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A student shows Ambassador Mussomeli an exhibit for a life skills project that teaches mushroom growing.
Students Learn "Life Skills" With U.S. Support
Borei Kamakor 2 Primary School, Ratanakiri Province
March 19, 2007
During his recent trip to Ratanakiri province, U.S. Ambassador Joseph A. Mussomeli had the opportunity to visit with students at Borei Kamakor 2 primary school where children are participating in the "Local Life Skills Program." The Local Life Skills Program is a component of the Cambodia Basic Education project, funded by USAID and jointly managed by Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and the Cambodian Ministry of Education. The objective of the Local Life Skills Program 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. At Borei Kamakor 2 primary school, children are learning concrete post molding skills.
As mandated by the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, life skills are a required component for grades 1-9 in the newly revised national curriculum, along with Math, Khmer language, Science, and Social Studies. 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 increases the quality and relevancy of what children learn, encourages their continued attendance in school, and provides an opportunity for the participation of parents and the community in addressing local education problems.
Borei Kamakor 2 primary school is one of 288 schools in eight remote provinces that competitively applied for and was selected to receive a $300 grant to buy equipment for the chosen life skill activity. Each school and its community worked together to identify the life skill they wanted their children to learn, and they cooperate on the management of it. One requirement of the program is the identification of a volunteer instructor for the life skill class (either from the school staff or community) who has agreed to teach the children at no pay.