A high school director in Prey Veng province accused of embezzling thousands of dollars was transferred to a new position with the provincial government on Wednesday following a protest by students and teachers.
Ven Proney, deputy director of the province’s education department, confirmed on Thursday that Hak Nin, director of the Hun Sen Peamro High School in Peamro district, had been removed from the school and given a new post at the department. He declined to comment further.
Mr. Nin could not be reached.
Det Kanha Reaksmey, a physics teacher, claimed that Mr. Nin had used the names of unsuspecting staff to request funding from the education department for specific purchases but kept the money for himself when it arrived. She said she had personally seen funding requests in the name of other teachers who claimed they had not made them.
“He put the money in his pocket,” Ms. Kanha Reaksmey said, adding that the director had also usurped the functions of the school finance officer and accountant.
Phat Sotheavy, deputy provincial president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, said the alleged embezzlement amounted to about $10,000 and that some 100 teachers and students began protesting at the school on Tuesday, calling for Mr. Nin’s removal.
The association’s acting director, Ouk Chhayavy, said the provincial education department should have done more than simply give Mr. Nin another job.
“It looks like a game,” she said. “They just removed him from the school and gave him a new job. If they found that he made a mistake, then they should fire him.”
A student at the high school, who refused to give his name for fear of retribution, said he only joined the protest so that classes might resume.
“We joined the teachers to protest against Mr. Hak Nin,” he said. “If he had not been removed as school director, the teachers would not have come to teach, and I would have no classes to study in.”
