PHNOM PENH: Monday morning, 5 December 2022, marked the first day of the high school baccalaureate exams. Many students rushed to the examination center, either with their parents or travelling on their own.

Students lined up to enter the examination center at 7 am, only a half hour before the official bell rang to indicate the start of the first subject exam.

In each examination center, the situation was calm, while outside the center, there were authorities lined up maintaining order and safety and facilitating traffic. Many of the students’ parents and relatives waited outside for their children to come out after completing their exams. Some even had prepared food and drinks for their children, while some planned to take their children home for their meal before bringing them back to the examination center for their next round of exams.

Moeun Sarim, 55, the mother of an only child, expressed the excitement she felt when bringing her child to take the exam for the first time.

"When I brought my child here to encourage her, I felt happy, scared and excited and wish that she will pass," she said.

Sitting in front of Preah Sisovath High School, Moeun Sarim said she was willing to suspend her job of selling Nom Kroch (Khmer dessert) for two days so that she could come and give her child encouragement in person.

“As a mother, I take care of my child alone, even though I would be selling Nom Kroch over these two days, my child has been studying for 12 years, so why can't I stop [for these two days to show my support]?” she said.

"My child studied very hard day and night for a month before the exam, studying until midnight, 1 or 2 am,” she added. “When I get up to make Nom Kroch, then my child goes to bed. I told my child not to study too much at night, but she said she has to try so hard [or she might] lose, what if she doesn’t try hard [enough]?”

Speaking with another old man sitting outside the exam center on his motorbike since 6 am, Ki Chheang Eng, 66, said that he has not tired of waiting for his children to finish their exams.

"I took him to take the exams and waited until it finished, sent him home to eat, then brought him back,” he said. “For these two days, it is not tiring, we ride a motorcycle since [the exam center] is not far from our home.”

He said that his children are hardworking and also good students. He believes that the youngest of the five children who will take the exam will be able to get good marks at this year's baccalaureate exam.

As for another parent, Det Di, who also came to give encouragement to his children, he expressed happiness in being able to see his son finally take the exam after he had worked so hard to study until now.

"I am happy with his studies, I have seen his efforts from elementary school until now, I’m happy that my son studied hard from an early age,” he said.

At 10:30 in the morning, when candidates exited the examination center, many students walked towards their parents with happy faces.

One student, Sar Chanviriya, said with a fresh face, "I am happy this morning, I did the exam well, this morning was easy, I memorized a lot of the correct parts. I also believe that I will do well in the afternoon exam."

Another young student, Sun Sorn Pichta, said she was happy with the hard work she had done and believes that she may receive an A grade.

"Most of the other students and I did well that morning," she said. “It was easier than I imagined, I believe that I will get a good grade, I must believe it. In sum, me and my classmates have been working hard since the beginning of the year. We began our studies in September, but we have actually been studying extra classes since July.”

The Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Hang Chuon Naron, noted that the candidates for this year's Baccalaureate exam appear to be doing well, as this year's students had more time to study and prepare for the exam than students from the previous year. This year, the Ministry also launched a full study break and one-month postponement of the high school Baccalaureate exams because Cambodia was busy preparing for the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related summits.

On the morning of the first day of the exams on Monday, 5 December, there were 2,264 absent candidates, of which 1,004 were girls, 17 cited having health problems, including one who tested positive for Covid-19. In total, there are 128,135 candidates this year, of which 68,771 are girls.