The Situation

With the adoption of a new constitution in 1993, Cambodia mandated the state provision of free primary and secondary education to all citizens. While technically required by law, many barriers exist to achieving this reality; in the 2009-2010, the net enrollment rate in secondary education was still only 43% (Ministry of Education, Youth & Sport, 2010).  While this is an improvement over the 2005-2006 figure of 31.3%, there is still a ways to go to achieving the desired enrollment goals.

Some of the biggest challenges in the Cambodian system are poverty and the poor quality of the education system as a whole. Especially in rural and remote areas, children are often required to work in the home, leading to high dropout rates between primary and secondary school. The lack of adequately trained teachers and educational facilities also cause grade repetition rates to remain high, which in turn has been shown to correlate with higher dropout rates (USAID, 2011.)

When it comes to the UN’s International Human Development Indicators, such as life expectancy and average number of years of schooling, Cambodia is ranked well below the global average on most. Collectively, these factors make up a nation’s Human Development Index (HDI). Cambodia’s HDI is 0.543, placing Cambodia 138th out of the 187 countries scored (United Nations Development Program, 2013).

Cambodia’s Gender Inequality Index is 0.473, indicating that there is a significant disparity between men and women in society. This is a major challenge when it comes to equitable access to education for all students. As seen in the chart to the right, in both lower and upper secondary school, the number of male students enrolled is significantly higher. This is a reflection of the societal reality of gender inequality in Cambodia.

Lack of Coordination

One of the major challenges preventing the successful implementation of nationwide policies in Cambodia is the lack of coordination between the various governing bodies involved in the educational system. For example, more than ten separate government agencies are responsible for nearly 100 higher education institutions (HEIs) (Sen, 2013.) This lack of coordination also leads to an inefficient use of resources. As one government official noted, “fragmentation of the higher education system in the presence of too many parent ministries without an umbrella body makes it difficult to invest in (…) improvements because scant means have to be split among many.” (Sen, 2013 p. 27) This makes it very difficult to put policy into practice on the ground level.

For a more detailed discussion of the structure of the Cambodian government ministries involved in education, please see Overlapping Sectors and Quality Control.