My name is Pov. I have been a primary school teacher in Cambodia for almost 25 years. I am proud to be a teacher because I can help give our children a bright future. Ever since I was a small girl I dreamed about being a teacher so that I could help others to grow. I was inspired by my own first teacher Mrs. Neang who had so much knowledge. We could see that she loved teaching us and she gave me the feeling that she had confidence in me. She was my role model. Education is important for the future of the country Unfortunately my education was severely disrupted by the arrival of the Khmer Rouge in the 70’s, which meant we could no longer go to school. However, I never forgot the joy for learning I experienced in Mrs. Neang’s classroom. I kept dreaming of being a teacher in spite of all the hardship we endured. When the civil war came to an end and the country started rebuilding the education system I was given the opportunity to be trained to become a teacher. I can still remember my first teaching day when all the children in my classroom stared at me with huge expectations. I was nervous but also very excited that I could finally do what I had always dreamed of! It was not always easy with a much underdeveloped infrastructure, lack of materials and other challenges but I always found inspiration in my students. Some of them had to walk for hours to come to school. Nevertheless, they made that effort so how could I disappoint them? It makes me proud to see how they have developed themselves and what they are doing today. Some of them have followed my footsteps and became teachers themselves.

Education is a good investment

The teaching profession is not always valued by everyone but I think it is a beautiful and important profession. Therefore good training and ongoing support for professional development is essential for good quality education. Investing in education is investing in the future of the country and therefore should have high priority. It is not only important for economic reasons but also because we have a commitment to children to fulfill their right to education. This means that we have to find ways to include the children that are currently out of school. This means that we need more teachers, more classrooms, ongoing training for teachers, a variety of educational materials and an effective curriculum to make sure children can read and write when they leave school and that they are provided with the necessary basic skills to participate well in their communities. I am excited about ‘Education First’, the new initiative of the United Nations Secretary General which stresses the need for quality education for every child. I hope it will help us to build more classrooms, train more teachers and make sure that children learn in the classrooms.

Support teachers and help them to be proud of their profession

Because today is International Day of the Teacher, I ask people to take a moment to reflect on the importance of the work of teachers. It is a job with high responsibility and not always an easy one. I hope that they will express some special appreciation for teachers in their communities by acknowledging that they have an important role to play. They deserve a little encouragement that may just inspire them to keep giving their best to educate our future generations, despite the often challenging conditions.

This blog post is the transcript of an interview with Pov, a Cambodian teacher from Takeo written down by Liesbeth Roolvink