UK visa changes driving Indian students away

Alya Mishra and Yojana Sharma29 July 2012 Issue No:232

 

For Indian students, higher education in Britain is no longer an attractive option owning to tougher visa rules and withdrawal of a post-work visa option. According to consultants and students, the UK is being replaced by Canada and Australia as the preferred destinations for graduate study.

“The number of students going to study in the UK has declined sharply following the changes to the post-student work visa regulations,” said Naresh Gulati, CEO of Oceanic Consultants, a leading overseas education agency. “The number is likely to go down further if corrective action is not taken in the immediate future.

“Other countries such as Australia have gained after making some significant changes to visa regulations that seem to appeal to the Indian student,” Gulati said.

Study Overseas, a foreign education consultancy in New Delhi, confirmed the decline in the numbers of students heading for the UK in recent years. The number of students going to Britain through the agency has halved: for the September 2011 intake, it sent 40 students to UK universities as opposed to 80 in 2010.

Potential size of Indian market is huge

According to a Student Insight report on India, about to be released by the British Council’s Education Intelligence unit, 74% of those considering undergraduate study and 77% of those "seriously considering" foreign study at the time that they were asked, are “beyond making casual enquiries and instead are looking to plan and implement overseas study arrangements”.

The majority had never studied abroad, but were “flexible when it came to choosing countries and institutions in which to study”. The British Council's data were collected between 2007 and July 2012 with some 1,200 responses collected in May-July 2012.

It is an indication of the potential size of the Indian market as a source of foreign students, according to the British Council.

With the British government saying it is tightening its rules because too many students use the study-abroad route as a bridge to migration, the British Council report showed that only 3% of Indian students surveyed said they wanted to move overseas permanently.

Rather, respondents said that career prospects, the quality of courses and wanting the cultural experience of living overseas were by far the main drivers for both prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students.

“The overwhelming majority of students from India plan to return home after studying, with only a very small percentage saying they were thinking of using higher education as a springboard for migration,” the report said, adding to a highly polarised debate in the UK on whether students should be regarded by the government as potential migrants in deciding policy on international students.

Another report from the MigrationWatch think-tank, published on 23 July, found that the rate of potential refusals by the UK Border Agency for student visas was high for India – around 59%, compared to a reported 0% for the US and Canada and an overall average for main source countries of around 33%.

MigrationWatch suggested that a ‘credibility test’, which would ascertain English-language proficiency and intention to return to the home country, would help reduce the number of “bogus” applications.

Not being able to work is a major deterrent

After changes to UK visa rules, students can no longer remain in the country to work. This, according to Indian students, is a major deterrent.

“The fee for UK universities for a one-year postgraduate course is around £11,000 (US$17,000). An equal amount is needed for stay and food,” said Shrin Raghavan, a final-year student at Delhi University.

“It makes no sense to go to a UK university as it would be financially impractical to repay the student loan if I am not able to work there for two years post-studies.”

Raghavan, who would have liked to enrol at the London School of Economics, chose to go to Monash University in Australia. “I can work in Australia for two years after completing my studies," she said.

In Canada, a post-study work permit can be issued up to a maximum of three years, depending on the length of the study programme that the student completes.

Students also said that the visa changes by the UK made them feel unwelcome.

“For the UK, international students have become a means of income. They do not want anything to do with you once you have paid the fee,” said Anirudh Chail, who is scouting for countries in which to pursue an MBA.

Other countries filling the gap

According to Sikandar Singh, an independent career counsellor, the UK “cannot compete in a market where countries like Canada, Australia and others offered post-work visas.

“The UK needs to understand that a majority of Indian students belong to the rising middle class and for them higher education is a means to procure better jobs and career opportunities,” Singh said.

Australian universities have witnessed a surge in applications from Indian students, whose number has shot up by 16% and is expected to rise further. More than 32,500 student visa applications by Indians were filed from July 2011-March 2012, as compared to 28,067 during the corresponding period last year, according to latest official data.

Australia has been trying to streamline its international higher education sector, which was hit in recent years by a strong dollar value, tough visa norms and racial attacks on Indian students.

A new student visa processing system has been introduced, which a number of Australian universities recently signed up for with Australian Immigration.

The new system will allow students with certificates of enrolment from participating Australian universities to be treated as low-risk applicants when applying for student visas. The change was made to decrease visa waiting time and to help minimise tedious requirements regarding financial matters.

