Responding to the increasing demand of Cambodian students for a global education, the Philippine Embassy in Cambodia organized the first Philippine Education Fair on 22-23 April 2016 at the Hotel Intercontinental Phnom Penh.
Chairperson Patricia Licuanan of the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines (CHED) and H.E. Yuok Ngoy, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport of Cambodia, opened the two-day Fair, which was visited by almost 500 Cambodian high school and university students.
Nine of the finest public and private higher education institutions in the Philippines participated in the Fair, namely: the University of the Philippines, University of Luzon, Visayas State University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, University of Southern Mindanao, De la Salle University, University of Southeastern Philippines, Centro Escolar University, and the Mariano Marcos State University. In her keynote address, Chairperson Licuanan encouraged Cambodian students to seriously consider the Philippines as a place to study because "it has a long tradition of higher education. The University of Santo Tomas is over 400 years old... The University of the Philippines was set up during the American colonial period and is over 100 years old. So we have been in education, both private and public, for a very long time." She added that "Philippine universities represent a very high quality of education. Their faculty and administrators received their training in the best universities both abroad and in the Philippines. The products of our universities are much sought after globally, thus partly explaining the large numbers of Filipino professionals working as doctors, nurses, engineers, architects, teachers, managers all over the world."
In his opening remarks, Philippine Ambassador to Cambodia Christopher B. Montero cited that Philippine universities could "provide alternative options for young Cambodian students who can afford to study abroad, and thereafter bring back to Cambodia a holistic education that they could use to contribute to Cambodia's national development."The visit to Cambodia of Chairperson Licuanan coincided with the launch of the Cambodia-Philippines Alumni Network (CP-AN) on 22 April 2015. About fifty (50) Cambodian graduates of Philippine higher education institutions attended the launching, and committed to support the Philippine Embassy's efforts to promote the Philippines as an education destination for Cambodians.
In his testimonial during the Fair, Dr. Sok Uttara, Dean of the Faculty of Education of Paññãsãtra University of Cambodia and graduate of Ateneo De Manila University and De La Salle University, shared with Cambodian students how his education in the Philippines transformed him into a confident person, not just in honing his skills but also in touching his heart, and equipping him with an attitude for a meaningful life. Mr. Ly Chanvatanak, Deputy Head of the Health Professions Education Unit of the University of Health Services and graduate of UP Manila, spoke about how easy it was to adapt to life in the Philippines and how his education has opened up new opportunities in his career. Mr. Phin Saosophea, whose father and sister are also products of the Philippine education system, informed the young visitors of the Fair about how enjoyable his student life was in the Philippines.
During her visit, Chairperson Licuanan also met with H.E. Hang Chuon Naron, Cambodia's Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, and visited three of the best universities in Phnom Penh, namely the Paññãsãstra University of Cambodia, the Royal University of Phnom Penh, and the Institute of Technology of Cambodia. END