You are here

15/07/2013

VVOB associate Sokhany Nget interviewed three female directors of teacher training centres in Cambodia. They will soon retire. Together with Sokhany they recall memories on forty years of education in Cambodia. From the rise and fall of the Khmer Rouge to the recent technological innovations in their educational institutions. Three strong women who took their fate into their own hands and contributed to the development of education in the country. During their retirement they are happy to keep on contributing to it.

Fried chicken with ginger and Vietnamese sour soup

Mrs Te Chan Sokunthy, Mrs Phavan Sakoeurt and Mrs Lon Somany are directors in teaching training centres in Kandal, Battambang and Kampong Cham. Next year they will retire. During a recent workshop, I invited them for lunch to talk about their memories, experiences and challenges during their careers. They chose a local restaurant called Malob Svay, only five minutes by tuk-tuk from the college. During a lunch of Chaa Knaij (fried chicken with ginger) and Somlau Mechou Youen (Vietnamese sour soup) they talked openly about the dramatic changes Cambodia has been undergoing the past four decennia.


From left to right; Sokhany Nget, Phavan Sakoeurt, Lon Somany and Te Chan Sokunthy

Mrs Te Chan Sokunthy started her primary education in 1961 and finished upper secondary school in 1973. She attended two years training at medical school until the Khmer Rouge took control of the country. She was rescued on the 1st of June 1979 and became a teacher without having attended any teacher training. Gradually, she attended courses to become a lower secondary school teacher and later a teacher trainer. In 1985 she became vice director and director in 2009.

Mrs Lon Somany graduated from upper secondary school in 1972. She worked as a sports instructor at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh until the Khmer Rouge took control in 1975. In 1975, she was forced to leave to Prey Veng province. After the fall of the regime, she moved to Kampong Cham and started working at the Provincial hall and the Provincial Office of Education. Since 1983, she has been working at the Provincial Teacher Training Centre in Kampong Cham, as teacher trainer, vice director and, since 2008, as director.

Mrs Phavan Sakoeurt started working at the Regional Teacher Training Centre in Battambang in 1979, became vice director in 1996 and director in 2009.

Rebuilding from scratch

Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge was the military wing of the former Cambodian Communist Party. It installed a murderous regime in Cambodia from 1975 until 1979 under the leadership of Pol Pot. The regime set up policies that disregarded human life and produced repression and massacres on a massive scale. The Khmer Rouge is responsible for the death of an estimated two million people (on a population of seven million). The regime explicitly targeted educated and artistic people, but many also died from starvation and disease.

The conversation starts with the dramatic impact the Khmer Rouge regime had on the education system. After its ousting, schools had to be rebuilt from scratch.

Mrs Lon Somany: "After the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, we could only gather human resources with limited knowledge to receive further training. Now we are stable, but it took us almost 30 years to stabilise the education system. I am proud of the evolution as I feel we are on the right track."

Mrs Te Chan Sokunthy: "The education system has evolved since the past until now. Primary education changed from four to five years and later to six years. Lower and upper secondary education remained three years schooling for each level."

Mrs Te Chan Sokunthy: "The curriculum has also changed a lot. All subjects were conducted in French, except Khmer language. It was a great opportunity to learn and develop our French language. However, teachers always stimulated us to learn by heart, memorising all contents and theories, rather than using active learning methods. Students tried to remember all contents, but without understanding its meaning. In addition, real practice was very limited. Students had no opportunities for hands-on activities in class. However, I feel I could learn better compared to younger generations of students. I could memorise the content very well.

Students had to respect their teachers and obey school regulations. They would be punished if they ignored the rules.


Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, 2011.
Originally these buildings hosted a primary and a secondary school. However, in 1975 they were 'redesigned' to imprison, interrogate, torture and kill people presumed to oppose the Khmer Rouge regime. The blackboard reminds us of the educational history of the buildings. The very little cell blocks in the background are keeping the memory alive of the atrocities committed on Cambodian soil.
The brochure of the S-21 (as this facility was called) says: "This memory is the key to build a new strong state. Furthermore, making the crimes of the inhuman regime of Khmer Rouge public, plays a crucial role in preventing a new Pol Pot from emerging the lands of Angkor or anywhere on Earth."

The early years


The 'Chha Khnhey' is served

Mrs Te Chan Sokunthy: "When I was at primary school I liked mathematics because I did well for this subject, memorising the lesson content and theory confidently. I went to school because my parents were public servants. I liked my teachers as they were good role models both in terms of knowledge and morale. Going to school gave me the chance to study foreign languages such as French. I liked biology and I wanted to compete with male students."

MMrs Lon Somany: "I am proud of myself. I overcame many challenges since I was young until now. My parents were not able to provide me with financial support in order to buy educational materials. I couldn’t afford to pay for private tutoring. Luckily, playing sports at school helped to support my studies financially. The awards I won with sports helped to pay my school materials. I liked Khmer literature and sports. After school work, I helped my mother with agricultural work at home. I went to school because I wanted to gain knowledge and make my life better."

Mrs Phavan Sakoeurt: "I liked to go to school because I wanted to be educated and gain knowledge as well as make a living. We could earn good income to sufficiently feed the family when working as a civil servant. This is absolutely opposite from the current condition, where teachers must get a second job in order to make a decent living."

Overcoming inequality

Mrs Lon Somany: "During my career I gave a lot of support to poor students, especially girls. After graduation, these students could return to their hometown and teach at primary schools. By doing so I have helped addressing the issues of teachers’ shortage and mobility."

Mrs Phavan Sakoeurt: "I tried to seek support to help poor students. For instance, when some students had problems paying for their meals, I asked other students to share the food with them."

Mrs Te Chan Sokunthy: "The key developments are the moral education and preventing girls to drop out. Education enables female students to live freely in society. I was proud to become a director. I was confident and I didn’t experience any problems with regards to respect or gender stereotyping."

Mrs Lon Somany: "I am the sixth director of this Provincial Teacher Training Centre. I was always recognised and supported by the Provincial Office of Education. I collected a lot of information about my institution and made development plans until I got participation from my colleagues. Gender did not pose any threats to my career. I have to be transparent and make sure that nepotism is not an option at my institution."

How they see the future of education

They see big changes with the advent of technology in their institutions. Technological innovations such as calculators, internet communication and smartphones have improved the quality of education, but there are problems as well. Students seem to rely on modern technology to solve problems rather than on their intelligence. Using computers has been affecting students’ handwriting. Some students are addicted to games.

The directors agree on the need to keep our education developing to compete with neighbouring countries. After their imminent retirement all directors are looking forward to continue providing support to teacher training. They would be happy to be a counselling advisor or a guest speaker to share their experiences with the younger generations.

Sokhany Nget
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer SEAL programme, VVOB Cambodia

Sokhany Nget has been working for VVOB since November 2004 as a project assistant. In April 2009, she joined the SEAL programme.
"I wrote this article because the education system and the curriculum have changed a lot the past 40 years. It was nice to hear their memories and the efforts they made to become directors. Their work will surely have an enduring impact to graduating student teachers. The next generation of leaders and teachers will continue to follow their good models and address challenges to improve the quality of teacher training."