More than 950 new students have enrolled at several of the Kingdom’s eleven New Generation Schools (NGS) for the new 2023-2024 academic year, while enrolments continue at the remaining schools.

Sao Chantha, principal of Chea Sim Prek Anchanh High School in Kandal province’s Mok Kampoul district, said on October 5 that 250 students were registered for the new year, 216 of them in grade 7, and an additional 34 in supplementary classes from grades 10 to 12.

Chantha added that following the principles of the NGS, no class could contain more than 36 students.

“The reason for such small class sizes is to ensure that teaching, learning and class management is as efficient as possible,” he explained.

He said NGS students would have between 40 and 43 hours of classes per week. The amount varied between grades, with all grade 12 students told to expect 43 hours of class per week.

Khuon Vicheka, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, told The Post that for the upcoming academic year, Phnom Penh’s Preah Sisowath High School has enrolled about 100 new students, in addition to its 1,200 existing ones.

The capital’s Preah Yukunthor High School has received 600 new students, plus 600 existing students.

She explained that since the NGS programme was established in 2016, the number of students has continued to increase. The programme was first offered to grade 7 students, with successive years seeing addition classes rolled out, and more schools added.

In its first year, there were 434 students. The most recent figures available showed 9,187 students across the 11 schools which offered the programme.

“The ministry cannot confirm the total enrolment of NGS students for the upcoming new school year, as the management of some of the NGS schools have not yet concluded the enrolment period,” she said.