Civil service minister Hun Many speaks to reporters ahead of the first secondary school teacher exams, on May 2. Civil Service Ministry
More than 30,000 candidates are sitting the secondary school teacher examinations. According to Minister of Civil Service Hun Many, the candidates are competing for just over 400 positions.
The exams will run for four days, from May 2 to 5. On the opening day of the exams, Many, who serves as chairman of the exam commission, personally unsealed the examinations.
The opening ceremony was attended by observers from the education ministry, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Anti-Corruption Unit, representatives of several universities, registered members of the public and the Union Youth Federations of Cambodia (UYFC), according to an announcement by the Ministry of Civil Service.
“In preparation for the selection of 441 new secondary school teachers, registrations were open for one month. During this period, 51,849 people were registered. Those who completed the form and are eligible to take the exam total 33,314,” Many told reporters on May 2.
“Today, 6,585 candidates will sit the exam at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. The examinations will be run in two shifts,” he added.
According to Many, there were 22,158 female candidates, 224 monks and 186 people with disabilities. He noted that these are the sixth such exams to be conducted under the new standards.
He explained that despite this being the sixth iteration of the examinations, each of the parties involved is constantly considering ways to improve the process.
“For these sixth exams, we have considered further steps. We have established a sub-committee on monitoring and evaluation so that we can study our systems and processes and continuously improve,” he said.
“I appreciate the commitment of the technical officers and members of the examination committee and sub-committee. All of them are very thoughtful and hard working,” Many added.
He stressed that the purpose of the reforms is to try to improve the civil service recruitment system and build a system which earns public trust. This will provide young men and women with increased incentives to participate in competitions and seek positions within the public administration.
The education ministry issued a statement on May 2 which announced that the examinations will take part in three testing centres and be conducted in a transparent, fair, inclusive, and effective manner, according to individual merit.
“Let each of the candidates take the opportunity that the government has provided. They all have an equal chance to demonstrate their full potential and become high-quality civil servants,” it said.
