National exam 2018 subjects determined

 The Ministry of Education has determined that high school students participating in this year’s national exam will be tested on a total of eight subjects, down from ten last year. The ministry concluded that the examination will be divided into two parts: core subjects and social sciences. Students are to be tested in mathematics, Khmer literature, physics, chemistry, biology, foreign languages, history and morality. Ros Salin, a spokesman for the Ministry of Education, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Sisowath Monychanda, a Grade 12 student at Chea Sim Santhormuk High School, said yesterday that one of her favourite subjects was selected by ministry. “I am so happy that history is going to be included this year because it’s like general knowledge so almost every student can answer the questions,” Ms Monychanda said. Education Minister Hang Choun Naron said last week that he is expecting students to excel this year, as the ministry spent about $5 million to prepare for the examination. “We hope that this year we will have 500 straight-A students,” he said, adding that the education system in the country has been undergoing reforms over the past four years. The exam will take place August 20 and the ministry expects 117,061 high school students to participate, a rise from the 103,112 students last year. The number of exam centres has also risen, from 178 to 195. Last year, the ministry said that 63.84 percent of students passed the exam, while 28 students were sanctioned for cheating.