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History of Education in Cambodia
Abbie Briskin
Current Education
Abbie Briskin
Background
Stephanie Shosanya
How/When Issue Evolved
Jacob Hill
Ongoing Attempts: Government
Abbie Briskin
Ongoing Attempts: NGOs
Merle Curran-Ackert
Impacts
Abbie Briskin and Merle Curran-Ackert
Development of Education Initiative
Akanksha Gupta
References

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The current education system in Cambodia is now 6+3+3: 6 years for primary education, 3 years for lower secondary education, and 3 for upper secondary education.

The education system is currently run by the Cambodian state, but private education exists for all levels and is run by private sectors, specifically by minority communities: Chinese, Muslim, French, Vietnamese, and English.

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Primary vs Secondary
71% of the Cambodian population completes primary school whereas only 18% of the population completes Upper secondary school. As soon as children in Cambodia reach secondary school, children are dropping out.

Disparities
This disparity in enrollment/completion between primary and secondary level worsens even more when comparing urban versus rural areas.  43% percent of children that complete upper secondary school live in urban areas and only 12% live in rural areas.

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HDI
According to the United Nations Development program,  Cambodia's HDI value for 2019 is .594.  The UNDP also reported that in 2019 the expected years of schooling was 11.5. and the mean years of schooling was 5.0.

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Cambodia has had an education system since the 13th century; however, it traditionally took place in the Buddhist monasteries, the Wats, and was exclusive to the male population.

The French introduced a "formal" Western education model when they colonized Cambodia (1863-1953).

The history of education was destroyed during the Red Khmer regime (1970s), and the next 2 decades were devoted to reconstructing education from "nothing".

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UNESCO: Out of all three levels of education, primary level has the highest population of attendance. However, the population in secondary level decreases. This decreases even more by tertiary level.

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Cambodia's Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MoEYS) is focusing on SDG 4, Quality Education, through 2 main policies:
1. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
2. Ensure effective leadership and management of education officials at all levels.

Cambodia's development goals: to become an upper-middle income country by 2030, and to achieve high-income status by 2050.

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Destroying of a foundation: As mentioned, Cambodia had a traditional education model heading into the 1960's. However, going into the 1970's a civil war began between the Khmer Rouge, an extreme socialist group formed in Vietnam and in the jungles of North East Cambodia, and Prime Minister Lon Nol. Khmer Rouge was able to conquer Phnom Penh and other major towns. Following these events the Khmer Rouge sought out to exterminate educated people all together with monks, religious leaders, those who spoke a foreign language, and even those who simply wore glasses. By the end of the Khmer Rouge regime, the education system was destroyed with little foundation left to rebuild. There were 2,481 primary schools with 13,619 teachers to teach 724,058 students. There was a very small fraction of high education teachers who survived the Khmer Rouge. The majority of teachers during the reboot had only received a few years of education prior to the Khmer Rouge period.

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The 2014 Education Strategic Plan, focusing on equal access to education and increasing quality of school curriculum, has resulted in the following successes: 18% of national budget set for education, 98% of children enrolled in school with 48% women, and 1,000 schools built in the last decade.

The government has also partnered with School Dropout Prevention for two priority intervention initiatives:
1. Early Warning System- to reduce student absenteeism and support at-risk students in school.
2. Computer Labs- install low-cost computer labs powered by solar energy to provide computer literacy training to students and increase interest in schooling.

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Post Khmer Rouge: After the Khmer Rouge there was little to work with as they had to implement short teacher training courses for students in order to make up for the lack of teachers as quickly as possible. There was also a shortage of buildings, teaching materials, books, and chalk after the war. There was a substantial pressure on the government to fund education and there have been reforms of the system such as the previously mentioned 6+3+3 system that have been part of the gradual rebuild. This is what explains the above HDI graph starting so low in the 1990's and slowly increasing over time since the rebuild.

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KAPE: Largest local NGO in education sector in Cambodia

Partnered with Cambodia's Ministry of Education, as well as other international and local organizations

Direct beneficiaries of KAPE include more than 71,000 children and 1650 teachers and school directors at 165 schools across 13 provinces

Cambodian Children's Fund: Focused in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s Stung Meanchey district

Provided education for more than 3000 children

Approximately 70% went on to attend college

Pour un Sourire d’Enfant (PSE): Provides resources such as food and healthcare to vulnerable children in Cambodia

Enrolls children in state or corrective schools depending on their needs

Improves education in Cambodia for 6000 children annually

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Children photographed amidst mounds of garbage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

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Check out KAPE's current projects!

