The Ministry of Education abruptly canceled a trip for six math students who had hoped to test their skills at an international competition in the Netherlands.
Ministry officials did not explain the reason for the cancelation, but Ou Eng, director of the ministry’s evaluation department said the students would not be competing at the upcoming International Mathematical Olympiad.
High school math students from more than 100 countries are scheduled to attend the event later this month, meeting in a competition that was first held in 1959.
Sokon Rany, a 15-year-old student at Preah Sisowath high school and a potential competitor, said he and five other students had received word they would not be going.
He had expected to showcase years of math studies, but now he found his expectations “worthless.”
Roeung Sophoan, who trained the six students for the competion, said the cancellation will cause some students to lose confidence in the educational system. With many countries offering aid and opportunities to Cambodia, he said, the country should take advantage of them.