Officials pat down students ahead of the second round of Grade 12 exams at Phnom Penh's Baktuk High School. Hong Menea

Woeful failure round two

Just 18 percent of more than 60,000 grade 12 students given a second opportunity to pass the all-important high school national exams have succeeded, Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron told the Post late last night.

Of 60,596 students that re-sat the high school leaver exam earlier this month, just 10,871 (17.94 percent) passed, Chuon Naron announced via text message as the results were released.

The failure rate was a dismal 82.06 percent.

During the initial round in August, an unprecedented government-led crackdown on cheating and corruption saw the pass rate plummet from 87 percent in 2013 to just 25.72 percent.

Following the test, with many students expecting to fail, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that pupils would be given a second chance under the same conditions.