Every day, we see contrasting numbers of children come to school with absence varying from 1% to 70%. Every month, we find out that one or two students have stopped studying all together for a reason. Every three months, we welcome a few old students back and ask where they have been for so long.
It's not easy teaching in Cambodia, the students may be committed and keen but quite often they are powerless. Their parents, guardians or older brothers and sisters may not let them go to school for a number of reasons. Here is a list of the most common reasons:
"I had to stay at home because no-one else was there, and we have to look after the house"
- There is a fear that if you don't have someone at your house, someone will come in and take things or look around your house, even if you have locks.
"I had to go to work with my ......., because they told me they needed help"
- Unfortunately we hear this quite a lot, parents or siblings pulling the student out of school to help work on the farm, collect plastic bottles or sell something. Sometimes it could be for a day, other times for months.
"I had to cook rice for my father / younger brother and sister"
- If there is no-one at home to cook then normally the older sibling takes charge, meaning they leave halfway through a class or don't come at all.
"My bicycle tire burst and I was unable to get here"
- Perhaps the most reasonable argument, if the tyre bursts it costs about $0.50 to get fixed, which most children do not have, so they go home and wait until they have the money to fix it.
These are but a few reasons why they don't come to school as well as the usual sickness, conflicting Khmer school schedules, extra lessons and holidays. We often discuss absenteeism with parents and explain how important it is for their children to study every day. We compare it to work - if you miss a day you don't get paid, whilst at school if you miss a day you miss out on 10 words / a tense / reviews.
It's one thing to encourage parents to let their child study, but another to make sure they attend every day all year round.
www.khmerchild.org
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