The opposition party has summoned its first government minister to answer questions in parliament since taking the reins of five parliamentary commissions under a July 22 deal with the ruling party that ended a year of political deadlock and gave the party more power in the National Assembly.

Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmaker Yem Ponharith, the recently appointed head of the commission on education, religious affairs, culture and tourism, called on Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron to answer questions from his commission on education reforms on September 17.

“We want to meet him and ask about his reforms [in education] and whether these are real reforms or not,” Ponharith said, adding that the recent results of the grade 12 national exam would also be on the agenda.

Naron’s strong stance on exam cheating and corruption is credited with having cleaned up the tests this year. The pass rate, as a result, dropped from 87 per cent in 2013 to 26 per cent.

In a text message, Naron confirmed he would attend.