EDUCATION REPORT: CAMBODIA

Vincent StangeEducation Program Facilitator, Mennonite Central Committee28 July 2016

BACKGROUND & INTRO

CAMBODIA

Source: (The Heinrich Böll Foundation, 2016)

CONTEXT: QUICK FACTS Total Population: 15,708,756

80% are rural-dwelling farmers, with 20% living in cities

Approx. 17% live on less than $1.20 per day Literacy Rate: 77.2%

Children 29% of children under 5 are considered

underweight 37% of children under 5 suffer from chronic

malnutrition Government

Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy Education expenditures: 2% of GDP (lowest

in SE Asia) (The CIA World Factbook Online, 2016)

HISTORICAL CONTEXT French protectorate/colony from 1863-1953 1963, faced severe teacher shortage 1964/65 rapid expansion at

college/university level, led by Pr. N. Sihanouk

Civil war (1967-1975) & Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979)

Through late 90s and early 2000s, gov’t under-planned and over-promised education reform (Ayres, 1998)

SUCCESSES & BRIGHT SPOTS

Made great strides towards UN Millennium Development Education goals Significant increases in primary education Gender parity reached at primary level

(Tandon & Fukao, 2015)

Important legal reforms over past 2 decades: Abolished school fees Official shift to “student-centered” learning Scholarships for disadvantaged youth

(Reimer, 2012) Gov’t crackdown on examination cheating

(Cambodia Daily, 14 Sep. 2015)

Newly created gov’t departments: Special Education Information Technology Examination Affairs (Phnom Penh Post, 3 Jun 2016)

Significant increases in teacher salaries at all levels (Khmer Times, 12 January 2016)

CURRENT CHALLENGES: PERFORMANCE

Schools are under-resourced & underperforming

Low secondary school enrollment with significant gender disparity

Literacy rates are staggeringly low Disparity between urban/rural and poor/non-poor

Barely half of students passed last year’s high school exams

No performance differences for out-of-school children

Per capita spending on primary education is lowest in Southeast Asia

(Tandon & Fukao, 2015)

CURRENT CHALLENGES: TEACHING

Lagging student performance stems from poor teaching Incentives are ineffective Teacher content mastery in mathematics is exceptionally

low Evaluation systems not tied to teacher standards Knowledge of teacher standards is low (Tandon & Fukao, 2015) High teacher absence, no substitutes Chronic unpreparedness for teaching Despite policy, rote-teaching and recitation is

commonplace Low levels of teacher-parent interaction

(Benveniste, Marshall, et al, 2008) 4-hour school day still in-place since 1963, fees for

afternoon classes High student-teacher ratio due to teacher shortage

(Phnom Penh Post, 29 Oct. 2014)

CURRENT CHALLENGES: TEACHER TRAINING

Poor teaching stems from poor training and recruitment: Teaching has very low prestige Low entry requirements for teacher training

centers Frequent underpayment and salary delays are

disincentive Gap in income between teachers and other

professionals in Cambodia is more pronounced than Thailand or Vietnam (Tandon & Fukao, 2015)

Teaching conditions are primitive

POSSIBLE STEPS TO BE TAKEN

Recruitment Continual pay increases for teacher salaries, tied to

performance increases, based on teacher standards More lucrative bonuses for rural teaching

placements Training and Continuous Improvement

Regular administrative collection of lesson-plans Increased frequency of district-level visits, steeped-

in real-time observation and feedback In-classroom shifts towards activity based and

student-centered learning Increased in-service training with classroom-level

follow-up Mandated Parent Committees and parent-teacher

conferences at all schools

REFERENCES Amaro, Y. (2016, June 3). Ministry of Education eyes new departments. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-education-eyes-new-departments  Ayres, D. M. (2000). Anatomy of a crisis: Education, development, and the state in Cambodia, 1953-1998. Honolulu:

University of Hawai'i Press.  Baron, L., & Pech, S. (2014, October 29). Ministry facing teacher shortage. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://

www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-facing-teacher-shortage Benveniste, L., Marshall, J., & Araujo, M. C. (2008, June). Teaching in Cambodia. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from

http://datatopics.worldbank.org/hnp/files/edstats/KHMwp08.pdf  Cambodia Map. (2016). Retrieved July 26, 2016, from https://kh.boell.org/en/categories/cambodia-map Photographs in presentation [Personal photograph taken in Ankheardei and Proom Villages, Pea Reang District, Prey Veng

Province, Cambodia]. (2016, May). Reimer, J. K. (2012, December). Local Negotiation of Globalised Education Discourses: The Case of Child Friendly Schools in

Rural Cambodia. The University of British Columbia: Theses and Dissertations. Retrieved July 13, 2016, from https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0065851.

Retka, J., & Mech, D. (2015, September 14). High School Exam Results Released; 56% Pass. Retrieved July 13, 2016, from https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/high-school-exam-results-released-56-pass-94086/

 Ros, C. (2016, January 12). Public School Salaries Set to Increase. Retrieved July 14, 2016, from http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/19814/public-school-salaries-set-to-increase/

 Sustainable Development Goals: Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. (2015). Retrieved July 11, 2016, from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300

 The World Factbook: Cambodia. (2016, July 11). Retrieved July 13, 2016, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html

 United Nations Millennium Development Goals. (2000). Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/education.shtml