A 10-day workshop on school community strategies for target schools under the General Education Improvement Project (GEIP) running from December 22-3 in Siem Reap. MOEYS
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport is holding a 10-day workshop on school community strategies for target schools under the General Education Improvement Project (GEIP) in Siem Reap.
The ministry said the workshop – running from December 22-31 and being attended by around 200 people from target schools – is divided into three sessions to discuss and share knowledge on the project to improve general education in Cambodia.
“There are two pillars that lead to poverty reduction, one of which is broader economic transformation by open economic opportunities and increased middle incomes, while the other is a focus on the need to reduce stagnant poverty,” it said.
The projects to improve general education have contributed to the responses to key reforms, such as public financial management reform, decentralisation and deconcentration reform, and public administration reform, it added.
The new projects in particular serve as foundations for the two education policies making up the Education Strategic Plan 2019-2023.
Ministry spokesman Ros Soveacha said on December 25 that the project to improve general education is implemented with the aim of improving quality and equity in general education.
This is intended to achieve minimum standards in the target areas, while providing immediate and effective assistance in response to issues that arise.
He said the project is being implemented over five years, from 2022-2026, at 1,633 target schools across the Kingdom, with the 10-day workshop a key part of it.
“The project to improve general education consists of four main goals. The first is that the learning outcomes of students benefiting from the project are improved, while target schools will achieve minimum standards in each sub-sector.
“The third is that primary school teachers practise effective teaching in reading and mathematics, and pay attention to gender equity, while the fourth is the improvement of the learning environment, with classrooms and laboratories being built.
In April 2022, the ministry announced the five-year GEIP Implementation Working Group 2022-2026, supported by loans from the World Bank and the Global Fund for Education (GPE).
Tan Vicheka Raingsy, director of the Bakong district education office who attended the workshop, said he found it invaluable in improving the quality of general education in Cambodia.
He said the school community strategy will help target schools at all levels in his area cooperate and strengthen community participation.
The project will also support the efforts to eradicate poverty by helping all children finish school, which will in turn enabled them to secure better jobs and enjoy improved living standards, he added.
“I will fully implement this strategy in our district, extending it to other schools besides target ones, to improve local education services,” he said.
In 2021, Cambodia had around two million young students studying at some 8,000 primary schools, according to statistics and the educational indicators of both public and private educational institutions from 2017 to 2021.
More than 300,000 students were studying in over 1,300 secondary schools nationwide, while nearly 700,000 high school students were enrolled at more than 700 schools across the country.
