Ministry’s solution for corruption scandal
Staff working at Kampong Cham National School of Agriculture (KCNSA) claims the Ministry of Agriculture’s solution to a corruption scandal involving a director of the school is riddled with irregularities and injustice.
The teachers at the provincial school recently submitted a request to the ministry, calling for the removal of KCNSA Director Sam Saron, whom they accused of embezzlement and cronyism.
After seeing the complaint, which was also published in local newspapers, audit and inspection staff from the ministry went to the school to conduct a three-day investigation into the corruption scandal, however, no investigation results have been revealed, the teachers said.
Noticing that the corruption accusation was being heard in local media, Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun on April 1 sent a group of delegates including Nou Mot, under secretary of state of the ministry, to address the issue. The school side requested a separate meeting between the ministry’s officials and the school’s staff, so that it will be easier for them to reveal the truth, but the request was turned down by the under secretary of state without him giving any reasons, the staff added.
The meeting, held with the presence of the school director, ended with no solid results and the delegates, one of whom was seen meeting with Saron secretly, returned to Phnom Penh the same night, they said.
Saron also colluded with Lim Phany, accountant and finance chief at the facility to steal state money for experimental plans and from students’ fees for Sunday and Saturday private classes, alleged the teachers.
The state donates more than US$350,000 each year to support the school’s experimental plans, the teachers said, adding that since 2000, approximately 700 students have registered for the weekend classes which require associate students to pay US$300 a year and bachelor students to pay US$350.
The same source claimed that Saron also obliged students to pay about US$9 each for the issuance of a foundation year certificate, which is against the policy of the Accreditation Committee of Cambodia (ACC), which requires a student to pay only US$2.5.
Saron could not be reached for comment on the accusations as his two phones were turned off. Phany claimed that Saron was busy attending a congress in Phnom Penh. Rasmei Kampuchea, Apr 1&3, 2008.
(Source: Corruption Monitor Bulletin, Issue 6, May 2008)