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KAPE is committed to increasing access to quality education for Cambodian children and young people and serving as an incubator for education innovation. Originally focused on primary education, we now deliver a wide range of programs across the education spectrum.

Join the conversation. Sign up to receive emails for events, newsletters, publications and general information. Unsubscribe

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kampuchea action to promote education (kape)

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KAPE is committed to increasing access to quality education for Cambodian children and young people and serving as an incubator for education innovation. Originally focused on primary education, we now deliver a wide range of programs across the education spectrum. Join the conversation. Sign up to receive emails for events, newsletters, publications and general information.

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Agendas of the Education Initiative
- The education initiative can place special focus on increasing enrollment in secondary education in rural areas.
- This can be done through constructing new school buildings in rural areas, so children don't have to travel too far to get an education.
- The school buildings can have low-cost technology, in order to provide a better quality education. Children need to learn how to use a computer and its features properly in order to effectively compete in the world.
- Since the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia has always had a shortage of teachers. Training programs for teachers can be conducted, which provide them with better tips and methods to make a healthy and a safe environment in order to boost learning.
- Parents can be involved in the school curriculum, through increased parent-teacher meetings, so they understand the importance education and encourage their children to continue their education.
- Schools can have better infrastructure and provide free meals to children during class breaks to further reduce the cost of education for families.
- Career counseling and management can be implemented, so the students can understand the opportunities that are available to them and the importance of education as a tool to realize their true potential.

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- Cambodia needs urgent help to increase its rate of students enrolled in secondary education, with a special focus on children from rural areas. The reason children in rural areas drop out of school is because they mainly start working in the brick making industry to financially support their families.
Methods of Funding
- Funding for an education initiative can be collected by asking the citizens and the government of Cambodia for donations. A partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport can also be formed, in order to receive some portion of the budget set aside for education in the country.
- The Asia Foundation is a non-profit international organization that has made donations to NGOs such as KAPE.
- Spencer foundation is an organization headquartered in Illinois, USA. They make donations for research in education and have made donations to NGOs in Cambodia.
- Cambodia is a member of the United Nations and is committed to achieving the SDGs set forth by it. It can receive funding from the United Nations Development Program.
- UNESCO has also been known to partner with some NGOs in Cambodia for their education initiatives and is a good option to receive funds.

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Direct:
There are many negative consequences to the high upper secondary school dropout rate. Lack of sufficient education keeps families in the poverty cycle, as benefits of more education include higher income and lower unemployment. Education also has immense health benefits by contributing to longer lifespans through access to healthcare and sanitation.

Indirect:
Weak education systems indirectly impact the growth of the economy, as well as socioeconomic disparities. If children are without the proper training or resources to become active members in a society, participate in government, understand sociopolitical issues, and take care of themselves, this will crack the foundation of a country. Additionally, an increase in children who are socioeconomically disadvantaged in Cambodia and receiving a lower quality of education will only widen the gap between the upper and lower classes.

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Possible Resistance to the Education Initiatives
- Child labor is still rife in Cambodia. Families in rural areas might oppose to education because they need their children to work instead of studying. Education costs a lot and working would bring money into the house.
- This can be combatted through parent-teacher meetings at schools that start when the child is in primary education. If the parents realize the importance of education, the skills it develops in their children and the financial benefits of it in the future, parents might go out of their way to ensure their children continue into secondary education.
- The education initiative can also provide the children with free textbooks and other school materials, to further reduce the cost of education.

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www.kapekh.org/en/.

https://borgenproject.org/improving-education-in-cambodia/

https://unesco-wide-production.herokuapp.com/countries/cambodia#?dimension=all&group=all&year=latest

http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/KHM.pdf

http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/kh

http://schooldropoutprevention.com/country-data-activities/cambodia/#:~:text=Other%20factors%20(10%25%20of%20respondents,marriage%2C%20and%20lack%20of%20latrines.

https://www.bookbridge.org/post/the-education-system-in-cambodia#:~:text=Presently%2C%20after%20its%20reform%20in,(grade%207%20to%2012).

https://borgenproject.org/access-education-in-cambodia/

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/moeys-continues-plan-further-success-education-youth-and-sport

https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-for-development/PISA-D%20national%20report%20for%20Cambodia.pdf

http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/archive/Publications/free_publications/Tawil5e.pdf