Monday, January 7, 2013

Watery Wednesday: Going to school in Cambodia



My  Face book friend Freddie Wong  posted 3 photos on school children paddling canoes to school in Cambodia. They tug my heart strings.

I asked him if I could borrow them for this blog as a dramatised story. Instead of giving us Christmas presents, my principal gave us World Vision teacher training gifts to poor countries. Cambodia is one of the recipient countries. I can't  find the exact news on the World vision site. This photo is a perfect picture for me to use. Yes, I am glad my principal gave our present money to them.

Freddie took this photo of Tongle Sap lake in Siem Reap Cambodia 

In the centre of the country is a large plain around Tonie Sap Lake and the Mekong River. Most of the population lives in this central area. Cambodia has a tropical climate. During the wet season, from mid-May to November, monsoon winds come from the southwest, bringing hot, humid weather and lots of rain. Floods and droughts are common.


Education

Six years of primary school are followed by three years of lower secondary and three years of upper secondary. Most children eventually enrol in school, but some start long after the official enrolment age of 6 and many drop out early. Only half of the villages have primary schools and even fewer have secondary schools. There are shortages of classrooms and equipment. The quality of education is poor because teachers are badly paid and in short supply as many qualified teachers were killed by the Khmer Rouge.
Thanks Freddie.

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