Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron addressed an October 27 press conference on the principles of grade 12 exams. Heng Chivoan
Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron has reiterated that this year’s grade 12, or baccalaureate, exams will be held according to the “principles of law, justice, transparency and acceptable results”.
The exams are scheduled for November 6 and 7. A total of more than 130,000 candidates have been registered for this year’s exams, an increase of almost 10,000 over last year’s total.
He addressed an October 27 press conference on the matter.
“I encourage all candidates to work hard to review their lessons. I call on them to abide by the rules of the exams, especially those which forbid smuggling electronic devices or copies of documents into the exam centre and exam rooms. Candidates will be assigned to fail automatically if they are found to have violated the rules and regulations,” he said.
The minister also highlighted the Covid-19 situation, saying that although cases had tapered off worldwide, the ministry still expects candidates to adhere to health and hygiene standards. He noted, however, that the ministry has no plan to isolate each candidate.
“In a bid to maintain security, safety and order in the exam centres and ensure the health of the candidates and exam monitors, the ministry will continue to work closely with the interior and health ministries, the National Gendarmerie, the Anti-Corruption Unit [ACU], the Electricity of Cambodia [EDC] and the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia [UYFC],” he added.
Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA) president Ouk Chhayavy said the ministry has always enacted such restrictions and laid out the principles for the students who take the exam, that is, those who study hard will pass. She believed adherence to these standards has improved the quality of education.
“It is good to set out these principles, but I do not think the ACU should be included in the procedure. Our teachers are trying their best to help motivate students to get an education. Students should not risk being convicted by the ACU,” she added.
According to the ministry, the exam correction process will run from November 9 to 15, with the collation of scores and their verification and entry into the ministry’s computer system slated to take place from November 16 to 26.
The ministry plans to announce the results of the exams for Phnom Penh and neighbouring Kandal province on November 28, with the remaining results to be issued the following day.
There are a total of 137,412 candidates, 73,278 of them female, for this year’s exams. Science subjects have been selected by 41,379 candidates (24,789 female) and social science subjects by 96,033 students (48,489 female).
A maximum of 25 candidates will be present in each exam room, with exceptions for “special education” schools.
According to the ministry, there are a total of 227 exam centres across the Kingdom, with a total of 5,543 exam rooms. There are 72 science centres with 1,682 rooms and 155 social science centres with 3,861 rooms.
A total of 29,525 monitors and invigilators have been appointed to oversee the examination process at all stages, including 4,126 from the ministry and 25,399 from the capital-provincial education departments.
The ministry will post a provisional list of candidates on October 30 for students to confirm their details.
A final list, which includes details of examination centres, room numbers and assigned seating, will be posted on November 5.
