New school built by Plan International Cambodia in Stung Treng provine. PLAN
Plan International Cambodia assisted with the construction of the new Kaing Cham Secondary School located in a remote area in Kaing Cham commune of Stung Treng province’s Thala Barivat district in order to ease difficulties for students in attending school after their primary years.
The school was constructed at the request of the provincial Department of Education, Youth and Sport and was inaugurated on January 12.
Stung Treng province’s secondary education system is still in need of improvements when compared to national level data. The transition rate from primary to secondary school was 79.2 per cent compared to 84.3 per cent at the national level, according to the education management information system.
The organisation said this support will help increase the transition rate from primary to secondary school, increase retention rates and the completion rates of secondary school students, especially girls and disadvantaged children in the province’s remote areas.
Yi Kim Than, Plan’s acting country director, said supporting students in continuing their studies in secondary school and to complete the basic 9-year education is part of the organisation’s commitment to supporting achievement of the sustainable development goals set by the government as well as being part of Plan’s five year country strategy.
“[Plan] will continuously invest in education by responding to the urgent needs of girls and boys and disadvantaged children in the remote areas,” Kim Than said.
Chan Samphors, deputy director of the provincial education department, said the organisation has provided a great deal of help to the sector through the construction of infrastructure in remote areas.
He added that when there was no secondary school in the commune, students had to go elsewhere, which was difficult because the roads were rough, crossed with rivers and the nearest school was a long distance away.
The newly established Kaing Cham Secondary School has three classrooms and is equipped with both boys and girls restrooms. According to data gathered on the first day of school on January 12, there were a total of 99 students attending classes there to begin the new academic year.
