Education & Culture
Cambodia Basic Education Project Fact Sheet
The U.S. government-funded Cambodia Basic Education (CBE) project began in February 2004 and is currently scheduled to continue until August 2007. The project is managed by Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International and the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth & Sport (MoEYS). To date, the project has received $7.2 million in USAID funding.
The main objective of the project is to improve the quality and relevance of basic education in Cambodia. Improving the curriculum and strengthening the capacity of the education service to deliver it (i.e. teaching, managing, monitoring and assessing) will lead to major improvements in academic achievements of children and an improved Cambodian education system. The CBE project is national and involves all basic education schools (grades 1-9) in Cambodia.
The CBE project has supported a revision of the National Curriculum which focuses on four main subjects: math, Khmer language, science and social studies. As mandated by the MoEYS, a Local Life Skills Program (LLSP) is a component of the new curriculum. The objective of LLSP is to give students the opportunity to learn skills that are relevant to their immediate local environment such as pre-vocational, personal development, and civic education skills. Such skills could entail HIV/AIDS training, agricultural skills, marketing and small business skills, sports competitions and many others. Inclusion of life skills in the basic education curriculum ensures that children learn information they can use in their immediate environment, encourages their continued attendance in school, and provides an opportunity for the participation of parents and the community in addressing local education problems.
To date, LLSPs have been implemented in 288 schools in 8 remote pilot provinces (Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng, Kratie, Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Pailin and Koh Kong). These schools competitively applied for $300 equipment grants to assist with LLSP start-up. Grant applications, completed by school-community committees, had to include work plans, detailed budgets, lists of beneficiaries, and plans for transparent management and sustainability. The application rules also required the identification of a volunteer teacher for the life skill class who would agree to teach the children at no pay. From 553 applications, the 288 best life skill plans were selected in October 2006. “Community Trainers” from the Cooperation for a Sustainable Cambodian Society (CSCS) organization helped the schools to implement the LLSPs by providing training and technical advice.
To date, Cambodia has over 7200 basic education schools (primary and lower secondary grades 1 to 9) with over 65,000 teachers and more than 3.5 million students. The CBE project partners, MoEYS and USAID continue to discuss how to implement the National Curriculum and Life Skills component effectively to ensure that Cambodian children have the best opportunity to learn.