According to Naresh Gulati, the initiatives taken by the Australian government have ensured that false applicants are weeded out, while creating a positive environment for genuine students.

“This is an internal matter that the UK government needs to tackle. We don’t see any role for the Indian government,” Gulati said.

QS defends paid-for gold star addition to rankings

David Jobbins25 July 2012 Issue No:232

 

Quacquarelli Symonds Limited, publisher of the QS World University Rankings, has defended the use of quality marks granted to universities that have paid to go through an audit process.

Universities apply to be audited and pay for a process that judges them across 51 criteria that can lead to the awarding of up to five QS 'stars' that are visible against the institution’s entry in the ranking.

In contrast with the rankings, which draw on a small amount of globally available, largely public data, the QS stars system examines criteria such as facilities, access, engagement and innovation.

The stars appear seamlessly alongside the listing for each university on the World University Rankings, despite protestations from QS that the two are totally separate operations.

The UK magazine Private Eye reported in its current issue that two Irish universities – the University of Limerick and University College Cork, UCC – had paid “tens of thousands” of euro for their stars.

The magazine recorded that UCC had told the Irish Examiner that the €22,000 (US$26,600) cost of obtaining the stars was worthwhile, as it could be recouped through additional international student recruitment.

The total cost for the audit and a three-year licence is US$30,400, according to the scheme prospectus.

QS says the system is much more resource-intensive than the rankings and involves a great deal of guidance and support to draw out the correct data, compute the results and guide their interpretation.

QS concedes that some elite universities – Cambridge and Harvard among them – have not had to pay for the accreditation process for their five-star rating as their award is based on publicly available information.

Ben Sowter, director of research at QS, confirmed that “a few leading universities we used to test the measures” had not had to go through the accreditation process.

Private Eye reported that the University of Central Lancashire, which secured four stars after paying to go through the process, was ranked 601 in its World University Rankings.

Three other UK universities have been given stars, compared with 16 in the US (including the Ivy League institutions that escaped the accreditation process), 12 in Australia, and one – the Al-Farabi National Kazakh University – in Kazakhstan.

Sowter told University World News that the rankings gave a “broad brush insight into relative quality” but QS Stars “provides a more in-depth evaluation”.

He added: “Our concept for users is that, if they want more detail on universities in the rankings, then the stars, where available can provide that."

He conceded that rankings – not just those compiled by QS – had limitations.

“There are aspects of institutional quality that no organisation will ever be able to collect on a sufficiently comprehensive basis globally and in many cases the world’s top universities would all be sufficiently strong so as to offer little discernment.

“Because of the nature of QS Stars, the fact that it is a process we go through with the full support of the institution...means that we can respond to a great deal of criticism of rankings in a different context.”

Sowter accepted that not all the information on which the allocation of stars was based was published.

“QS stars are a rating and not a ranking...This is not intended to be a dismissal of the need for transparency, but at the same time the detailed view on accreditation results are rarely, if at all, made public.

“However, we do publish the performance of institutions in each individual category and we are talking with institutions about potentially publishing a richer data profile."

The 51 indicators can be seen both in the brochure and here.

“Many are self-reported and undergo a verification process, which is a major part of the workload that each audit demands,” said Sowter.

The QS World University Rankings lists just over 700 universities – about 3.5% of the world’s universities.

Sowter said: “In global terms, viewing the quality of world universities through a frame of reference defined by the likes of Cambridge and Harvard has limitations.

“With universities all over the world charging substantial fees to international students, an objective means of differentiating between the quality of the services they provide is indispensable. QS Stars allow students to make more informed choices, while also helping universities to recruit more effectively by providing independent verification of the areas in which they excel.”

To date, more than 100 institutions in 25 countries have adopted the stars and one-star and even zero-star results have been recorded.

“This is not a standard that is geared to enable everyone in the world to achieve top scores that are not justified by their genuine capabilities," Sowter said.

"It is designed to recognise that, for most, there is more to the decision of selecting a university than finding out who published the most journal articles, employed the most Nobel prize winners or attracted the most headlines." 

Former Khmer Rouge Want No More Cases at Tribunal

Say Mony, VOA Khmer

27 July 2012 

ANLONG VENG - Despite some pressure on the Khmer Rouge tribunal to pursue more cases, former Khmer Rouge cadre in the former stronghold of Anlong Veng say they are uneasy with the prospect of further arrests.

