Archive for August 27th, 2009

The Economic Crisis Has Impacts on Education and on Child Labor in Cambodia – Wednesday, 26.8.2009

Posted on 27 August 2009. Filed under: Week 627 |

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 627

“Phnom Penh: Officials said that the economic crisis can block the development of Cambodia, especially it affects the alleviation of child labor and increases obstacles for children to receive education.

“The deputy secretary-general of the Supreme National Economic Council, Mr. Ruos Selva, said during a national consultative workshop on the impact of the global economic crisis on education and child labor in Cambodia on 25 August 2009, that the global economic crisis made the country’s economic growth rate decline to 6.7% in 2008 and to 2.1% in 2009, posing many challenging problems for Cambodia.

“Mr. Ruos Selva added that the economic downturn increases the number of poor people and makes the Millennium Development Goals for Cambodia to get side-tracked – being replaced by people who lost their jobs, which means also having lost other income for the family, which results in a shortage of finance for health, for education, and for social wellfare programs.

“A secretary of state of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Mr. Chey Chab, recognized the decline in the national income and in economic activities; while the goal for the progress of the country remains unchanged, the efforts to reduce child labor, and to remove obstacles for children to receive education, continue.

“In Cambodia, poverty is still a major problem, keeping students out of school. According to education experts, Khmer parents hold the opinion that their children can go to school only if they do not have financial problems. But there are financial problems, many poor families face the situation that the breadwinners do not have jobs or have only insufficient jobs. Because the income is not stable, families have to struggle to feed their children, making the expenses for traveling to school, for school clothes, and for other materials, to be their last priority.

“If the extent of the impact of the economic crisis is not adrressed and reduced, many children will have to leave the education system. Moreover, it will also reduce the quality of the teaching in classroom to become poorer.

“The head of the technical advisors of the international program of the International Labor Organization, Mr. M. P. Joseph, said that regarding the present economic crisis in Cambodian, the encouragement to send children to school, and to keep children to continue learning, is still very strong in this country. Maybe it is because in this modern era, it is thought that children without education are a liability.

“Also, the global economic crisis affects child labor in Cambodia. According to child labor experts, child labor has increased both in cities and rural areas. In populated areas, many children have to beg, some work as scavengers, and some work as house servants, even though they are under the age to do such jobs. In rural areas, agricultural labor at home becomes general for children. Other serious forms of child labor are carrying and selling souvenirs at touristic sites.

“In serious cases of child labor, children are forced to become prostitutes, to sell drugs, and to do other illegal activities. Also, the present difficult time of the economy can crate barrier against two defined goals of the Royal Government: First, to abolish the worst forms of child labor by 2016, and secondly, to reduce child labor of all forms to only 8% by 2015.

“A secretary of state of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, Ms. Prak Chantha, said that due to the economic crisis, child labor and education become worrying problems, and there should be discussions about the extent of the impact, and special attention to children, because they are ‘the young bamboos to replace the old bamboos,’ and the Constitution states also the fundamental rights of children.

“Mr. Chey Chap went on to say that it is the proper time for all relevant sides to cooperate on children’s education and on the reduction of child labor, in order to jointly assess the impact of the economic crisis on education and on labor, to establish policies for the present and for future problems of each sector, and to create immediate responses to solve the challenging problems of children.”Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2032, 26.8.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 26 August 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #272, 26.8.2009

Japan Grants More Than US$10 Million to Create a Sea Water Fish Breeding Center [in Sihanoukville]
The Authorities Reject Criticism by the Opposition Party that Crime Cases Rise [in Phnom Penh – without presenting data to disprove the accusation]
More Than 100 Families in Srae Ambel District Went to Protest about Land Issues to the Koh Kong Municipality, Accusing Salt Field Owners of Grabbing Collective Land

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2032, 26.8.2009

The Economic Crisis Has Impacts on Education and on Child Labor in Cambodia
The Government Issues a Statement on Land Policy
A Person Is in Fears, because His Name Is on the Leaflets [scattered recently in Phnom Penh, criticizing the performance of the government], and He Ran to Stay at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [in Phnom Penh]

Note:

The main points of the land policy statement:

Create taxation on real estate steadily, clearly, and fully based on an agreed upon data system, in order to strengthen efficiency in controlling the state’s real estate

Register land titles countrywide transparently and effectively on all real estate, both on state and on private land

Continue to implement the policy not to collect taxes on agricultural land from farmers who do farming, but in the meantime, there must studies for collecting taxes annually from real estate which is not used as family-farming land

Create land maps to note land prices, and initiate a process to assess the prices of real estate at populated and rural areas, and observe the development of prices

Encourage the private sector to measure land under the control of the office of cadastral survey, and to continue to solve land disputes outside of the court system through an Administration Committee, composed of the cadastral survey committees on all levels, and the National Authority for Solving Land Disputes, especially on land disputes with multiple claims

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #476, 26.8.2009

A Parliamentarian [from the Sam Rainsy Party, Mr. Yim Sovann] Said that there Is no Import Tax on Motorbikes, because Tax Officials Collude with Businesspeople [allowing them to import without paying tax – for a bribe]

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6738, 26.8.2009

Tree Logging and Carrying them from the Dangrek Mountains: The Money from Businesspeople Makes Citizens to Risk Their Own Lives [to do these illegal activities at the border – taking trees from both sides of the border]
The General Director of an Australian Company [OZ Mineral] Is Supported by the Cambodian Government to Explore Mining [within three years, this company has spent approx. US$10 million for mining, and it claimed that there will be real results in 2010]
The Drought Is Still a Challenging Problem for Khmer Farmers [according to the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC), by August 2009, drought occurrs in eight provinces: Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Pursat, Kompong Thom, Kandal, Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, and Takeo]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4982, 26.8.2009

It Is Announced that a Large Number of Cambodians Troops Will Be Withdrawal from the Front on 30 August 2009 [in Preah Vihear]
A Man Has Been Detained for Four Years without Being Presented to a Judge, because His Case File Had Been Lost [he was arrested for stealing a mobile phone worth US$15 in 2005 – Kandal]
[Twenty] Korean Doctors and Nurses Treat People in Kompong Cham Free of Charge
A Civil Society Organization [the NGO Forum] Welcomes the Decision of the Vietnamese Government on the Sesan V Hydro-Electric Development Project [the Vietnamese government decided not to build the dam, as it would not provide economic benefits]
A Japanese Company [Marubeni] and INPEC Said They Have Sent Document [to the National Petroleum Authority of Cambodia] to Express Their Interest to Participate in Exploring Oil in Cambodia

Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1780, 26.8.2009

Opposition Party Does Not Expect Much from the Hearing of Mr. Ho Vann [accused of defamation by 22 military officials, to face the court on 9 September 2009, saying that the court is dominated by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party]

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )