Kingdom of Cambodia
Nation Religion King
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
Background paper
for
High-Level Meeting on Cooperation for Child
Rights in the Asia Pacific Region
4-6 November 2010, Beijing
CONTENTS
Executive Summary
3
1. General Background
4
2. National Policies
6
3. The Education Sector
7
4. Education Sector Performance from an Equity Perspective
11
5. South-South Partnerships
19
High-level Meeting on Cooperation for Child Rights in the Asia Pacific Region – Cambodia Background Paper
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The overall development agenda is guided by National Strategic Development Plan and reflects
the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) political leadership, ownership and commitment to
national development with a strong focus on poverty reduction and promoting of equity and
economic growth.
In line with the national agenda, the Ministry of Education, youth and Sport’s long-term mission
is to ensure that all Cambodian children and youth have equal opportunity to access quality
education consistent with the Constitution and the Royal Government’s commitment to the U.N
convention on the Rights of the Child, regardless of social status, geography, ethnicity, religion,
language, gender and physical form.
During the past ten years Cambodia has achieved substantial progress in increasing access and
improving equity in relation to access to education. The Gender Parity Index for primary
education is 1.0 and disparities between remote, rural and urban areas have almost been
removed. This success is the result of education reforms with a pro-poor and equity focus
reflected in Education Strategic Plans that have been in place in Cambodia since 2001. The
current Education Strategic Plan 2009-2013 continues this pro-poor focus.
The progress made is confirmed not only by the well-established Education Management
Information System but also by the National Census 2008 and other surveys, such as the
Demographic Health Survey and the annual Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey.
Even though considerable progress has been made, the Ministry of Education, Youth and sport
acknowledges that still a number of challenges remain. Analysis based on administrative and
survey data reveal that there are still equity issues to be addressed and it became clear that:
- the gender gap has become really small and is now even in the favour of girls;
- the gap between urban and rural areas is bigger but still rather small;
- a substantial gap exists between districts and provinces, and that
- the biggest gap is related to wealth quintiles
The ESP 2009-2013 prioritizes addressing these remaining challenges and Cambodia has
adopted a number of Core Breakthrough Indicators that will help to prioritize the most strategic
interventions to make further progress and address the identified remaining challenges.
Cambodia is interested in active South-South ties and collaboration to share its own
experiences and learn from other countries’ progress and challenges to achieve equitable
access to quality education and to realize the goals of Education for All and the Millennium
Development Goals by 2015.
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1. GENERAL BACKGROUND
1.1 Natural environment
Cambodia, a country situated in Southeast Asia, shares borders with Vietnam, Laos and
Thailand. Cambodia has 440 kilometres of coastal border facing the Gulf of Siam. With a total
area of 181,035 square kilometres, the country is about one-third the size of Thailand or 293
times bigger than Singapore.
The central low-lying area, which stretches from the northwest to the southeast, is an important
agricultural region;
The chain of mountains standing to the west, to the north and in the eastern plateau shield the
country from the effects of various storms and squalls. The great lake of Tonle Sap is a natural
basin. It is the most important area for river fish. Many rich mineral deposits are the future
potential resources of the country.
More than 80.5% of the total population of 13.4 million live on and derive their incomes from
farming based on traditional practices.
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1.2 Government and administrative structure
The Kingdom of Cambodia is an indivisible state and follows a policy of permanent neutrality
and non-alignment. The Legislative Power lies with the Assembly while the Executive Power is
with the Royal Government. The Judicial is an independent power.
Administratively, the country comprises 23 provinces and Phnom Penh is a capital. The capital
of Phnom Penh consists of eight precincts (Khan) and is populated by more than 1 million
people. The precincts are subdivided into quarters (Sangkat). Provinces (Khet) are subdivided
into districts (Srok), Cities, districts into communes (Khum)/Sangkat and the cities (krong) into
quarters (Sangkat). Each commune is subdivided into villages and then into groups of families
and households. The national administration is the main body handling administrative affairs at
municipal/provincial and district or “khan” levels.
1.3 Population and economy
According to the national census of March 2008, Cambodia had a total population of 13.4
million, of which 51.36% are women. The majority of the population lives in rural areas and on
agricultural production. Only 18.2% of the total population reside in urban areas or towns. The
population of Cambodia according to the 2008 census is considerably lower than the projected
population based on the 1998 Census of 14.6 million for the same year. This is the result of a
lower than projected population growth rate (1.54% per year). Even though it has reduced,
compared to some other Southeast Asian countries, like Thailand and Viet Nam, the annual
exponential growth rate of the population of Cambodia is still higher. The assumptions made in
the projection exercise have to be reviewed and fresh projections based on the 2008 census
results will have to be made soon.
The predominant religion in Cambodia is Buddhism. It represents about 96.93%, Muslims is
1.92%, Christians is 0.37% and others are 0.78%. The category of others contains mainly the
local religious system of the highland tribal groups and a few minority religious groups from
other countries. The proportion of children in the age group (0-4) is 10.25%, children (0-14) are
33.7%, the economically productive age group (15-64) is 62% and the elderly population (65+) is
4.3%.
A major part of the Cambodian economic output depends on the primary sector - agriculture. In
2008, it absorbed about 72.3% of employment. The secondary sector absorbs about 8.5% of the
labour force, as the country still does not have an industrial infrastructure. Most of equipment
and materials for local demand are imported from abroad. And the third sector absorbs about
19.2%.
Despite the international crisis, the GDP growth in 2009 remained in the positive, 0.1 percent,
while the growth in 2010 is expected to be around 5 percent according to economists. The GDP
per capita is US $ 738 per annum in 2008. Tax revenues collected by the government for use,
as the national budget are equal to 13.3% of the country’s GDP in 2008. Component sector of
GDP in 2008 are: agriculture 32.4%, industry 22.4% and services 38.8%.
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2. National Policies
2.1 National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) – 2009-2013
The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) political leadership, ownership and commitment to
national development are encapsulated in the NSDP for Growth, Employment, Equity and
Efficiency to reach the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals. The current NSDP 2009-13
sets out priority goals and strategies for the fourth mandate of the Royal Government with
continuing strong focus on promoting economic growth and rapid poverty reduction.
NSDP 2009-13 will be operationalised and implemented through the Rectangular Strategy,
consisting of: (i) enhancement of the agriculture sector; (ii) rehabilitation and construction of
physical infrastructure; (iii) private sector development and employment; and (iv) capacity
building and human resource development.
NSDP also recognises that effective implementation of the Rectangular Strategy needs to be
underpinned by core good governance reforms, covering: (i) fighting corruption; (ii) legal and
judicial reform; (iii) public administration reform; and (iv) reform of the Royal Cambodian Armed
Forces. Education reform is a central component of NSDP 2009-13 and the stated NSDP
education policy priorities are consistent with the sector Education Strategic Plan (ESP).
2.2 National Program for Sub-National Development
The Organic Law, passed in 2008, lays out the administrative and management structure of
Cambodia’s sub-national administration and marks the second phase of D&D reform. The law is
expected to involve a significant devolution of power from the centre to the provincial and district
levels in order to improve service delivery (health, education, roads, water and sanitation, etc.)
and strengthen the state’s regulatory functions (land, forestry and fisheries). Furthermore, the
law stipulates that the majority of ministries will have to undertake a functional review process to
identify functions for potential devolution to sub-national administrations in accordance with
sector priorities and the principles, structures and procedures set out in the Organic Law. To
operationalize the Organic Law, the Council of Ministers signed the National Programme for
Sub-National Democratic Development on 20 May 2010 while the NCCD Secretariat released
the outline of the 3-years (2011-2013) Implementation Plan (IP3). The National Programme
provides a framework for further strengthening of Communes/Sangkats and municipalities
(Khans) as well as for developing the role of district and provincial councils and administrations.
Through this process, Cambodia is establishing statutory structures at the commune, district and
province level, including Committees for Women and Children at all three levels, to instill greater
government accountability in protecting the rights of children and women.
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3. The Education Sector
3.1 General Objective of the Education Sector
The objective of the Cambodian education system is to fully develop children in all aspects of
qualities, mentally and physically. In order to achieve this objective, schools need to accomplish
many tasks. They are obliged to develop in the students the spirit of self-confidence, selfreliance, responsibility, solidarity, national unity and patriotism. Schools must also install in their
students positive attitudes of paying respect to the law and human rights.
Other responsibilities of schools are to nurture children to become good citizens, to live together
peacefully, to be able to strengthen their responsibilities towards their families’ happiness and to
make a contribution to promoting social welfare.
General education strives to meet the above-mentioned objective by delivering knowledge and
skills, promoting the personal qualities of the students, and accumulating work experiences and
various activities, which are beneficial to students, their schoolmates and to society as a whole.
In consideration of their increasing age, the objective of primary education is to focus on the
development of children’s personalities by helping to upgrade their mental and psychological
abilities. By doing so, children will become capable of translating their basic knowledge
(reading, writing, speaking, listening and arithmetic) to solving their immediate problems, and to
cherishing a love of learning and doing labor. Through these efforts, they will become useful
members of the community and be capable of acquiring simple skills or continuing their study to
higher grades.
The prime objective of secondary education is to enhance the knowledge that the students have
already acquired at the primary education level. This aims to ensure the development of their
freedom of thought and expression, to build their attitude of tolerance, and, at the same time, to
develop their talents, individual qualities, creativity, social ethics and skills in order to create a
harmonious society.
In short, after receiving basic education students will have grown to full adulthood and be
capable of living in society and continuing their study to higher grades as required.
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14
13
12
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Age
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Public Institutions: 34
- Universities: 15
- Institutes: 19
- Branches: 5
Private Institutions: 54
- Universities: 26
- Institutes: 28
- Branches: 32
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Lower Secondary
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fñak;TI 7 Grade 7
fñak;TI 6 Grade 6
fñak;TI 5 Grade 5
Primary
18
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24
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3.2 Structure of the Education System
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Medium Step
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Lower
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The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) is one of the largest civil ministries.
Activities and services delivered by the Ministry cover the entire country, ranging from national
to school levels. The total number of teaching and administrative staff at all levels is about
106,000, or more than half the total number of civil servants in the whole country.
A group of senior officials taking responsibility for political matters and education competencies
run the national management or the Office of the Minister. The group includes the Minister, the
Secretary of State and Under-Secretary of State and is assisted by officials with different
specializations. The structure is, according to Sub-degree 84 dated 9 June 2009, composed of
five general departments and one general inspectorate with 28 technical departments.
At sub-national level, one municipal education service and twenty-three (23) provincial
education service are established. Each unit headed by one director and deputy director and
their technical offices follow the national department structure. The number of technical offices
at municipal and provincial education service level varies according to the proportion of staff in
each municipality and province.
The number of sections under each office at district, precinct, city level and the number of staffmembers must also be in proportion with the total number of teaching and non-teaching staff
within each level.
3.3 Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport – vision and mission
The MoEYS vision is to establish and develop human resources of the very highest quality and
ethics in order to develop a knowledge-based society within Cambodia.
The MoEYS mission: In order to achieve the above vision, MoEYS has the mission of leading,
managing and developing the Education, Youth and Sport sector in Cambodia in responding to
the socio-economic and cultural development needs and the reality of globalization.
The Ministry’s long-term mission is to ensure that all Cambodian children and youth have equal
opportunity to access quality education consistent with the Constitution and the Royal
Government’s commitment to the U.N convention on the Rights of the Child, regardless of social
status, geography, ethnicity, religion, language, gender and physical form. The Ministry
envisages a time when graduates from all its institutions will meet regional and international
standards and will be competitive in the job markets worldwide and act as engines for social and
economic development in Cambodia.
An overarching objective of the MoEYS is to achieve the holistic development of Cambodia's
young people for all sectors. In addition, the Ministry intends to engender a sense of national
and civic pride, high standards of morals and ethics and a strong belief in being responsible for
the country and its citizens.
3.4 Education Strategic Plan 2009-2013
Sector policies and strategies are set out in the 5-year Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 20092013. The recently finalized ESP, for the first time, integrates the strategies and operational
plans that used to outlined in a separate Education Sector Support Programme (ESSP). The
ESP consists of three policy pillars: (i) ensuring equitable access; (ii) improved quality and
efficiency of education services; and (iii) institutional development and capacity building for
decentralisation and is in line with the new NSDP 2009-13, which consolidates and extends
majority of existing pro-poor reform policies and strategies and focusing on achieving EFA and
MDG goals.
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While the ESP maintains the same policy pillars and continues a general pro-poor approach in
its strategies, the recently finalized ESP 2009-2013 is characterized by a number of changes.
The new ESP has adopted a framework of Core Breakthrough Indicators which reflects a
stronger prioritization and a stronger emphasis on equity issues and further reduction of existing
disparities. There is also more emphasis on improving quality of education reflected which builds
on the adoption of the CFS policy and its nationwide expansion in the coming years as well as
by the plan to introduce a system of standardized national learning assessment for grades 3, 6
and 9. Another strategic shift is the move towards strengthening sub-national capacities and the
introduction of provincial Annual Operational Plans and provincial sector performance reviews.
ESP 2009-2013: Policy Areas and Core Breakthrough Indicators
Policy areas & Core Breakthrough Indicators
Current
status
Target in
2013
39.8
60
106
121
3,444 out of
5,462
4,464 out
of 5,462
Grade 3
n.a
70%
Grade 6
n.a
80%
Grade 9
n.a
90%
95%
95%
n.a
24
Policy 1: Ensuring equitable access to education services
CBI 1.1: Percentage of five year old children in ECE either in a formal or
community-based setting
CBI 1.2: Number of districts achieving a Primary Completion Rate of at
least 80%
Policy 2: Increasing education quality and efficiency
CBI: 2.1 Number of complete schools achieving repetition rate of less than
10%
CBI 2.2 Standardized national assessment on student achievements at
Policy 3: Institutional Development and Capacity Building for
Decentralization
CBI 3.1: Timely disbursement of PB to school
CBI 3.2: Annual sector performance review/ analysis at the provincial level
through reviewing provincial AOPs and ESP
Sector partnership is robust with coordination mechanisms in place and operational for a
number of years, including (i) Joint Technical Working Group (JTWG), chaired by the Minister;
(ii) Education Sector Working Group (ESWG) of donors; (iii) EU Education DoL chaired by EU;
and (iv) NGO Education Partnership (NEP).
A number of improvements were made to the sector coordination mechanisms in recent years,
including: (i) preparation of Education Congress aide memoire to strengthen mutual
commitments to jointly implement findings and recommendations from the Annual Congress; (ii)
organising the first MoEYS and development partners joint retreat; and (iii) completion of the first
Annual Operational Plan (AOP) in 2009 that sets out all programmes and activities supported by
government, bilateral and multilateral partners, and NGO resources.
The ESP 2009-2013 will continue to address the remaining challenges in the education sector in
general and those related to equity in particular. In addition to building on existing effective
strategies, the ESP 2009-2013 addresses the remaining challenges as follows:
•
ESP 2009-2013 includes Core Breakthrough Indicators (CBIs) that help to focus on
continued improvement of equity in education, e.g. districts reaching at least 80%
completion & number of schools achieving maximum 10% repetition.
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•
•
•
CBIs reflect priority areas where it is acknowledged that more progress is needed to
reduce equity gaps and are crucial for achievement of (C)MDGs.
Moving towards Sub-National Annual Operational Plans and provincial sector
performance reviews. This will allow for targeted strategies that are responding to the
actual situation in each province. Addressing disparities and focus on the most
disadvantaged often requires targeted interventions that sometimes require higher
investment (rights based and pro-poor remains at the core of the ESP)
Continue Comprehensive Analysis of Census 2008 data with particular emphasis on
Equity Issues and Out of School Children and Children At Risk of not completing Basic
Education
4. Education Sector Performance from an Equity Perspective
This section summarizes what the Cambodian education sector has achieved in terms of
access, quality and institutional/capacity development against the indicators and targets set out
in the ESP 2006-10. It will review the three main policy pillars of the ESP and then include a
separate section focusing specifically on equity issues.
4.1 Equitable Access to Education Services
The total number of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools has increased
significantly from 8,628 in School Year (SY) 2005/06 to 10,115 in SY2009-10. The increases at
different levels are as follows: primary schools from 6,277 in SY2005-06 to 6,665 in SY2009-10;
lower secondary schools from 911 in SY2005-06 to 1,172 in SY2009-10; and upper secondary
schools from 252 in SY2005-06 to 383 in SY2009-10.
Total enrolment in ECE programs has increased from 120,098 in SY2005/06 to 171,768 in
SY2009/10 for children aged three to five years old.
Total enrolment in primary schools has decreased from 2,558,467 in SY2005/06 to 2,239,757 in
SY2009/10 due to the decrease in the school age populations. In lower secondary schools it
has slightly decreased from 588,333 in SY2005/06 to 585,115 in SY2009/10. In upper
secondary schools enrolment has increased from 204,925 in SY2005/06 to 323,583 in
SY2009/10.
The net enrolment rates (NER) at the primary, and upper secondary school levels have
improved significantly. At the primary school level the NER has increased from 91.3 percent in
SY2005/06 to 95.8 in SY2009/10, and at the upper secondary school level from 11.3 percent in
SY2005/06 to 19.3 in SY2009/10 and at the lower secondary school level, the NER increased
from 31.3 percent in SY2005/06 to 31.9 in SY2009/10,
Total enrolment in pre-primary programs has increased from 13.6% in SY2005/06 to 20% in
SY2009/10 for children aged three to five. The coverage for five years old children has
increased remarkably from 27.3% to 37.6% for the same period. Comparing the enrolment for
the two groups, it is clear that the coverage for five year old children is slightly higher as public
preschools have prioritized this group preparing them for grade one. However, public preschools
accounted for only 5.8% of the enrolment of children aged three to five years old (20%).
The chart and Figure 1 below show that the primary NER achieved the set target of 95.5% total
and 95.5% for female. It is worth noting that the NER increases were especially significant in
rural area. Comparing the figures in SY2005-06 with SY2009-10, NER rose by 4.3 percentage
points in rural areas, while the increase in urban areas during the same period was around 2.1
percentage points.
With regard to provincial performance, almost all the provinces have reached more than 90
percent of the primary NER including three provinces with over 97 percent and only two
provinces (Ratanakiri and Stung Treng) reaching below 90 percent. Comparing the figures in
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SY2006-07 with SY2009-10 shows great improvement over the period. In SY 2006-07 there had
been seven provinces with NERs below 90 percent. On the other hand, some provinces show
decrease of their NER decrease.