One resident here in the district in Oddar Meanchey province, Um Mek, said he always wanted to see Khmer Rouge leaders held accountable for atrocities committed under their rule.

So, the father of three daughters said recently, bringing the top leaders to trial was the right thing to do. “The Khmer Rouge leaders then did the wrongdoings,” he said. “So they must now be brought to trial.”

He said he agrees with the ongoing atrocity crimes trial of Nuon Chea, the regime’s ideologue; Khieu Samphan, its head of state; and Ieng Sary, its foreign minister. But like many here in this remote part of northern Cambodia, Um Mek said he is uncomfortable with further prosecutions.

Students Forced to Pay Bribes

AFP

Cambodian students travel on boats to school through floodwaters in Kandal province, east of Phnom Penh, Oct. 3, 2011.

2012-07-26

Reports of bribery in Cambodian schools underscore the country's uphill battle against corruption.
Cambodian schoolchildren are being forced to pay bribes to pass high school admissions tests, a senior local  educator said on Thursday while calling on the country’s Ministry of Education to have students retake their most recent exams.

“These tests must be taken again, as the results of the previous tests are not valid,” Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association president Rong Chhun told RFA in an interview.

Proctors and examiners for junior high school students are requiring payments of between U.S. $30 to U.S. $60 for a passing grade on high school entrance exams, Rong Chhun said, adding that “middlemen” are charging similar amounts for assurances the bribes will reach the right people.

“There is a price for middlemen between U.S. $30 to U.S. $50. I urge the Ministry of Education to work with local authorities to bring the suspects to justice,” Rong Chhun said.

Cambodian Minister of Education Im Sethy could not be reached for comment, but the reports of bribery in Cambodia’s schools underscore the country’s reputation, highlighted in a recent report  by Berlin-based Transparency International, for widespread corruption in the public sector.

“This bribery takes place across the country,” Rong Chhun said.

Payment to proctors

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the parent of a student in Kandal province said that his son had been told to pay U.S. $30 to proctors at the Bun Rany Hun Sen High School Examination Center in order to pass his exam, held on July 16-17.

“All students were asked to pay at least U.S. $30 dollars, including my son. But my son gave only U.S. $25,” he said.

Results of the exam will be released on July 28, he said.

Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International ranked Cambodia 164th worst out of 182 countries surveyed in its 2011 Corruption Perception Index.

Cambodia’s official Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) launched an initiative in May to eliminate bribes solicited by local commune councilors for performing public services, with ACU deputy director Chhay Savuth declaring that “[Cambodia’s] culture of bribery has been in place for over 20 years.”

But international organizations have warned that the country’s graft-busting bodies will not be effective until they are free of government influence and control.

Reported by Den Ayuthya for RFA’s Khmer service. Translation by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.

Defence teams press scholar

 

Tuesday, 24 July 2012

Bridget Di Certo

 

American historian David Chandler testifies in Case 002 at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Photograph: ECCC/POOL

 

It was historian David Chandler who appeared to be on trial yesterday at the Khmer Rouge tribunal as defence teams spent the day putting Chandler’s previous writings and testimony under the microscope.

Even co-accused Brother No 2 Nuon Chea had two questions of his own for the one-time US diplomat who has spent the better part of his academic career researching Cambodia and the Democratic Kampuchea period.

“From the very beginning until now,” Nuon Chea began, pausing to don thick reading glasses, “between the people of Cambodia and Vietnam, what has been the course of this dispute?”

“If one is looking for a phrase, I would say, a lot of history and mutual distrust,” Chandler answered, thanking Nuon Chea – “a person whom I do respect” – for his question.

Nuon Chea’s lawyers then attempted – unsuccessfully – to question Chandler on links between Khmer Rouge cadre and the current ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

American lawyer Andrew Ianuzzi, whom trial chamber judges have found guilty of courtroom misconduct in Case 002 proceedings, attempted to pose several questions to Chandler.

However, the expert witness was not allowed by chamber president Nil Nonn to answer any after repeated objections by the prosecution and civil party lawyers

Talking about the structure of the Khmer Rouge as a “pure party” – a government by and for a ruling party, Ianuzzi asked whether such an arrangement would “describe the state of political affairs in Cambodia today, more or less?”

The question was objected to and Ianuzzi moved on, later attempting to ask Chandler for his comment on a quote concerning an unnamed Cambodian politician.

“[He] is an extremely competent politician, the most competent politician in Cambodia … He’s also a thug. He’s got blood on his hands. He does things to people who get in his way that are not at all pleasant,” Ianuzzi quoted – but was cut off by an objection questioning the relevance of the question.

