Foreign Influence on Cambodian Higher Education Since the 1990S [29 Pages] Submitted September 2010, Revised 2011-2012, Reformatted Autumn 2013 Author: Phirom Leng
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CCL © Autumn 2013, Mind & Time Publications Special Issue 2013/2014 of Mind & TimeGEN ISSN: 2292-6992 Foreign Influence on Cambodian Higher Education since the 1990s [29 pages] submitted September 2010, revised 2011-2012, reformatted Autumn 2013 Author: Phirom Leng ◄►◄► Published by Mind & Time Publications Open Journal Systems University of Toronto URL: http://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/mindandtime/ POBox 7015, Station A Toronto, Ontario M5W1X7 Canada ____________________________________________________________________________ Mind & Time acknowledges the sponsorship of work on the Knowledge Society project through Government of Ontario support 20102014 and University of Toronto graduate assistantship funding 20122013 and 20132014. Foreign Influence on Cambodian Higher Education since the 1990s Phirom Leng University of Toronto Abstract: This study examines how foreign influence has affected the Cambodian higher education system following the country’s adoption of a free market economy with multiple party politics over the past two decades. Examining various sources, the study has found that during the first half of the 1990s, foreign influence took two major forms: (1) the adoption of educational reforms initiated by international organizations, and (2) foreign assistance which comes with conditions. After the introduction of the policy of privatization of higher education in the mid-1990s, other modes of foreign influence have emerged and become influential, including foreign languages, foreign teaching staff, Cambod- ian scholars educated abroad, and, more recently, collaborations between local and foreign institutions. The study’s central argument is that although it helps develop the country, foreign influence since the early 1990s has created numerous issues for Cambodian society at large, and for the higher education system in particular. These issues include the impact on institutional autonomy, conflicting ideologies between local and foreign scholars, and growing unem- ployment among university graduates due to a mismatch between educational provision and the skills needed for the economy. All of the above have contributed to the fragmentation of the higher education system. In spite of being focused on the last twenty years or so, the study also discusses the similarly negative impact of foreign influence on (higher) education in earlier periods. This is meant to provide scholars, policy-makers and other stakeholders with a critical understanding of the issues in historical perspective and to direct their attention to counteracting current and, where possible, avoiding future adverse effects. Keywords: Cambodian higher education, foreign influence, globalization, inter- nationalization, pagoda education, language of instruction; English, French, Khmer 2 Phirom Leng 1. Historical Overview and Scope of the Study “Pagoda education”, Cambodia’s traditional education, started in the thirteenth century and continued into the twentieth century. With new, secular formats gradually taking over, it may well be completely phased out by now. It was offered in monasteries, where Buddhist monks taught boys some carpentry skills along with reading and writing in Khmer. The texts which the students read and learnt from were mainly Buddhist teachings, which are a major part of Cambodian culture.1 The French colonial era (1863–1953) triggered the transition from religious to secular schooling. In the early 1900s, the French started to introduce the European education style in pagoda schools by bringing in new subjects such as arithmetic, history, and geography (Fergusson & Le Masson 1997; Tully 2002). In addition to the temple schools, by the 1920s the French succeeded in setting up secular Franco-Khmer state schools in the capital Phnom Penh and in provincial towns (Gyallay-Pap 1989, p. 258). During the French period the more promising students could obtain high school diplomas and university degrees in France or in Vietnam, a French colony at the time. In 1935 the Lycee Sisowath opened as Cambodia’s only secondary school. It was also the only place offering education comparable to Western post-secondary trade schools or associate degrees, which took one-two years or less after high school. The National Institute of Juridical, Political and Economic Sciences, the first institution of higher education proper, opened in 1949 in Phnom Penh (see references in footnote 1). After regaining its independence from the French in 1953 and until the late 1980s, Cambodian higher education went through ups and downs. From 1953 to 1970, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia’s post-colonial leader, made substantive education reforms in order to modernize and develop the country (Ayres 2000; Tully 2005; Clayton 2005). France- related subjects were replaced with Cambodian culture, history, and arts (Clayton 2005). A number of universities were established as well. The 1 For further information about pagoda education in Cambodia, see Ayres (2000), Tully (2002 2005) and Whitaker et al. (1973). Foreign Influence on Cambodian Higher Education since the 1990s 3 Khmer Royal University was established in 1960, followed by six others in 1965. They included the Royal Technical University, the Royal University of Fine Arts, the Royal University of Kompong Cham, the Royal University of Takeo-Kampot, the Royal University of Agricultural Science, and the People University (Chhum 1973; Pit & Ford 2004). Thus, the first two decades after independence marked a prosperous period for Cambodian higher education and the country at large. However, from 1970 to 1989, Cambodia went through radical changes under three different political regimes: Lon Nol’s (19701975), the Khmer Rouge (19751979), and the Vietnamese occupation (19791989). Civil wars and international isolation during these periods affected significantly the development of higher education and the country as a whole. Foreign influence on higher education from 1953 to 1989 took various forms such as adoption of Western ideologies and concepts (Ayres 2000; Huon 1974), dominance of foreign teaching staff with various foreign ideologies (Chhum 1973), foreign assistance with conditions attached (Pit & Ford 2004), and foreign languages (Clayton 1998 2006). Foreign in- fluence always played a dual role: helping Cambodia’s development and concurrently creating issues (Ayres 2000). Sometimes, the impact of educational changes was powerful enough to drive, along with other factors, the whole society into chaos, as was the case in the 1970s, when the country lost its best educated people. As a legacy of the past, multiple models of higher education coexist to this day. These include the French model established in the 1950s and 1960s, the Soviet and Vietnamese models in the 1980s, and the American model after the introduction of the privatization policy in the mid-1990s. There is a good amount of literature on foreign influence and its impact on Cambodian higher education since the system was established and up to 1989, when the decade of Vietnamese presence ended. However, little has been discussed in that area since the adoption of a new economic and political system in the early 1990s. This study focuses on that period, examining forms of foreign influence and their negative effects both on the educational system and on society at large. It shows that, along with helping the country’s advancement and connection with 4 Phirom Leng the global community, foreign influence during the past two decades has created a number of problems within the higher education system, as it had done in the past. Thus far, some forms of foreign influence in that period have produced overt negative effects, which have caused particularly strong reactions among Cambodians. There have also been other forms in operation, mainly after the system was privatized in accordance with free market ideology, which may in the long run prove to be just as invasive and harmful, even if most people have accepted, and even welcomed them. While the study’s main focus remains on the last two decades, previous periods are discussed as well so as to allow critical, and instructive, comparisons of the various stages in history. It should be noted that, despite its emphasis on the negative side, the study does acknowledge the significant contributions of foreign influence to the rehabilitation and improvement of higher education and the country as a whole. The intention is not to suggest that Cambodia should avoid Western higher education models or ideologies. Such idea is impractical in today’s globalized world, and may even do more harm than good to the higher education system, which would ultimately affect the country as a whole. This is what happened in the second half of the 1970s and throughout the 1980s, when Cambodia remained isolated from the rest of the world. By looking at the negative side of foreign influence, the study intends to provide scholars, policy-makers, and other relevant stake- holders with a critical lens in order to encourage efforts to neutralize as best as possible current and prevent future damage. Looking at the time immediately