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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1963)
Cambodia Education Project" EUGENE The University of Oregon has been selected to participate in a $15 million educational project in the King- . dom of Cambodia in Southeast Asia. The university will provide faculty members to go to Cambodia during the six-year program, and will bring Cam bodians to the Oregon campus to be trained as teachers. A contract now under negotiation with the U. S. Agency for International Development and the Koyal Cambodian government will call for a budget of about $;l million for the University of Oregon's part of the project. This will provide for American teachers, Cambodian participants, and equip ment for six years. In addition to the university contract, the balance of the SIS million budget will provide for construction of buildings and campuses at a secondary school and a teaching training center, for USAID technicians, and other purposes. To Get Spccialitctl Training A total of 50 participants for training as future teachers in Cambodia will be sent to the University of Oregon for specialized training. The first group of nine has arrived in Eugene for a spe cialized two-year training period. All of this group have been teachers in Cambodian schools, Chief of party of the Cambodian project will be Dr. J. Francis Rummel, professor of education at the university, who traveled to Cambodia last spring to consult with Cam bodian Ministry of Education officials and assist in prepara tions for the project. The project calls for the establishment of a teaching training center, with a capacity of about 800 students, at the city of Siem Reap near the famous historical ruins of Angkor Wat, pius the development of a comprehensive sec ondary school of an American type in the capital city of Phnom Penh. ( Similar to Nepal Program The project is somewhat similar to a five-year project in 1951-59, when the university engaged in a program in the Studying a model of the Khmer-American Friendship school now under construction in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, as part of a $15 million educational project in which the University of Oregon will participate are, from left, Dr. Harold Loper, chief of the educational division of the U. S. Agency for International Development in Cambodia; Dr. .1. Francis Rummel, pro fessor of education at the University of Oregon who will be chief of party of the educational project, and Dr. Ruell Kick, edu cation specialist for USAID in Cambodia. Features Sports MedfordTribune oI'LTICwTb- MEDKORDOREGOn7sUNDAy7sEPTEMBER 29, 1963 PAGES 1 to 8 Cambodia Is an Ancient Country The kingdom of Cambodia, where the University of Ore gon will participate for the next six years in a $15 million educational project, is an an cient country with a recorded history which dates back to the beginning of the Christian era. Influenced by the Khmer emperors, the national lan guage of the country is Cam bodian, or Khmer, although French is widely spoken and English is taught. One of the principal wonders of the Orient are the ruins of Angkor Wat, which are great geome'ric stone monuments built at the zenith of Uie medieval empire. The exten sive ruins are only about four miles from the city of Siem Reap. Part of the Cambodian edu cational project will be the eslahlishment of a learher training center at Siem Reap, located on a large tract of land set aside for this purpose by the Cambodian government about half-way between the center of the city and the ruins. Cambodia came under French influence in 1863, but obtained complete independ ence from France in 1953 and became a member of the THAILAND f LAOS Jj ) .x-XjJ .jUv-.N...y J? 1 " T" (south) ! SI AM oS I j ' 1" SOUTH J ' j y CH'NA ! SEA I j 104 J TA-V:..V 1 M', "Si. V, "ft This map shows the kingdom of Cambodia, where the University of Oregon will participate in a SIS million educational project during the next si years The project includes the construction of a secondary school, the Khmer-Ameriran Friendship school, in the nation's capital. Phnom Penh, and the construction of a teacher's education renter at lh city of Siem Heap near the site of lh famous Angkor Wat ruins. United Nations in 1955. The chief of stale and presi dent of the Council of Min isters is Prince Norodom Sikanouk. After the death of his father in 1960, he suc ceeded his father but did not ascend the throne. About four years ago Prince Sihanouk became concerned about the lack of teacher training facilities in Cam bodia. A raining center was established, which is now pro viding about 200 teachers a year, but he determined a new school should be established to train more teachers to meet the needs of the rapidly in creasing number of schools being developed by the Cam bodian government. Cambodia is about two-third the size of Oregon, and has a population of about five mil lion. The climate is like most other monsoon-belt countries, with a dry season from De cember to May, and a rainy season from June to Novem ber. The country is bisected by the Mekong River, which is the