The quote read by Ianuzzi echoed a quote from Chandler in reference to Prime Minister Hun Sen in the documentary The Trap of Saving Cambodia.

“Thuggish behaviour is particularly relevant. Thuggish behaviour [would include] interference with the judiciary, and this is a major issue that needs to be addressed in this court,” Ianuzzi shot back.

Nuon Chea’s lawyers pushed the interference issue with Chandler, pressing him on an earlier comment he had made that Khmer Rouge-era documents had been “culled” under the supervision of the Vietnamese and the Vietnamese-backed government that overthrew the Khmer Rouge in 1979.

“There are collections of documents known to be in Vietnam that were taken from here and not available to anybody. That is the source of my use of the word ‘cull’,” Chandler explained, adding that documents could have been destroyed or stored elsewhere as well.

Dutch lawyer Jasper Pauw attempted to press Chandler on links between that Vietnamese-backed government and the current CPP government.

“Do you agree with the statement that a trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders might be embarrassing to the current regime of Cambodia,” Pauw asked.

Chandler, however, was instructed not to answer the question by the panel of judges.

Later, Pauw said he wanted to point out “for the record” that Chandler’s answer, not captured by his microphone, which was turned off, was “might be, yes”.

Tension increased as the lawyer for former Khmer Rouge Minister of Foreign Affairs Ieng Sary, Michael Karnavas, began his questioning of Chandler.

Frustrated gesticulations and terse smiles were symptomatic of the passive-aggressive exchange between the two.

In challenging Chandler’s biography of Pol Pot for its “poetic” writing, Karnavas asked the scholar: “Is this because you are trying to make history a popular read, as opposed to writing history?”

“I don’t like the implication that history is some unreadable pile of junk,” Chandler shot back, defending his intimate research into Pol Pot’s life.

Karnavas offered something of an apology afterward. “I hope I have not given the impression that history should be dull or a bunch of junk,” he said.

---

To contact the reporter on this story: Bridget Di Certo at bridget.dicerto@phnompenhpost.com

Samphan's 'integrity' illuminated at Khmer Rouge court

 

Wednesday, 25 July 2012

Bridget Di Certo

 

Cambodian history scholar David Chandler yesterday echoed what has become a serial sentiment during testimony at the Khmer Rouge tribunal.

“[Khieu Samphan] was well known as a man of extreme and rather bewildering integrity,” Chandler testified in response to questions by the Case 002 co-acccused’s lawyers.

Chandler described Khieu Samphan as a shockingly incorruptible parliamentarian in the 1960s under then-King Norodom Sihanouk’s rule, a factor that inspired fear and anxiety in the monarch.

“He was just the kind of person Sihanouk didn’t know how to deal with,” Chandler said. “He [Sihanouk] had no experience with people that he couldn’t dominate, manipulate, purchase, rent.”

Amongst Sihanouk’s “crony circle”, Khieu Samphan’s honesty was “very rare indeed”, Chandler added.

Sihanouk was becoming anxious about Khieu Samphan, who, besides a possessing strong moral code, was known for his leftist ideals, Chandler said.

And “when Sihanouk got nervous, he got aggressive”, prompting Khieu Samphan to leave Phnom Penh in the ’60s and seek refuge in the countryside, where he later became a member of the central committee of the Communist Party of Kampuchea.

Chandler – who served as a US diplomat in the embassy in Phnom Penh during that era – conceded that Khieu Samphan’s leftist ideals had put him onto the radar for the Americans as well.

Frustration mounted between Chandler and Khieu Samphan’s Cambodian lawyer Kong Sam Onn in the afternoon during a confused exchange marred by translation difficulties and oral slip-ups.

Tension between Chandler and co-accused Ieng Sary’s lawyer Michael Karnavas similarly dominated the morning.

The two swayed between stern tones and limping apologies as Karnavas quizzed Chandler on his research methodology and the articulateness – or inarticulateness – of Chandler’s testimony over the four previous hearing days.

This included a laboured dissection of such Chandler turns of phrase as “I think”, “I feel” and “might be”, among others.

In an illustrative exchange touching on the gaps left by missing documentation from the Democratic Kampuchea period, Karnavas quizzed the historian on statements he had made as to how many documents may have existed during the regime.

“Your conclusion is a guess it is not?” Karnavas demanded.

