Prime Minister Hun Manet announced a new initiative to strengthen school standards across Cambodia in a bid to achieve a uniform level of teaching quality nationwide.

The effort will start at the primary level, with 42 schools from nine capitals and provinces selected to draw on their experiences and improve quality.

Manet made the remarks during a meeting with teachers and parents at a primary school in Kampong Chhnang town, Kampong Chhnang province on July 27, where he inspected the implementation of key measures in model school standards.

"I focus on two other areas aside from knowledge: virtue and morality, such as hygiene, as well as life skills, arts and sports, adding an additional two hours of study," Manet stated.

Highlighting the varied practices among schools using the same curriculum, Manet underscored the need for a unified standard.

"The standard primary schools use the same curriculum but practice it in different ways," he said. "In the future, we will work to create [one] standard."

The prime minister noted the model of Wat Bo Primary School in Sala Kamroeuk commune of Siem Reap province’s Siem Reap district as a standard that could be applied to other schools and spread throughout the country.

He acknowledged the challenge of implementing a standard across all 10,000 public education institutions nationwide simultaneously. Therefore, he said the focus will start at the primary level, with the initial selected schools paving the way.

"We must not strengthen one school but strengthen all so that all schools have the same standards," Manet emphasised.

Pann Sra, principal of Russey Village Primary School in Phnom Penh's Meanchey district, shared his school’s improvement after implementing the standard.

He said the school environment has improved, from setting up gardens to ensuring clean bathrooms and enhancing teaching techniques.

"As for general management, I have strengthened the administrative work of teachers in the classroom, as well as focused on teaching techniques that increase the ability of students to achieve better than average results every year," Sra told The Post.

He added that the school enforces discipline among students, bans unhealthy food on campus and continues to work with the local community to educate their children.

Senior Minister Pich Sophoan, leading the national committee to promote key measures in education, highlighted the goal of improving education quality from kindergarten to secondary school. His remarks were made in May 2024 during a meeting with the parents and guardians of more than 400 students in Siem Reap.

He said the initiative aims to produce well-rounded students equipped with knowledge, skills and good morals and attitudes to meet societal and economic needs. 

"This is the beginning of a campaign to raise awareness of the implementation of [priority] measures, especially support activities for target schools, starting from Phnom Penh and extending to eight other provinces," said Sophoan.

Since March, the committee has recruited volunteer schools across nine provinces, including Phnom Penh, Kandal, Kampong Speu, Kampong Chhnang, Prey Veng, Kampong Cham, Takeo, Koh Kong and Siem Reap.

He said the committee supports the promotion of education through strengthening school governance, curriculum improvement and design, and extracurricular activities. These measures aim to enhance knowledge, discipline, ethics and student behaviour, with a focus on student health and nutrition. 

Sophoan stated that the team focuses on food quality control in schools and encourages the participation of parents, guardians and the community in education. 

"The positive results and shortcomings of each school depend on the support of trainers in the target provinces. Therefore, training to increase their leadership skills and responsibilities is an indispensable factor," he said.

In May, key measures at all target schools were implemented with the direct support of trainers in each target province, with extracurricular activities including an extra two hours per day starting in early June.

"We will encourage competition among teachers and target schools by assessing teachers' leadership abilities and the implementation of school activities," said Sophoan.

Wat Bo Primary School has gained recognition as a model school due to its high standards in leadership, quality of education, environment, community engagement and public service. The school's success in fostering discipline, providing a well-rounded education and supporting disadvantaged students sets a benchmark for other schools to follow, he added.