Productive human resources are utmost important to a country. How well a country develops is largely determined by how much education the people of that country undergone.
If we take a look at some of the prime examples of our contemporary world; we soon realized that places such as Singapore, Hong Kong , Korea and Japan have come a long way in terms of development and modernization. Rapid development and modernization were largely due from the fundamental beliefs that educated populace will lead to creative thinking, increased productivity, efficiency and more competitive environments which will lead to nation with wealth.
Humans by nature are particularly smarter than any other species on this planet...We are born with a genetic make up that determines certain things in our lifetime. Yet, not necessary how we learn and adapt to our environments. Henceforth, if humans are given the opportunities to exist freely with environments that are conducive to learning, nurturing of the minds and the bodies; then the chances of advancement are much higher.
When we are born, our brain is nothing more than a blank slate ready to be written. In the course of our lifetime through what we encountered as experiences; pre-conditioned or not; our brains act as little tape recorders. The brain records messages, tones, words and emotions. When certain emotions and things recur; the brain triggers responses with recognition of past emotions which have been recorded; more or less like the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer; but more intricate and more sophisticated than any machines ever built.
If we look at Cambodia's current development model; human resources development is the least thought about factor in the national development's goals. In comparison, human resource is less important than defense spending and money spent on building of government offices.
If we are to succeed in the future, our leaders and policy makers must understand the fundamental truth of why human resources are by far most critical in sustaining long/short term growth.
Human factor can be made into a single most important resource if our government and the people make it a national priority; not to mention things like oil, minerals and others that we have at our disposal.
Singapore, as an island nation with very limited natural resources is able to develop its human resources successfully to a point where the world is learning from its success story. Thanks to people like Mr. Lee Kuan Yew who had the vision and the fundamental belief that education and educated work force will put his nation at the forefront of development and modernization both in socio-economics and as a regional political force.
Below are some of my ideas and I wanted to share with all of our readers:
1. Human Resources development must start with the basic understanding of ACCESSIBILITY. Our curiosity will lead us to want to learn more and more. So, I propose learning programs to extend from pre-school to adult school. We must encourage learning at all levels. Programs must be catered to fit to various needs. Access to education should be made easy so that people from all walks of life can learn; inclusive of mobilizing of resources such temples and places of worship, opening up of more libraries and implementation of mobile libraries in urban and rural areas. National Reward Programs and Campaigns to encourage reading and writing. Technologies must be incorporated into accessibility program.
2. Research and Development of new materials inclusive of translation and interpretation of foreign books, journals, literatures,audio and visual applications.
3. Training and development facilities for adults such as women, disable persons and orphans.
4. Mentoring program - students are placed with peer mentors and professional mentors to learn the reality of different workplace - gain real examples and gain necessary experiences.
5. Math, Science and Technology Programs - to encourage the study of three very imperative subject matters which will lead to technological innovation, invention and industrialization. Much emphasis must be placed to ensure that curriculums from elementary school to university levels are incorporated with core math, science and technology courses.
6. Exchange programs & Scholarships - to insure that our students have access to international exposure and learn what are available out there beyond Cambodia. Why re-invent the wheel when we can just take the wheel and modify it to make it better..that's what the Japanese taught us?
7. National Internship program - incentives to private companies to participate.
8. Polytechnic schools & Vocational Institutes - more polytechnic schools and vocational institutes are necessary because we need to have work force that are ready to handle light industry, light assembly and reap the global outsourcing needs of cheap yet skilled labor force at a competitive pricing advantage.
9. Job Placement and Support Services - National programs should be thought through to provide short and long terms support to graduates and the unemployed. The faster we are able to put our graduates into the labor force; the better in terms of productivity, increase spending and saving power and of course the sooner the government is able to start collecting taxes for the benefits of all.
10. Establish a Think Tank - Gathering of experts from different disciplines to promulgate ideas, work on projects, create framework for educational advancement.
It is also very important that; the subject matters that are taught in schools must be in line with what the employers require. Hence, a coordinated effort between private and public sectors must be in place to insure that these measures are implemented properly. As a result, graduates are ready and fully functional to take on concrete responsibilities and productivity.
The big question is how will we fund these initiatives. My simple solution would be to impose heavier taxes on products such as tobacco, beer and liquor of all kinds. Moreover, service taxes on entertainment such as KTV, Night Club and other entertainment. And of course, the government must improve its revenue collection processes. If revenues are properly collected; most of the programs above can easily be implemented with not just enough but the government will have excess amount left for something else.
The future is in our hands.
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