Prime Minister Hun Sen cut the inaugural red ribbon unveiling the third Krousar Thmey school for blind and deaf children in Kompong Cham Tuesday, showing support for the integration of handicapped children into mainstream academia, Krousar Thmey officials said Wednesday.
Hun Sen, who is blind in one eye and a native of Kompong Cham province, praised the students for overcoming physical obstacles to attain academic success, Krousar Thmey President Benoit Duchateau-Arminjon said.
Hun Sen also donated television sets and musical instruments, said director of communication Marion Rigaux.
The school is the third institution in Cambodia to train blind and deaf students with material translated from the Ministry of Education’s curriculum.
Krousar Thmey schools also operate in Phnom Penh, Battambang and Siem Reap, and a total of 598 deaf and blind students are studying with Krousar Thmey during the current school year.
The Kompong Cham school’s seven teachers aim to make education and job opportunities accessible to the 54 students, burdened more often by social stigma than physical impairment, Duchateau-Arminjon said.
“Parents are reluctant to send their children to school because they don’t see the advantage,” Duchateau-Arminjon said.
The school will serve as a springboard from which integrated classrooms can develop, Duchateau-Arminjon said. The blind community in Cambodia is six times higher than in Europe, Duchateau-Arminjon said.
One estimate in 2000 put the number of blind people in Cambodia at 72,000.
Some blindnesses here are the result of birth defects. But many others are caused by illnesses such as the measles, which could be easily treated in more developed countries. Hundreds of Cambodians have also become blind as a result of land mine accidents.