Chart: Primary net enrolment rate in provinces
SY2009/10
SY2006/07
Green: more than 97%, Yellow: 90-97%, Red: less than 90%
In contrast with the expansion of primary education, access to secondary education has not
expanded as much as had been targeted in the ESP 2006-10 (see Figure 1). NER increased by
only 0.6 percentage points to 31.9% in the lower secondary level over the past five years, failing
to meet the ambitious target of 43% NER by SY2009-10. A similar minimal increase in the NER
in the rural areas was recorded, rising from 28.6% to 28.8% over the period. About 71.2% of
children aged 12-14 are not enrolled in secondary schools, which is mainly caused by high
levels of repetition and drop-out in primary schools and an acute shortage of secondary schools
in many areas. Of the 1,621 communes in the country, only 1,172 have lower secondary
schools. At the upper secondary level, expansion of access has made good progress: the NER
increased by 8.1% over the past five years.
Non Formal Education has introduced a number of programs namely: the literacy programs with
the enrolment of 52,078 students, 66.0% of whom were girls. This program also supported by
the various organizations and agencies with the enrolment of 12,642 students, which equaled to
24.3%. There were 197 Community Learning Centres with 4,397 participants (2,479 women)
attended the trainings, which equaled 270 classes, providing trainings on 12 skills. The re-entry
program was implemented in 22 capitals and provinces with 1,441 classes which equaled 57.6%
of annual plans. There were 26,649 students who attended this program, 46.6% of whom was
women and 23,845 of them, which equaled 95.4% were integrated into primary education. There
were 22 equivalency schools in which 904 students (27.8% of whom were girls) were at lower
secondary level and 9,626 students (35.3% of whom were women) were at upper secondary
levels.
In SY 2009-10, there were 76 higher education institutions (HEIs), of which 33 HEIs were public
and 43 were private. 51 HEIs were under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Youth and
Sport, of which 8 HEIs were public.
In the academic year 2009-2010, the total enrolment was 145,596 students, of which 51,596
were female. Compared with the figures for SY 2005-06, total enrolment had increased by 60
percent and by 80 percent for females. However, these enrolments are still below those
targeted, largely due to limited finance for HE and decrease in the percentage of scholarship
students compared with the number of students who passed the upper secondary education
level.
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In order to achieve the annual targets of the ESP and eventually to meet the longer-term goals
of CMDG and EFA, greater efforts are required, especially in further boosting coverage and
access to post-primary education.
4.2 Quality and Efficiency of Education Services
The charts and figure 2 below show the achievement of key indicators related to quality and
efficiency of education against the targets set out in the ESP 2006-10. As a system for
standardised learning assessment has yet to be established measuring actual achievement in
quality and outcomes of teaching and learning is a challenge. However, some proxy indicators
show that progress has fallen far short of the set targets. On average, primary repetition rates
are still high. Over the past five years the rates have decreased only by 1.2 percentage points.
Figure 2 shows that the survival rate from grade 1-6 almost achieved the target of 75%; it has
increased by 12.3% to 61.7% over the past five years. The completion rate in primary has nearly
met the target of 90% as well, reaching 83.2%.
At the provincial level, the situation also improved over the period. The number of provinces with
repetition rates greater than 10 percent in primary education decreased from 18 in SY 2005-06
to 10 in SY 2008-09. However, the repetition rates in four provinces (Kratie, Pailin, Pursat, and
Stung Treng) increased slightly during this period. The average drop-out rate was 8.3%
nationwide in SY 2008-09. The rate decreased by 3.3 percentage points over the period from
SY2005-06. At the provincial level, drop-out rates also improved. The number of provinces with
dropout rates greater than 10% decreased from 20 in SY 2005-06 to 9 in SY 2008-09. In only
one province (Pailin) did the drop-out rate increase over the period.
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Chart: Primary repetition rates by provinces
SY 2008/09
SY2005/06
Green: less than 5%, Yellow: 5-10%, Red: more than 10%
Chart: Primary drop-out rate in provinces
SY 2008/09
SY2005/06
Green: less than 5%, Yellow: 5-10%, Red: more than 10%
In secondary education the repetition rate was low, but the dropout rate was very high. The
completion rate in lower secondary education almost achieved the target and the one in upper
secondary education shows its progress more than the target.
