Kon BambooSchoot

Top two students slam cheating
The only two grade-A students in Cambodia say that the government needs to do more to curb cheating and bribery to ensure that exam results really reflect students' abilities

VANDY RATTANA

Heng Kothai from Siem Reap province obtained 100 percent in his exams, as well as A’s in five subjects.

Chhay Sopanhana was lucky to be born into a family that values learning, while Heng Kothai is a perfectionist. For both, hitting the books has paid off: they were the only students in Cambodia to receive perfect exam scores out of a field of 55,178 who passed their high school finals.

Chhay Sopanhana, 17, from Hun Sen Sereypheap High School in Kandal province's Takhmao town, said she was delighted when she received news of her 99.99 percent exam result. "I did my best to receive this grade. It makes me happy and proud of myself and my whole family is also proud of me," she said.

As the youngest daughter of a health official in Kandal province, Chhay Sopanhana is now on holiday and is preparing for university.

"I am interested in studying medicine because my father is a doctor and my older sister is also approaching this field," she said, adding that she thought her outstanding grades might owe something to the fact she was "lucky to be born in a family that is encouraging me to pursue higher education".

Despite obtaining the highest possible grades in all subjects at school, Chhay Sopanhana feels that her foreign-languages skills still need some work. "I stopped learning languages for one year because I was focusing on my school exams," she explained. "I need to learn more English and French to compete with other students when I enter university," she said, adding that English would be essential in the future were she to apply for overseas scholarships to pursue her education still further.

Pech Lang, who was Chhay Sopanhana's math professor, told the Post that the A student had only used her own knowledge during the exam and did not cheat. "Sopanhana has been an outstanding student in Kandal province," she said.

Heng Kothai, the only other student in the country to obtain grade-A marks, also cited a perceived weakness in foreign languages as a factor of concern.

Despite admitting to a slight obsession with perfection, Heng Kothai says that what really got him his grades was his work ethic.

He said he is confident this will stand him in good stead when he tackles improving his language skills. "My English is not as good as my general subjects at school, but if I study hard like I studied for my exam results, I will achieve success."

The Siem Reap native received an overall exam score of 100 percent, and said he got an A in five subjects: maths, philosophy, biology, physics and chemistry.

"I only got one C for English," he added ruefully.

"I must study hard to improve my English results," he said, adding that he admires Phnom Penh students' access to finances and education.

"I am not rich enough to pay for a part-time tutor," he said.

Widespread cheating

PHOTO SUPPLIED

Kandal province’s Chhay Sopanhana says she will study medicine.

The news of widespread bribery and cheating during the exams comes as no surprise to Heng Kothai. "Students are cheating all over the country," he said. "It is normal in Cambodia that students collect money for proctors. Government measures to crack down on such bad habits seem ineffective," he said.

According to Heng Kothai, even noncheating students have to cough up cash for teachers. "It is a must to get all 25 students in the examination room to pay," he said. "I did not cheat so I did not pay, but proctors demanded all students to pay, so my friend spent money for me. Everyone knows I did not cheat."

The student is now in Phnom Penh searching for an appropriate university to continue his education. "I want to pursue my degree in civil engineering [as] it is easy to find a good job in this field."

Nhoek Sakun, deputy head of the Department of High Schools at the Siem Reap Provincial Education Department, said that he was happy to see a student in his province receive one of the only two perfect scores in the country. "The good result shows his true capacity: He is an outstanding student in Siem Reap," he said.

However, Nhoek Sakun admitted that outstanding students with a sense of ethics were a rarity. "We cannot prevent all cheating. Cheating still exists."

Chroeng Lim Sry, of the Ministry of Education, said he was pleased to see that the two students who received A's used only their knowledge to pass the exam.