“I am not going to say ‘my wobbly conviction is’… I corrected myself as I was talking. I could see ‘guess’ was too loose, so I changed it to ‘conclusion’,” Chandler shot back.

Chandler concludes his testimony today.

Chandler testimony wraps at Khmer Rouge court

Thursday, 26 July 2012

Joseph Freeman

 

Prominent Cambodia historian David Chandler wrapped up his testimony yesterday at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, bringing to a close five and a half days in which the professor brought his decades of research on the subject of Democratic Kampuchea to bear on the proceedings of Case 002.

It was a sometimes testy, sometimes enlightening ap­pearance.

“Although it may not have seemed like it, I have enjoyed it,” Chandler said at the end of his testimony. “Or seemed like it at times,” he clarified.

But his last morning was far tamer. Chandler, prompted by questions from the defence for Khieu Samphan, dug deeper into the late 1960s fallout between the former Khmer Rouge head of state and then-King Norodom Sihanouk.

“Sihanouk had actually accused Khieu Samphan to his face of fomenting the Samlaut rebellion,” he said, referring to the violently suppressed peasant uprising in 1967 that was credited with giving the Khmer Rouge momentum.

Soon after this encounter, Khieu Samphan fled into the jungle, and later became a member of the Communist Party of Kampuchea’s central committee.

“That accusation compelled Khieu Samphan unwillingly … into the jungle.”

The former Khmer Rouge state presidium president’s flight may have been taken “unwillingly” but it wasn’t necessarily unwitting, Chandler elaborated. Upon fleeing into the countryside, “Oh! just by coincidence, he meets Ta Mok,” Chandler pointed out.

“He didn’t flee into a part of the forest that he had no connections with.”

Chandler said a French official he spoke with recounted meeting with Khieu Samphan just before he left.

“He told the person I interviewed, ‘I have to get out of town, I’m sorry, this is au revoir,’ he was speaking French,” Chandler said, adding that Sihanouk also resented that people admired Khieu Samphan.

“Sihanouk did not like this popularity one bit,” Chandler said.

After the morning session ended, a new witness who lived through much of the history that Chandler wrote about in his books gave testimony.

Rochoem Tun aligned himself with the movement that became known as the Khmer Rouge in 1963. A member of the ethnic Jarai group, Tun said his brothers told him that as minorities, they should take the opportunity join the revolution.

He became a member of the youth league in 1968. Around that time, he was in the jungles of Rattanakiri, where the movement had holed up. He said he served as a messenger between Brother No 1 Pol Pot and Ieng Sary, who became the Khmer Rouge Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Pol Pot, he said, taught him in “study sessions”.

Letter to the editor: Boun Sovicheth

Is “studying a foreign language” a mere culprit of Cambodian youth’s socially and culturally inapt behaviors?

I am writing in response to an article, “Modern youth almost forget their own language” written by Tong Soprach and published on July 18, 2012. I am very much impressed by Mr. Soprach’s concerns about the impacts of foreign languages (i.e., English) on the use of Khmer (Cambodia’s national language) among Cambodian youth.

Through my personal and professional experiences, I strongly echo the fact that certain aspects of behaviors and language use among Cambodian youth are matters of grave concern. Mr. Soprach’s observation of the culturally incongruous use of the term of address by some Cambodian youth is greatly laudable.

While the generic phrase, “Sour Sday Neak Teang Ars Knear,” literally translated as “Hello everybody!” may be socially and culturally appropriate in most Western contexts, it may not be so in most Cambodian contexts. “With the presence of older people” in formal situations such as “a national or international meeting”, this “informal salute” can manifest a lack of cultural sensitivity and awareness on the part of the speaker (i.e. youth) and can thus be considered “disrespectful.”

That said, attributing these unbefitting behaviors to studying a foreign language alone may not do justice to the latter. Thus, such a question as “why studying a foreign language changes so many young Khmers in the way they speak and behave?” may need qualifying. Is studying a foreign language a mere culprit of such behaviors? Does learning a foreign language do as much or more harm than good?

Is speaking Khmer with “softened voices and slurred pronunciation” necessarily a way of showing off and a sign of fluent use of a foreign language?

For all intents and purposes, I am by no means trying to argue against Mr. Soprach’s concerns about youth’s behaviors, all of which I find justifiably legitimate. However, identifying the causes of such behaviors should perhaps go beyond the wall of foreign language classrooms. For one, youth is the time of intense identity formation or, worse yet, crisis. Is it possible that the ascription to such behaviors bespeaks a sign or struggle of trying to fit in socially or linguistically, and should thereof be interpreted accordingly?

On another note, social media and online networking have in recent years gathered significant momentum in Cambodia, making exposures to western cultures by Cambodian youth unprecedentedly easy. More or less, this phenomenon can have significant social and cultural (and perhaps linguistic) impacts on Cambodians, and thus its constitutive roles in the changing behaviors among Cambodian youth—however (in)appropriate they may be— should not be taken for granted.

Until empirically proven, whether studying a foreign language leads to such socially and culturally inapt behaviors remain arguably debatable and untenable.

---

Boun Sovicheth
Language Educator
bounsovicheth@gmail.com
Currently doing a doctoral study in Culture, Literacy and Language in the United States

Cambodian scoops Asia's Nobel Prize

Friday, 27 July 2012

Justine Drennan

 

 Agronomist Yang Saing Koma is one of six individuals, and the only Cambodian, to receive this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Koma will receive the award, often called Asia’s Nobel Prize, for his work empowering farmers as founder of the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC).

The foundation acknowledged Koma’s “creative fusion of practical science and collective will”.

After observing Cambodia’s dependence on foreign NGOs, Koma founded CEDAC in 1997 to help Cambodians take development into their own hands.

“We put a lot of emphasis on building the capacity of the people, building their self-confidence, building their networks, giving them more and more leadership,” Koma told the Post yesterday. “I learn a lot from the farmers, and the farmers learn a lot from us.”

What began as “a small group of farmers” in Kandal is now Cambodia’s largest agriculture and rural development NGO, with initiatives in 21 provinces.

CEDAC is now working to reduce reliance on donors and expand small growers’ involvement in commerce and investment.

Koma is the fifth Cambodian to receive the award. Election expert Koul Panha won the award in 2011.

Traffic accidents and laws

Friday, 27 July 2012

Soma Norodom

 

Riding around the city of Phnom Penh can sometimes be challenging. Whether your mode of transportation is a car, tuk tuk, motorbike or a bicycle, the traffic is horrendous, and sharing the road with all types of transportation can be dangerous.

Traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death in Cambodia. Speeding and drunk driving are the main causes, and motorbikes are the most common vehicle involved in traffic accidents.

The traffic laws in Cambodia are not regularly enforced. There are police officers on most busy street corners, but the only time you see police officers working are when they stop drivers and fine them for petty traffic violations. Due to the police officers’ low monthly salaries, often the money (fines) is pocketed, and they also charge foreigners more than locals.

Why do the law enforcers target foreigners? It’s because the foreigners do not want to hassle with this and will pay whatever the police officers ask.

For the locals, they will stay and bargain with the law enforcers until the police officers are frustrated and let the locals pay for what they asked, just to get them out of their hair, so they can focus on collecting more fines.

Try to bargain first, and ask for a receipt after you pay the fine. Yes, corruption in the police system exists in Cambodia. In other developing countries, the corruption is hidden.

Getting into a traffic accident can be a traumatic experience, both physical and emotional.

Major fatalities are from road accidents which involves tour buses travelling throughout the country and getting hit by drunk drivers, especially at night. Some are driven by 17- and 18-year-olds, without a driver’s licence, and driving under the influence of alcohol.

As a result, many insurance companies have stopped selling insurance to the bus companies, and the government is not doing anything about it.

This issue is not on the government’s priority list, despite the fact that traffic accidents claimed more than 2,000 lives in 2010, according to the World Health Organisation.

Road safety programs have been implemented by several organisations to bring awareness and education to this growing issue.

It is very important to wear a helmet when riding a motorbike. Handicap International stated that more than 80 per cent of fatalities are due to head injuries. The road safety public awareness campaign for helmet safety has been effective, and the number of riders wearing helmets has doubled this year.

Another road traffic law being enforced is wearing a seat belt. This is common practice in Western countries, and many do follow this law in Cambodia. But what if the car you are in does not have seat belts?

Most of the vehicles are second-hand cars and many would not pass safety standards, or they are vehicles that were in major crashes and only the exterior of the car was fixed before being imported from other countries.

The government needs to intervene in traffic regulations and the traffic laws which include major violations like drunk driving and speeding, which need to be strictly enforced.

I remember what my former driver education teacher taught me when I was learning how to drive a car in the US – be proactive and not reactive.