During the period, the MoEYS published several educational policies such as the Child Friend
School Policy, the Policy on Education for Children with Disabilities, the Policy on School Health,
the National Youth Policy, the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy as well as the
Master Plan on Education for Children with Disabilities. In addition, the MoEYS made critical
revisions to the regulations covering public primary schools especially on grade repetition to
improve the efficiency of education.
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4.3 Institutional Development and Capacity Building for Decentralization
In terms of institutional development and capacity building, the following are the major
achievements over the past five years:

The Education Law was promulgated by the RGC on 08 December 2007. The MoEYS is
now preparing action plans to improve other legislative instruments.

The Gender Mainstreaming Strategic Plan 2006-10 was developed and implemented with
various training programs.

Instead of Priority Action Programmes, the MoEYS has introduced Programme-Based
Budgeting to strengthen its result-oriented management, having issued its guidelines 05
February 2008 on the functions and duties, the preparation of documents, and the
legislative instruments for those institutions that are involved in managing and using
Programme-Based Budgeting (PB) at the central and provincial/municipal levels.

Efforts have been made since 2008 to institutionalise the Annual Operation Plan (AOP)
which includes details of all MoEYS programmes, and since 2009, those of DPs as well..

The MoEYS developed the Ministry Action Plan in 2009 to implement the Public Financial
Management Reform Programme at the ministry level.

An Ethics code for the teaching profession was issued by Sub-Decree No. 126 GnRk/bk on
09 September 2008.

The organization and operation of the MoEYS was revised through the issuing of SubDecree No. 84 GnRk/bk on 09 June 2009.

The MoEYS drafted a Strategic Plan to decentralize the education function; it awaits the
finalisation of the national programme for democratic development.

The MoEYS is currently focusing its efforts on strengthening the monitoring system.

The Human Resource Management Information System has been completed and has
started functioning.
Figure 3 below shows some quantitative results related to institutional development and capacity
building against the targets set out in the ESP 2006-10, mostly concerning financial
performance. Firstly, the education sector’s share of the total government budget decreased
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from 18.5% in 2006 to 17.0% in 2009, although the actual budget amount increased each year.
The PB expenditure rate was only 50% in 2007 when it was first introduced, but has steadily
improved every year to reach 89% in 2009. Internal audit does not show encouraging progress
due to the revision of internal audit regulations. Technical assistance has not been reduced as
expected because of the launch of large-scale projects during the period. Indicators on female
staff do not show good progress except at the top leader level.
4.4 Sector Performance Related to Addressing Equity Issues
All available data sources, whether administrative data, such as the Education Management
Information System (EMIS), or survey/census type of data, such as the Census 2008, the
Demographic Health Survey 2005, or the annual Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey data
confirm that Cambodia has made substantial progress in terms of access to basic education.
There is also clear confirmation that disparities at national level have been reduced or even
complete removed, e.g. the gender disparity index based in primary net enrolment is 1.0.
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Figure 4: Comparison of Equity Gaps
From the above figure it becomes clear that:
1. The gender gap has become really small and is now even in the favour of girls
2. The gap between urban and rural areas is bigger but still rather small.
3. The biggest gap is related to wealth quintiles. The gap between the poorest and the richest is
much bigger than the gender and rural/urban gap. From the poorest quintile, only 58% attend
school while from the richest quintile it is 85%.
Another important gap exists when we compare geographical areas such as districts and
provinces.
Positive trends based on EMIS data, as reflected in table 1 and the two charts reflecting
progress made in narrowing gaps by gender and by urban/rural/remote area, are confirmed by
comparing the attendance rates from the Census 2008 and the DHS 2005 (figure 5).
