Find a young
Cambodian on the street and ask them about ASEAN. Most will know that ASEAN has
10 members, and that Cambodia is hosting the upcoming Summit – but not much
else.
Hout Somnang, 19, a first-year student at the Institute of Foreign
Languages, said that although Cambodian students might be interested in
learning about ASEAN, there aren't any opportunities. Secondary schools,
espec-ially, don't teach about ASEAN.
“Teens need to know about ASEAN and how other member countries work,”
he said. “It's because unemployed foreigners who are educated have better job
skills than Cambodians, and then they are able to take up many of our job
opportunities.”
Education is another sector young people are hoping the ASEAN Summit
will address.
Keo Bunteang, 22, a fourth-year student majoring in International
Relations, said he was worried about the low standard of education in Cambodia
in comparison with other ASEAN member states. He worried that this will result
in low productivity for the Kingdom when it enters the ASEAN market.
“[ASEAN members] will become our boss, and we'll still be the
followers,” he added.
He also reflected that in order to educate young Cambodians on ASEAN,
the government should implement the basics of ASEAN into secondary school and
university curricula.
ASEAN provides benefits to its member states and citizens through
economic growth, regional co-operation, provisional assistance between nations
and also the promotion of regional peace, according to the aims and purposes
stated in the Establishment of ASEAN.
Cambodia can especially reap benefits in the areas of learning English,
receiving scholarships for study, and also getting internships - all funded and
provided by ASEAN.
But in order for the Kingdom to compete with other ASEAN member states,
Cambodia needs to improve language capability, technology capacity and even our
sense of national and cultural confidence.
Chheang Vannarith, Executive Director of the Cambodian Institute for
Co-operation and Peace, said young Cambodians have limited knowledge regarding
ASEAN – and that they won't find information about it in school, either.
“Without knowledge about ASEAN, young Cambodians will lose job
opportunities in the market [in Southeast Asia],” he said.
He added that Cambodia lacks the human resourced to compete in the
international ASEAN job market, but that does not mean Cambodia lacks
competence.
Instead, he emphasised that Cambodia has a lot of room for growth
within the ASEAN market - and that the government must put forth as much reform
as possible to prepare Cambodians for the ASEAN job market.
Cambodia recently made a successful stride in this respect, as host
country for the 20th ASEAN Summit.
On March 15, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organised a meeting of
more than 3,000 students, spanning representatives from 18 universities, to learn about the history,
function and purpose of ASEAN.
Sun Narin and Guechly Heng
The Phnom Penh Post
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment