The Educational Process

Pre-primary education

Pre-school education provision is a growing public-private partnership. Pre-primary education is provided in 874 government pre-schools for about 50,000 children, alongside some 10,000 children in 364 community and private pre-schools (data refer to 1999). The community schools constitute around 70% of non-public provision. Attendance at community schools is generally tuition-free compared to the urban-based private pre-school, which levy a small charge. Demand for pre-school education appears to be growing slowly in the late 1990s, in part due to two-parent families working in urban areas, requiring daytime child minding.

Overall participation in pre-schooling is low. The estimated gross enrolment ratio for the 3–5 years age group is estimated at 5%. Girls represent roughly half of the enrolment. There are significant rural/urban disparities in availability of pre-school services. Urban areas with only 15% of the pre-school age population constitute around 25% of pre-school enrolment.

Officially pre-school education is organized as a three-step system for for 3–5-year-olds. In practice, it appears that most pupils receive only one or two years of provision. For example, roughly 70% of the pupils attend the later mixed/higher steps of the programme, due in part to the small size of pre-schools, which on average have 58 children, two or three staff and a children-teacher ratio of 26:1. It is reported that few of the pre-schools offer a double-shift.

The pre-school system has relied significantly on NGO support since the early 1990s. For example, in 1997 Government financing was around US$750,000 compared to NGO support of US$300,000 (around 30% of total). It is estimated that NGO financing has declined to some US$125,000 in 1999 although some elements of support may not be captured by aid information systems. Much of NGO support has focused on quality assurance such as the training of roughly 2,000 pre-school teachers and curriculum materials development.

The quality and effectiveness of pre-school provision is difficult to assess, in part because of a mix of objectives. These include school readiness, elements of pre-primary teaching, structured play and social development, initial hygiene and nutrition awareness and broader child minding and child care. For this reason, other ministries such as Women's and Veteran's Affairs, Health and Rural Development are also active in broader early childhood, care and development (ECCD). In all ministries, the quality assurance and regulatory mechanisms are under-developed.

The most fundamental longer-term questions are what should be the primary objectives of pre-school education and the role of Government in provision. Pre-school policy objectives include making children ready for primary school, formally regulating the age of entry through a reception class, and ensuring that older children in families are not prevented from attending primary school due to family child minding duties. Currently the objectives seem to be a mixture of these alternatives.

Primary and lower secondary education (basic education)

The objective of primary education is to focus on the development of children's personalities by helping to upgrade their mental and psychological abilities. Children will master reading, writing, speaking, listening and arithmetic, will be able to solve their immediate problems, and will cherish learning and labour. 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 main objective of (lower) secondary education is to enhance the knowledge that the students have already acquired at the primary 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, upon completion of 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.

The weekly lesson timetables are shown below:

Primary education (first stage of basic education): weekly lesson timetable

Lower secondary education (second stage of basic education): weekly lesson timetable

At primary level, the quality of learning and the learning environment is poor. It is estimated that a student spends approximately 14 years on average to complete the primary education cycle. This situation is particularly serious in rural and remote areas, where repetition and dropout rates are above the national average. In addition, a lack of teaching aids, a shortage of textbooks and teacher manuals, and traditional teaching methodologies affect learning achievements. In secondary education, gender gaps are wide, demanding urgent action. Low performance, centralized approaches, weak participation, and a lack of accountability, transparency and regulatory frameworks, all limit the capacity of planners and administrators to cope with the changing contexts and the new functions established by the government’s broader reform of public administration and finance.

The Government has achieved significant expansion of primary education opportunities in the past decade, with enrolment growing from 1.3 million in 1992 to around 2.2 million in 1999. This represents an enrolment growth of 70% over the period. At the same time, the number of schools has grown from around 4,500 in 1992 to 5,274 in 1999.

Differing data sources result in some variation in estimated overall gross and net enrolment rates. Official figures estimate the gross enrolment rate (GER) at 90% and the net enrolment rate (NER) at around 78%. Using recent census data, the figures are more encouraging with the GER at and estimated 100% and NER at around 86% in 2000. Despite this overall growth, there are significant geographical and inequities in access to primary education. The overall GER of 90% hides wide provincial variations. For example, in Takeo and Svay Rieng, GER is 100% compared to between 45% and 60% in more remote provinces (i.e. Ratanakiri, Koh Kong and Pailin). There are also significant urban, rural and remote area variations with GERs at 99.5%, 93.9% and 50.6% respectively. The net enrolment figures mirror these patterns.

There are also significant gender disparities in access, directly linked to urban/rural location, and significant variations between gross and net enrolments for girls due to a number of factors, including late age of entry, high repetition rates and early dropout. In particular, a noticeable trend is the decline in girls' enrolment across Grades I–VI, where the girls' share has fallen from 47% to 33%.

A number of factors have contributed to the somewhat disappointing overall enrolment rate and to the significant inequities in access. A key constraint is the high level of repetition, particularly in Grades I and II. For example, in 1998 the overall repetition rates were 41% and 25% in the first two grades, falling to around 4–8% in Grades V and VI. Late entry into primary school can severely hinder pupils' continued participation, for girls particularly. Another obstacle preventing continued progression and retention in primary school is the large number of primary schools, which do not offer a full range of primary Grades I–VI. Another constraint is the substantial number of over-crowded schools and temporary buildings used for primary education.

The Ministry of Education has not set minimum learning standards for primary education and nationally set grade-referenced achievement tests are not in place. Consequently it is difficult to reliably assess the quality and effectiveness of primary education. However a proxy indicator is the progression rate from Grade IV, based on teacher-made and marked tests. The overall trend is slightly upwards: in 1996/97, 70% of pupils passed these tests compared to 72% in 1998. There are some urban/rural variations. In 1998, urban school pass rates were 78% compared to 65% in rural areas.

Other proxy indicators of quality and effectiveness are not encouraging. For example, in 1998 the survival rate of the age cohort reaching Grade V (Grade VI was introduced in 1996) was only 45%. Dropout rates in 1997/98 ranged between 10% and 16%. There were also significant variations in overall dropout rates between urban and rural areas (urban: 9%; rural: 15%; and remote areas: 26.2%).

The allocation of instructional hours in the primary curriculum is somewhat inconsistent with the broad objectives of primary education, which are to improve literacy, numeracy and social and scientific competences. Officially, the number of instructional hours over primary Grades I–VI is 635 hours per year, but a recent study (1998) suggested that the real teaching time could be as low as 350 yearly hours. In addition, pupil attendance rates are variable. For example, using census data it was estimated that only 60% of 9-year-olds attend schools regularly. Anecdotal evidence also confirms that the attendance by teachers is very variable. All these factors undermine the potential quality and effectiveness of primary education.

The MEYS has made significant efforts to upgrade the quality of the primary teaching service. In 1996, the entry qualifications to the teaching service were increased to twelve years of schooling and two years of teacher training (in cities and towns; a 9 + 2 scheme is applied in remote areas). By 1999, over 90% of teachers had the required academic qualifications. However for the remote areas, the figure was only 71%. A vicious circle remains in place where by poor quality primary education and limited access to secondary education means that few teachers from remote areas are qualified for teacher-training college entry. Posting and retaining better qualified teachers from urban areas remains problematic due to ineffective incentives. A positive feature is the growing share of female teachers, especially in the remote areas.

There have been substantial improvements in staff utilization rates. Pupils-teacher ratios (PTRs) have risen from around 40 to 48, due to a combination of enrolment growth and containment of the primary teaching service. Nevertheless, there are substantial variations in PTRs across provinces ranging from 39:1 in smaller provinces to 51–54:1 elsewhere. These disparities are due to a combination of factors such as the extent to which schools do not offer the complete range of grades, the variable school size and variations in staff deployment practices within provincial education offices.

In the short to medium-term, the pressing priority is to improve the internal efficiency through measures that increase progression rates, reduce repetition and dropout whilst still assuring reasonable quality. A number of measures are proposed, including: (a) more rigorous regulation and promotion of enrolment at age 6; (b) a pre-grade 6 entry school readiness programme as part of the reorganized pre-schooling provision; (c) remedial classes that assure a reasonable balance between increased and/or automatic promotion; and (d) incentive programmes for the poorest that secure early and sustained attendance (e.g. school feeding and other educational materials support).

A second priority is to provide more equitable access to primary education. The proposed internal efficiency measures will contribute significantly, especially for girls in rural and remote areas. A key strategy will be to implement the plan for complete Grades I–VI primary schools by: (a) providing primary schools in many villages without a school; (b) adopting a broad policy of double-shift classroom use where demand justifies it; (c) introducing multigrade teaching in small remote schools; and (d) constructing additional facilities in severely overcrowded primary schools.

A third short to medium-term priority is to take steps to improve the equity and quality of primary education. Improving quality will require a combination of a more efficient use of teaching and learning resources and also improved governance, management and accountability between service providers and the public. To improve the teaching-learning process, key measures could include: (a) steps to enhance the number of instructional hours through extending the school year and/or use of vacation classes; (b) a review of the curriculum and instructional materials to devote a greater share of teaching time to three or four core subjects; and (c) targeted incentives to head teachers and qualified teachers prepared to work in schools with more difficult circumstances.

Secondary education

Currently, secondary education opportunities in Cambodia are limited. Official 1998 estimates are that the gross enrolment rates in lower secondary (Grades VII–IX) and upper secondary (Grades X–XII) are 23% and 8.7% respectively. The latest data for 1999/2000 suggests a gross enrolment rate of 22.9% in lower secondary and a rise to around 11.6% in upper secondary. Net enrolments for lower and upper secondary are low at an estimated 6.4% and 4.8% respectively in 1998/99.

Overall enrolment trends in secondary education have been disappointing. For example, in 1987 the lower secondary enrolment (at that time, Grades VI–VIII) was 330,000 students, declining to 224,000 students in 1993. Since then, enrolment levels have been stagnant with the current enrolment at 233,000 students. For upper secondary, the trend has been rising upwards from 19,000 in 1986 to 62,000 in 1993, and to 108,000 more recently. The broad trend has been an increase in the proportion of upper secondary enrolments. It should be noted that the shift from a 5 + 3 + 3 structure to a 6 + 3 + 3 system has distorted the figures to some extent and understates the gains in overall participation.

There are significant gender and geographical inequities in enrolment. Females represent only one-third of both lower and upper secondary enrolment. There are also significant provincial and district variations. For example, there are 32 districts out of 183 (17% of the total) without a lower secondary school. There are also 285 commune-level clusters out of 705 (around 40% of the total) without a lower secondary school.

There are significant urban/rural disparities in provision. In 1998, of the 308,000 secondary school students, 172,000 (or 56% of total) were in urban schools compared to 135,000 (43%) in rural areas. Less than 1% of students were located in remote secondary schools. In contrast, it is estimated that roughly 80% of the population live in rural areas, demonstrating that the rural population is significantly under-served.

There has been a trend to move towards consolidated Grades VII–XII schools. For example, in 1993 there were only 33 Grades VII–XII schools, which has increased to 134 schools by 1999. In contrast, the number of lower secondary schools has remained roughly constant at around 350–360. The number of stand-alone upper secondary schools offering only Grades X–XII has declined to only six such schools in 1999. In other words, where secondary schooling is available, there is a growing proportion of students with access to a complete secondary education. For example, in 1998 of the 308,000 pupils enrolled in secondary education roughly 177,000 (around 58%) were located in complete phase Grades VII–XII provision.

Currently the objective of the secondary education system is largely academic and quality/effectiveness is defined as primarily preparing students for further studies, especially higher education. Student performance is currently assessed through a provincially set and managed Grade IX examinations, followed by a national Grade XII examination, organised through the Examinations Office. Selection for higher education is on the basis of subsequent admissions test set by individual university institutions. In the absence of agreed minimum standards of performance, it is difficult to assess the validity and reliability of these quality measures, especially in Grade IX where national level moderation is under-developed.

The expansion of secondary teacher-training provision has improved the academic qualifications profile of the teaching force. The number of graduates teaching Grades X–XII constitute 70% of teachers deployed at this level. In Grades VII–IX, the figure drops to around 5%. For the small number of teachers who teach Grades VII–XII (roughly 10% of total), the proportion of graduates is around 45%. Interestingly, there are 568 graduates who are employed as non-teaching staff, mainly as school directors.

Nevertheless, a number of other factors suggest that the effectiveness of the secondary teaching force is not optimal. Grades VII–IX and Grades X–XII teachers only teach 14 hours per week compared to 18 hours per week amongst Grades VII–XII teachers. In addition, there is evidence that often teachers are not teaching their subject of specialization. For example, in foreign languages, only 30% of classes are taught by trained English and French teachers. In more vocational subjects (e.g. home economics, earth science, agriculture), the figure drops as low as 5–15%. These patterns are similar across lower and upper secondary levels. Training secondary school teachers to be able to teach at least two subjects is a key measure in not only improving staff deployment but also for quality improvement.

Little reliable information is available on the actual instructional hours for secondary school students. The official instructional hours, based on students attending school both mornings and afternoons is around 950 hours per annum. The reality in many schools may be different. The MEYS reports that 130 schools operate in two shifts (27% of total). In these cases, actual instructional time could be as low as 450–500 yearly hours. This is particularly a problem in the urban areas where 69 out of 152 secondary schools (45%) operate in two shifts.

The internal efficiency of secondary education is comparatively much better than for primary schooling. The transition rate from primary to secondary is roughly 40% for both boys and girls. The transition rate from Grade IX to Grade X is roughly 70%. Dropout and repetition rates across Grades VII–XII are usually under 10%. In other words, once students have made the crucial transition from primary to secondary education, the chances of retention and completion are high. An immediate priority is therefore to increase access to lower secondary education as a first step in broadening secondary education opportunities.

A pressing issue is to improve the deployment of secondary teaching and non-teaching staff. The average students-teacher ratio is 16.4:1 for lower secondary schools and 23.1:1 for upper secondary schools. The students per staff ratios (including non-teaching staff) are 13.4 and 15.8 respectively, highlighting the large proportion of non-teaching staff in secondary schools.

An associated issue is the uncertain efficiency in the use of deployment of the large numbers of non-teaching staff in secondary schools. Currently non-teaching staff constitutes 3,780 of the 17,220 staff in lower secondary schools, or 22% of total. In upper secondary, the figures are 1,430 and 5,900 respectively. By international standards, this represents a very high proportion of non-teaching staff. A recent MEYS survey (1999) on the deployment of administrative staff in secondary schools highlighted that job responsibilities for non-teaching staff were frequently uncertain, the expected outcomes of their work uncertain and workloads were extremely variable. There was also significant overlap between the stated duties of non-teaching staff in secondary schools.

A recent MEYS analysis reinforces the need to rationalize the provision of non-teaching staff. School principals and vice principals represent 1,160 of the total non-teaching cadre (roughly 18% of total). In contrast, there is a tradition of a surveillant post with responsibilities for class discipline and collection/collation of end-of-term student marks. There are over 2,800 surveillants in the system. There is a clear opportunity to make staff efficiency gains by allocating these responsibilities to the classroom teacher as would be the case in most countries. Most of these surveillants are trained teachers, often comparatively experienced ones, who could have more impact in the classroom.

A strategic priority is to assure greater equity in the expansion of lower secondary education. A number of critical measures are required, including: (a) targeted facilities expansion, especially in the identified under-served districts and clusters; (b) targeted incentives for qualified teachers to work in rural and remote secondary schools; and (c) poverty indexed scholarships/incentives programmes for children from the poorest families and girls, to offset real and perceived opportunity costs related family work, transport and accommodation.

A crosscutting priority is to ensure that the secondary school curriculum and programmes produce suitable lower and upper secondary school graduates for the labour market and for effective participation in social and community life. At the same time, the related programmes need to be affordable and sustainable as enrolment grows. In the current economic and labour market climate, there is a strong argument for simplifying the Grades VII–IX curriculum around core subjects, with a life skills component. In making these decisions, the MEYS should take into account both the costs and technical implications for the provision of instructional materials and teacher training. In summary, a simpler curriculum would provide economies of scale in textbook provision and teacher training programs.

A related priority is to examine measures for cost-effective diversification of the upper secondary curriculum. Caution is warranted in introducing a two-track academic and vocational stream system, as parents and students frequently see the vocational stream as a second best option. Employers generally prefer trainable secondary school graduates with the necessary numeracy, literacy and scientific skills to learn on the job or allow them to benefit from post-school training. Curriculum options could include: (a) a core curriculum linked to a limited number of electives; (b) schools introducing private provision for particular electives (e.g. computing, accounts, foreign languages); and (c) a core curriculum and electives alongside short work experience or life skills programmes offered in the vacation.

Another priority is to rapidly expand secondary teacher-training provision. The current secondary teacher-training capacity will be unable to generate the teachers required in the next 5–10 years. A pressing issue is to examine and implement options for increasing the output of trained secondary teachers. Options include: (a) shortening the in-college period for training in regional teacher-training colleges (RTTCs) from two years to one year, linked to a school-based support program; (b) introducing a school-based, distance-learning programme for teachers appointed after completing Grade XII; (c) introducing a new training programme in RTTCs and primary teacher-training colleges (PTTCs) to train Grades I–IX teachers; (d) selectively expanding the facilities and teaching staff at RTTCs, PTTCs and the Faculty of Pedagogy to deliver a two-year programme for more students.