In Brief: School soon to have new buildings

The Phnom Penh Post

Written by Peter Olszewski
Thursday, 04 September 2008

Construction is proceeding on schedule for new classrooms at Wat Mon Thyean Primary School in Kok Russey Kang Cherng village, Dan Run commune, Sautr Nikom district, 35 kilometres from Siem Reap. The "incomplete" primary school only offers grades 1-4 in two run-down wooden classrooms. Students travel three or four kilometres further along high-traffic roads for grades 5-6, so many kids do not complete primary school. The new classrooms will enable the addition of grades 5 and 6 as well as a kindergarten and should help improve primary school completion rates. The project is an initiative of Schools for Children of Cambodia (SCC), a British-registered charity established in 2003. Work commenced on June 30 and is slated for completion on October 13. The contractor is PHV Construction Co Ltd. The US$61,000 cost was provided by the village community and SCC's private, international donors. A Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport contribution will pay salaries for teachers for the additional grades.

Putting a lid on rubbish dumping

Siem Reap's provincial Department of Environment is urging residents to stop randomly dumping rubbish. Department vehicles have been spreading the gospel via loudspeakers, focusing initially on the more scenic riverside districts, and deputy director Khoeurn Sokunvisith told the Post that the campaign has been effective. "There has been a lot of improvement, but there's still work to be done," he said. The campaign has pointed out the health benefits of ridding the streets of rubbish and informed people where rubbish can be placed to be collected. Unn Sophary