Five Cambodian lecturers from the University of Phnom Penh have been given
scholarships to Australia.
Oum Phumro, Om Soryong, Bun Leng, So Vanna and
Suos Mon, the only woman, all in their 20s, teach on the University's Teaching
English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course, in the English and Education
Project. The department is funded by AIDAB, who have also provided the
scholarships.
Suos Mon, So Vanna and Om Soryong will do a one-year
Postgraduate Diploma at the University of Canberra. Bun Leng will do a two-year
Masters in Education at Canberra, while Oum Phumro will do a Masters in
Education at the University of New England. They left on Feb 8.
Geoffrey
Coyne, Team Leader on the BEd Programme, said: "The lecturers were selected on
the basis of good academic skills."
AIDAB provides training in Australia
for up to 50 Cambodians each year. The scholarships are available to all public
servants throughout Cambodia. It is up to the Royal Government, said Coyne, to
nominate who would be eligible. The main qualification is to have reached a
reasonable standard of English.
"This is the first time people have gone
specifically for postgraduate qualifications," said Coyne. "Normally, selected
lecturers go for conferences or for three to six month study periods. For this
they have to pass an English Language test and have a recognized BEd TEFL
degree."
