I am so surprise to see an article of the Cambodia Daily on the result of the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia:“40 more Cambodian universities accredited” on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, p. 27.
I think that is good start to evaluate the quality of local education by internal evaluation of a government institution. The finding showed that 40 more were accredited in 2007-08 to add more 33 universities in 2006-07. The total amount of universities is so high and unbelievable if compared to the 2005 MoEYS which estimated that only one in nine university graduates find employment (Mysliwiec: 2005, p.19). The question is which indicators to measure the impact of this evaluation?
I would recommend to the Education Ministry to find an external independent evaluation institution to make sure the information is accurate and reliable.
1 comment:
I guess education is big money, and the return on opening a university is pretty high. I get the sense that there is a serious exploitation of the young student population; on that is tremendously passionate ad motivated to learn and gain higher education.
It seems ridiculous to open more and more institutions when there are already at least two schools on each city block, and at least 3 major universities. The funds and energy would be better spent improving the best of what's already there, and in improving that 1:9 ratio you cited.
One of the most frustrating problems I encountered from my brief experience teaching at University of Cambodia, was that the degrees that were offered had no value anywhere else in the world. The potential for education exchange programs between neighboring countries or other continents seemed absolutely impossible. Is the government trying to keep Cambodian citizens from leaving Cambodia by limiting the value of a degree to its borders ? I remember when i was asked by the UC president to participate in supporting a College of Pubic Health program, even though he knew that it was already going to be cut by the ministry of ed. anyway. This is why I quit the job, as it completely devalued the degrees that the PH students were seeking, and the institution continued to advertise and collect tuition for programs they knew would be cut in 2 months' time. I realize it's much more complex than this.
So, instead of building, promoting, and hiring for more institutions, there is a much larger problem that needs attention.
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