Overtime at school goes unpaid

Six months after the government announced that bank accounts for all civil servants would put an end to late salaries and rampant graft, secondary school teachers in Prey Veng say they are owed long overdue payments.

In addition to their regular salary, which they already received, the Kampong Trabek district teachers earn 2,600 riel per hour for classroom time logged outside their regular school day, according to Pov To, chief academic officer of Kampong Trabek district. But the extra cash hasn’t been handed out since October.

“No one wants to pay the salary to teachers late, but we also got the salary late from the Ministry of Education. We are working to pay the teachers as soon as possible,” he said, adding that he was unsure of the total amount owed.

Chin Chanveasna, executive director of NGO Education Partnership, called the delay “strange” in light of the new finance reforms.

But the bank account program has been slow to roll out, according to Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association.

“I have not received complaint letters from teachers claiming their salaries are late, but I have heard some teachers in the remote provinces are still having trouble, including in Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Stung Treng, Kratie and so on,” he said.