Table 1: Trends of Access to Education Indicators from SY 2004/2005 to SY 2009/2010
(Source: EMIS)
School
Year (SY)
2004/2005
2005/2006
2006/2007
2007/2008
2008/2009
2009/2010
Net Admission rate
Primary (%)
Total
Girls
81.0
79.5
82.6
81.8
85.7
85.5
89.5
89.7
91.9
91.7
92.4
92.7
(NAR) in Net Enrolment rate (NER) in
Primary (%)
Boys
Total
Girls
Boys
82.5
91.9
90.7
93.1
83.5
91.3
89.7
93.0
85.9
92.1
91.0
93.2
89.3
93.3
93.3
93.2
92.1
94.4
94.0
94.8
92.0
94.8
94.6
95.0
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Figure 5. Attendace Rates by Age in 2008 and 2005 (Source: Census 2008 and DHS 2005)
When comparing attendance rates from the Census 2008 with the DHS 2005, it becomes clear
that good progress is made in getting children in school at an earlier age and that attendance
rates of children aged 13-17 have increased, suggesting that progress has been made to keep
children in school longer.
But some challenges still remain .....
Unfortunately, little or no progress has been made to increase attendance of 10-12 year old
children beyond the 90% of children in these age groups. This suggests that while access for
the most disadvantaged groups, including girls, children from the poorest quintiles, children from
rural and remote areas, has improved considerably, the system has not been able to attract the
last 10% of children. Comprehensive quantitative analysis of the Census 2008 is currently being
undertaken which will be complemented by additional qualitative research, to better understand
the different profiles of children who do not attend school or are at risk of not completing primary
and basic education. It becomes evident from the initial analysis that sub-national disparities are
still considerable and need to be addressed in a strategic and targeted manner.
In addition, and despite progress made, geographical disparities among districts and provinces
still remain. The map in figure 6 displaying attendance rates and non-attendance by district
clearly highlights existing geographical disparities in terms of attendance.
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Figure 6. Map displaying attendance rates of 6-11 year-olds by district and non-attendance
by province.
Similar patterns exist for other education related indicators, e.g. Pupil/Teacher Ratios. What this
clearly shows is that equity issues still exist and that there is need to look beyond the national
average of certain indicators to understand and be able to respond to the actual situation. The
ESP 2009-2013 has acknowledged these challenges and has adopted a stronger emphasis on
highlighting and addressing sub-national disparities.
5. South-South Partnerships
Cambodia is interested to strengthen the South-South ties and collaboration and be an active
partner in an effort to strengthen existing and establishing new partnerships in to share its own
experience and learn from other countries to ensure equitable access to quality basic education
for all children.
Specific areas of interest are the following:
1. Strengthening south-south partnership for education analysis,
experiences with EMIS, Census analysis, qualitative research
e.g.
exchange
Cambodia has a well established EMIS and capacities for data collection and analysis have
improved considerably during the past ten years. Cambodia has also acknowledged that even
though administrative data is key for informed decision making, the additional value of the
National Census and Surveys is high as it allows for more in-depth analysis of e.g. out-of-school
children. Cambodia is currently undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the Census 2008.
2. Sharing experiences with innovative pilots that address equity issues.
Cambodia has experience with a number of innovative pilots that have helped to reduce
disparities. One example is the bilingual education model for ethnic minorities in the
northeastern part of the country. Another example is the adoption of Child Friendly Schools as a
national policy and ongoing expansion to national scale. Other interventions include school
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feeding, provision of scholarships etc. Cambodia would welcome exchange of experience in
similar areas with other countries.
3. How decentralization and deconcentration can impact positively or negatively on equity
in education.
Cambodia is currently at the initial phase of a decentralization and deconcentration process as
part of national reforms and as part of education reforms in particular. This is a new area and
exchange with other countries in relation to D&D, including how it can impact positively or
negatively on equity in education is one of the most urgent areas for Cambodia to strengthen its
knowledge and understanding through exchange and learning from other countries’ experience.
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