Making Old Official and Building New
I am so glad that I today could come with Samdech Chaova Vang Kung Sam Ol and everyone here to put into official use the High School of Samdech Hun Sen Kompong Trolach that was built five years ago and to do more new constructions too. I would say hello to listeners of direct transmission from here by 40 radio and TV stations to the provinces and cities throughout the country, and that also include those listened to the Kompong Thom Bayon radio. The Junior High School of Sala Lek Pram, the school was called before, suffered the same ill-fate like other schools in the country. Polpotists had pulled out the former buildings and put in place a handicraft shed.
In 1982, the local authority and our people tried to put back in place the high school started with a building of four classrooms. In 2003, I have provided three more school buildings with accessories like sewing machines, printer, computers, copier, TVs and VCDs, and solar energizing lighting system. Today we inaugurate five buildings of 27 classrooms, director’s office, etc. I would urge our people and officials involved to please make effort in looking after the school and equipments that have been provided.
Human Resource for Development
Aside from this it is important to stress out that we need to have good teaching and studying commitment so as we could together reduce the number of school drop-out from certain causes. To develop a country it is necessary to achieve human resource development and it will stay as top priority for the Royal Government of Cambodia. We cannot afford to say just nice words but working on it without a pause. Some politicians say if they were elected they would allow our people to borrow their money for their children to go to school. It is a fact that our people do not bother when they do so already without having to borrow from anyone.
High School Education
It is indeed my wish to have a junior high school in every commune and we should have more high schools in the provincial level. As in Kompong Tolach, we already have a junior high school in every commune and we have done this mostly through upgrading the primary schools by adding more teaching staff and building more school buildings. I would urge every school in the whole country to keep their land space available and register as the state’s property.
I have said many times already that I would not want any child to suffer as what I had in the past. I was separated from my parents when I was 13 because we did not have schools in our village. I had to come to Phnom Penh to face with so many difficulties in order to get education. Now I have the ability and possibility to help millions of Cambodian children throughout the country to evade ill fate that I suffered.
Closing Down the Knowledge Gap
I have a strong belief that to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, it is important that we have to narrow down the gap in knowledge which means we could not allow this situation of the rich in the cities to have better education than the poor in the rural areas. Pulling down the knowledge disparity between the two will be our call for the country’s poverty reduction. Moving infrastructural access to local areas – roads, water canals, schools, hospitals, etc. of course have a great impact on poverty reduction efforts but what has a deeper effect still is the closing down of knowledge gap between and among them. Providing high school access to the commune level would allow more students to take up and continue schooling, thereby resolving issue of knowledge gap between urban and rural areas.
In the war time, many of our children could not go to school, especially those in between 1970 and 1975, and between 1975 and 1979. Later, children in some parts of the country had no access to school out of warfare or many reasons combined. Failing to move high school education to the commune means we also fail to address gender issue as less female students would be allowed to go to school far away from home. That is why I said if I were to be re-elected I would continue to do more for the sake of our people.
Memories in Kompong Chhnang
I came to Kompong Chhnang in 1985, and because we did not have TV at that time it was apparent that not many people could recognize me as the Prime Minister Hun Sen. I came across the people who was waiting to sell rice (to the state). It was already dusk. I asked him why they did not come at dawn. They said to me they did but they were told some one important came by to see. It was inappropriate that they keep the people waiting for Hun Sen. I told the provincial authority to pay them so that they can return home.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind our people that according the report I have from HE Chan Sarun, Minsiter for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the rice cultivation has gone in good speed because we have good rain from the beginning. Though we have the elections but we all should not forget about our rice field.
SRP Defection
I have singled out one case Mr. Sok Ambat, who has now become my personal advisor, for his efforts that he won over the CPP in two consecutive terms in the communal council elections. I said to him the CPP did not lose to the SRP but to you personally. He has been doing good for people … I appointed him my advisor because I need his experience. He said to me the issue of gangster is controllable if the police staff at the commune center does their jobs. I agree with him and believe in what he said… I have given him the mandate to develop the commune he leads in the name of Samdech Hun Sen./.
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