fourth largest river in the world. When the river is at flood it is about 40 feet higher than during the dry season, and this causes the Tonle Sap. a large river and lake system which is tributary to the Mekong, to reverse its flow for about three months. Phnom Penh. Cambodia's capital, is at the confluence of the Mekong and the Tonle Sap and has a population of about half a million people. About 50 per cent are clhnie Cam hndians, representing a mix lure of Malay and Indian strains with some admixture of Chinese. The rot of Ihr Phnom Tenh population is about per rent Chinese and 2(1 per rent Viet namese Outside the capital, the population consists pri marily of ethnic Cambodians. The city is a quiet place. Its main "tree-lined thorough fare. Boulevard Norodom, was spaciously laid out by the French, and many European type houses are found in this section Thatched Cambodian type huts are found in clusters elsewhere in the city and on its outskirts Siem Reap is about 200 miles by road from the capital The country is largely un developed, with about 75 per rent of the land virgin forest. The main i n d u s t r i e s are forestry, fishing, and agiirul lure, wilh ric orrupying about fiO per cent of the land Usage. fyg&K h 'k. j Dr. .1. FRANCIS KUMMKI. Oirrrim ot .Cambodia Project Dr. J.' Francis Rummel, professor of education at the University of Oregon is showh during a recent trip to Cambodia when he described the university to part of the group of It Cambodian teachers who will study at the university for the next two years. The teachers will then return to Cambodia to teach in the Khmer-American Friendship school. Kingdom of Nepal in the Himalayas. This project saw the development of teaching renters, the training bf Nepalese teachers in Oregon, and culminated in a visit to the Univer sity of Oregon by the King and Queen of Nepal. Dr. Rummel was one of the campus coordinators for the Nepal project. In this position he supervised the training of Ncpalcse teachers in Eugene. For the Cambodia project the campus coordinator will be Dr. Arthur C. Hearn, professor of education, while Dr. Rummel will be in Cambodia as chief of party. The secondary school in Phnom Penh will be known as Khmer-American Friendship school. Construction has begun on the school, Dr. Rummel reported. The architectural plans for the teachers college at Siem Reap are now being developed, and construction will begin this winter. Both schools will open for classes in August, 1965. Instruction in Knglish At the secondary school instruction will he in the English language by the teachers trained at the University of Oregon. This will provide a nucleus of young Cambodians well versed in the English language to assume responsibilities in the cmmereial, political, and international affairs of the country. A group of 10 more Cambodians will be sent to the Uni versity of Oregon in January, 1964, followed by 16 in Septem ber, 1964, and 15 in September, 1965. The 41 Cambodians will engage in a four-year program of teacher education. In addition, four Cambodian school administrators will he sent to the Eugene campus. These will include an admin istrator and an assistant administrator from both schools. They will engage in a six-months training period in school administration. 1 The education center at Siem Reap is planned for Ih training of teachers for the rural primary and elementary grades. A group of four professional education advisors from Oregon state system of higher education will arrive in Siem Reap in January, 1965, so that they will have about eight . months before thq schools open in which to plan courses of study and work with locally trained Cambodians who will make up the interim and permanent staff. Will Serve Jointly Dr. Rummel and his secretary will be serving jointly for both the Siem Reap center and the Khmer-American school. In addition, a. number of American elementary and sec ondary school teachers will be employed to assist in instruc tion, teaching techniques, and In-service training of the . Cam bodian staff until all of the University of Oregon-trained Cambodian teachers return to replace them. , Those teachers will he hired for two-year periods begin ning in July, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1967 to teach in the areas of mathematics, science, music, arts and crafts, business education, and home economics. In addition to an annual salary, transportation and hous ing is provided lor the teachers. Since French is widely spok en in Cambodia, all teachers should have a background in that language. . i Teachers who are interested in applying for a posilion in this project should write to Dr. J. Francis Rummel, school of education, University of Oregon, Eugene. t?,! -ftWtl i ....in. J M This is a typical elementary school class in Cambodia, where the University of Wwgon wll participate in a $15 million erlu ,:n4 prorrl. including establishment of a new secondary school and a new leacheK traMuug renter. Many of the rural ele :Wijry schools In Cambodia are of this nature, hut many of the urban schools are quiht similar to typical American schools
