PHNOM PENH: This year’s high school graduation exams got underway this morning, August 10. The Education Minister wished the Kingdom’s students the best of success, while offering his commiserations to the students of 25 schools who are unable to return to their own classrooms due to last year’s Thai attacks.
This year’s examination centres will welcome more than 150,000 candidates, including over 37,000 in the science track and over 130,000 in the social science track.
While addressing this morning’s opening ceremony in Phnom Penh, Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, highlighted that this year’s exams are sure to feature a more relaxed atmosphere than those of 2025, which were held on August 28 — exactly one month after the first armed clashes broke out on the Cambodia-Thailand border.
“As we know, last year saw the Thai invasion of Cambodia,” he said.
“In Oddar Meanchey province, some students were forced to study on tractors as their families fled the attacks. Despite this, one student I met achieved an ‘A’ grade and was able to enrol in a high-quality higher education institution,” he noted.
This year’s examination centres will welcome more than 150,000 candidates across the Kingdom.
The Education Minister also noted that 25 schools in the border provinces remain closed as they remain occupied by Thai forces, preventing students from returning to their regular classrooms.
“The Royal Government is demanding that students from all these schools be allowed to return to their studies. Currently, only students from Banteay Mean Rith Lower Secondary School in Oddar Meanchey are attending classes in temporary camps,” he added.
He asserted that there would be no corruption due to thorough organisation, strict enforcement and the participation of observers from various stakeholders. Last year, mathematics examination papers were reportedly leaked.
A senior official from the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) stated that his unit has deployed more than 4,000 observers, a figure consistent with the number of agents deployed last year. - Phnom Penh Post/ANN
