SIHANOUKVILLE: On Tuesday, 29 November, the Ministry of Cults and Religions decided to hand over the task of managing and leading Preah Sihanouk Reach University to the venerable Dr. Yorn Seng Yeat, who is currently the University’s Vice Chancellor.
On Thursday afternoon, 1 December, the Ministry of Cults and Religions organized a handover ceremony for the task of managing the Buddhist Preah Sihanouk Reach university to the venerable Dr. Yorn Seng Yeat, under the high presidency of the First Vice-President of the Supreme Sangha Council, venerable Om Lim Heng, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Cult and Religion, Seng Somony, and with many monks and students in attendance.
The venerable Dr. Yorn Seng Yeat said that he is determined to lead Preah Sihanouk Reach University to forward progress. He encouraged the Ministry of Cults and Religions and officials of Preah Sihanouk Reach University to continue supporting the further development of this educational institution, as it is the only university with training expertise in Buddhist philosophy and Sanskrit Pali in Cambodia.
During the handover ceremony, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Cults and Religions, Seng Somony, clarified that the change in management of the Preah Sihanouk Reach University was not due to mistakes of the previous management.
"Do not misunderstand that the ministry or the [Buddhist] clergy revoked [the previous management for wrongdoings], it is not [true]" he said. "[This handover] is to help [the university] further improve. The previous management, he does not have good health and is busy or has other duties tp attend to....”
The venerable Dr. Yorn Seng Yeat is a Cambodian monk who has received a Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, Doctoral degree, and Postdoctoral degree in various fields from many famous foreign universities.
The Preah Sihanouk Reach University has a management team of 165 monks, civil servants, and contract officials. There are 107 management staff at the Phnom Penh branch, 25 at the Kampong Chhnang branch, and 33 at the Battambang branch.
At present, 1993 students attend the university, of which, 422 are monks, 511 are male students, and 1061 are female students.
