Don’t skip school on Valentine’s Day: Officials tell youth

Don’t skip school on Valentine’s Day: Officials tell youth

With the arrival of another Valentine’s Day today, educational officials said that all institutions and guardians should prevent students and their children from “romantic pursuits which break Cambodian culture and tradition”.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said that in the past, a small number of students have used the day as an excuse to skip school, while bringing shame on themselves and their families through behaviour  that violates the country’s culture and tradition.

Mr Naron said that discipline should be strictly applied by monitoring students’ attendance.

“They [educational institutions] have to communicate closely with the students’ guardians and communities to provide and receive information about students’ misconduct in order to prevent, educate and correct them on time,” he said.

Education Ministry spokesman Ros Soveacha said the majority of students understand the meaning of Valentine’s Day as it is not a traditional Cambodian event, and still come to class.

He enouraged students to use their free time by doing socially beneficial work such as giving blood.

“On the afternoon of February 14, the ministry also plans to organise a lecture on Buddhist mental healthcare,” Mr Soveacha said.

Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the Interior Ministry, said that young people should not misinterpret Valentine’s Day.

“Previously, we saw that some young people and children lost their dignity through an exchange of a flower and destroyed their future by shaming themselves,” Ms Bun Eng said.

“Please use Valentine’s Day to do good things and give love to the people around you,” she added.

Keo Teng, director of Tuol Ampil High School in Phnom Penh, said that most students understood Valentine’s Day well because they were educated about it during either class or national anthem sessions ahead of the day’s arrival.

“We see that students have become more aware of this day,” he said.

An Limkea, a university student in Phnom Penh, said that Valentine’s Day is not a national holiday in the Kingdom.