Education
Although Cambodia has made considerable progress in expanding basic education in recent years, high drop-out and low retention rates and an acute shortage of trained teachers, especially in remote rural areas, remain major concerns. The number of primary teachers has increased by only 7 percent since 1993, compared with a 67 percent increase in enrolment, resulting in a high pupil-teacher ratio of 56:1[1] . A key factor contributing to high drop-out and low retention rates is the high proportion – 40.5 percent – of “incomplete” schools, which are unable to offer the full six years of primary education.
With the abolition of school fees in 2001, the primary school net enrolment rate has increased significantly over the past few years, though enrolment rates remain relatively low in Rotanak Kiri, Mondol Kiri and Kaoh Kong.
According to Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) data, WFP’s School Feeding Programme has had a positive impact on the net enrolment rate of students in WFP-assisted primary schools. In the 2005-2006 school year the net enrolment rate for districts covered by WFP was 92 percent (91.23 percent for female pupils), while the nationwide net enrolment rate was 91.3 percent. The attendance rate for the 2005-2006 academic year was also very high. In 2005-2006, girls in all WFP-assisted schools attended 97.5 percent of the school days, while boys attended 97 percent. In 2005-2006, out of the total number of children in grade 6 enrolled in WFP-supported schools, 91.89 percent of girls and 90.29 percent of boys successfully completed and passed grade 6. The gender ratio increased from 0.82 to 0.92 in existing schools, and from 0.86 to 0.95 in new schools, during the academic years 2003-2004 and 2005-2006, respectively. This represents an increase of 10 girls for every 100 boys in existing schools and 9 girls for every 100 boys in new schools.
The problems that hamper increased education enrolment are multifaceted. Poverty is naturally the biggest obstacle to the education of children particularly in rural areas. The children of the poor are deprived of their opportunities for schooling because they are needed for household chores or income earning jobs to support the families and their young siblings. Other reasons for limited schooling among children of the poor include the inability of the household to pay for school uniforms / books, children needed at home and distance to school, among others. Thus any intervention aimed at increasing education opportunities would have to address poverty (and vice-versa).
The UNDP Human Development Report for 2007, while noting that the Cambodian government has made considerable progress over the 6-year period of 1998 – 2004, warns that “real achievements in education remain elusive”. If Cambodia is to meet its Millennium Development Goal Target then the progress achieved over the past five years needs to be maintained and increased.
