Prime Minister Hun Sen will meet with over 1,700 students who passed the high school diploma exams with an “A” grade on May 3, following an initial meeting scheduled for February 28 which was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hun Sen confirmed the date on April 27 while presiding over the closing ceremony of the annual conference of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. However, he has not detailed where the meeting would take place.

The premier also made several recommendations to improve the education system in Cambodia, such as strengthening it to be more resilient and proactive in order to respond to the changing trends locally and internationally.

He also recommended strengthening the education system’s capacity by ensuring good leadership, human resources management, reform of teacher training institutions and promoting operational financing.

“Continue to upgrade digital education through digital integration at all levels of education, equipping lab rooms with the digital devices necessary at education institutions and promoting digital capacity for teachers,” he said.

Hun Sen also recommended that the ministry’s officials prepare for the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) which Cambodia will host next year.

He said that at all schools, health and sanitation must continue to be promoted, including following Covid-19 prevention measures such as the three dos and three don’ts.

Education minister Hang Chuon Naron said at the closing of the meeting that more than 1,200 education officials from across the country had attended the three-day annual education conference from April 25-27, with 200 attending in-person and the other 1,000 virtually.

To continue the sustainability of learning and teaching, Chuon Naron said the ministry had initiated mixed methods of learning and teaching such as through digital platforms, distance learning and remote teaching.

He said schools had reopened in piecemeal fashion before, but now all schools across the country can resume teaching in full classrooms without having to split the students into shifts.

Chuon Naron mentioned many initiatives that the ministry is taking on, including creating a “cyber university” to promote the online connection between students and professors and to link with ASEAN Cyber University as well as connect with the private sector job market for students.