Graduates not up to scratch: report

Written by Cassandra Yeap ( The Phnom Penh Post)
Thursday, 08 March 2012 

“Cambodia still has an unbalanced disciplinary structure: 66 per cent of students graduating in social sciences, business, or law, whilst most university graduates (are) going into technical and professional occupations,” he said.

More science and technology graduates are needed, to fuel innovation, job creation and faster economic development, he added.

The government had introduced a number of measures in response, including the National Training Board to oversee technical vocational education and training, he said.

The report also flags the disparity of ethnic minorities in accessing tertiary education as “most apparent” in Cambodia of all the East Asian nations.

The Khmer majority dominated tertiary enrollment by a ratio of eight to one, and their completion rates were significantly higher than minorities.

Females also suffer from inequity in access to tertiary education, but not as acutely as ethnic minorities and those in the lower income quintile, the report says .

However, poor English skills was not the number one obstacle to working with graduates here, unlike Cambodia’s neighbours, where a lack of English was the top hinderance, the report states.