WHEN I first heard of the Asian University for Women, I immediately identified with its mission and dream. I had seen too many bright young women in Phnom Penh complain about the low quality of their education, and seen too many girls in rural areas drop out of high school because they didn’t see opportunities for higher education even if they graduated. I knew that I wanted to see Cambodian women have access to the kinds of opportunities that I saw possible through AUW.
I have been working with an organisation supporting educational development in rural Cambodia since 2005. The NGO I work with supports 8 schools, 11 villages, and over 1,000 students. Still, in many ways, I feel that the biggest impact I have had in Cambodia thus far has been my small role in helping to recruit and support the 8 Khmer young women who are now part of AUW’s first Access Academy.
Opportunities for higher education are limited in Cambodia, and women make up only a small percentage of university graduates. Though private universities are growing in number, these are costly and nearly all are located in Phnom Penh. Limited government scholarships provide support for the brightest students from high schools nationwide, but even these do not cover the costs of housing and meals. In a culture where girls traditionally do not move far from their families, young women often have an added cultural barrier to education. Even those who attend university do not necessarily receive quality education. Teachers are inadequately trained, and students report widespread practices of cheating, buying grades, and high rates of absenteeism among educators from primary school through graduate programs.
Before becoming AUW’s country coordinator for Cambodia, I spoke to several friends and co-workers about the university, trying to gauge if there would be enough interest, ability, and motivation to recruit students for the Access Academy’s first class. In part, I realised I was also gauging whether I was passionate and confident enough about the program to become its recruiting face in Cambodia. I also wasn’t sure how many women would be interested in giving up their university scholarships, family networks, and stable lives to study at such a new university in a foreign country they hardly knew.
I met a bright young friend in university and asked her to tell me what she thought of the opportunity to go study in Bangladesh at an international women’s university. I reminded her of some of my own concerns for the potential applicants: that she would be far from home, removed from her social networks, living in a developing country where she would have trouble communicating, and in an academically challenging environment that would be mentally difficult. She nodded thoughtfully, considered my arguments, and told me that she thought Cambodia, and young women like her, needed more opportunities like AUW. “You know,” she told me, “here we are like a frog in a well. We can only see the small circle above us, and there are so few ways to get out and get a view of the things which are outside the well. I’m not sure how we can move forward without knowing these things. These girls that go, maybe they can break open the well.”
Less than a year later, I was accompanying the brightest young women I have met in Cambodia on their first plane flight out of their country; watching their eyes widen in the terminal, on the airplane, in Bangkok, in Dhaka, and finally in the recognition of similar talent and motivation among their new peers at the Access Academy. I know this was only the beginning of their personal growth, as well as the new experiences and knowledge that they will bring back to their home country. It continues to be a privilege to be part of that growth.
About the university
The Asian University for Women (AUW,) located in Chittagong, Bangladesh, is the first international institution of its kind in South Asia — a private, regional institution of the highest quality, dedicated solely to women’s education and leadership development. AUW seeks to enable its students to become skilled and innovative professionals, service-oriented leaders, and promoters of tolerance and understanding. With an innovative curriculum focused on critical thinking skills and entrepreneurship, communication, and problem solving, AUW aspires to produce graduates prepared to become leaders both in their fields of study and in their future societies.
The university is currently offering eligible students the option to enroll at its Access Academy, a year-long, pre-collegiate bridge program that provides a critical foundation in English language studies, mathematics and quantitative reasoning, and computer skills. The academy is designed to help students develop the academic skills they need to pursue a rigorous university education which is international in scope.
The first Access Academy class of about 130 students was welcomed in March 2008, and will graduate the program in time to join the first class of undergraduates of the Asian University for Women in September 2009. The Academy addresses the various needs of students in terms of academic preparation, social and cultural adjustment, youth mentorship, counseling, technological skills, and recreation. Through these comprehensive efforts, the Access Academy encourages young women to be assertive, confident, and culturally sensitive.
The inaugural Access Academy class is a representation of talented women from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. AUW works with in-country representatives to identify young women who demonstrate exceptional potential, talent and intellect and would benefit from additional coursework prior to commencing their undergraduate studies. For these students, successful completion of the Access Academy coursework will lead to admission to the Asian University for Women undergraduate program.
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