after school classes at the English schools taught by foreigners? So quite a few members of CEO benefit from this as well.

The difference is: Many Cambodian teachers intentionally don't teach all that the students need to know in class. If they want to pass the exams, they have to attend extra classes by their teacher, and pay for it. While already receiving a salary, teachers do this to make more money.

If you meet students who have attended schools where a large proportion of teachers are Westerners, they are much better educated, and speak fluent English.