(Phnom Penh): Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet revealed that he recently signed a sub-decree to recruit qualified individuals to serve at the local level in the education and health sectors through technical contracts.

The premier spoke on Wednesday (May 21) at the graduation of students and student teachers of the National Institute of Education.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet stated that the recruitment will focus on teachers from preschool to Grade 12 in the education sector, and from health posts to district referral hospitals in the health sector.

Samdech Thipadei underscored, “Yesterday, I signed a sub-decree as part of an effort we have been working on for a long time, since the beginning of my term, aimed at addressing shortages in two priority sectors including education and health at the local level. We are introducing a new mechanism by opening an additional pathway to recruit qualified individuals under a technical contract system. This framework is similar to the regular civil service structure in terms of salary and benefits, but does not fall under the official civil servant status, as it does not provide permanent tenure.”

On the occasion, Prime Minister Hun Manet added that implementation will begin with a pilot phase in both sectors including education (from preschool to Grade 12) and health (from health posts to district referral hospitals). He noted that in some provinces and districts, there are shortages of teachers and healthcare professionals, even though capable individuals are available and ready to serve.

The premier added that this is a trial initiative for these two sectors. If successfully implemented, we will gradually refine the model and potentially expand it to other sectors. This system is designed to ensure both quantity and quality, we cannot focus solely on quality while ignoring quantity. If standards are too strict, we may still face a shortage of human resources.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet further underscored, “Since the beginning of my term, I have consistently advocated for this approach. What we are doing now is progress, we talk and we act. We do not make empty statements. We have carefully considered this reform through inter-ministerial discussions across key sectors, especially education and health. Moving forward, we hope this mechanism will help expand our civil service framework and provide better support to our public servants.”
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