Global Education Executives

CAMBODIA

The Kingdom of Cambodia sits between Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam in mainland Southeast Asia. With a population of 17 million as of 2024, it is ruled by the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) under a prime minister. As a country that has undergone many governmental changes—including colonization in the 1900s, UN governance, and now a one-party state after a recent coup d’etat—Cambodia has consequently experienced many disruptions to the lives of the people. The United Nations has designated Cambodia as a “Least Developed Country” due to its poor socioeconomic development.

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Unfortunately, the poor living status in this country has made access to education hard to come by, especially in rural areas. The education system has undergone significant changes after Cambodia’s colonization era, but there are still many challenges present for the journey towards quality education. For example, although the government has seen good progress in enrolling their youth into school, the numbers still fall behind global averages. As is the case with most undeveloped countries, the setback in educational progress is mainly due to poor teaching quality (resulting in shortened school days), lack of teachers and resources, and substandard living conditions (including a lack of basic infrastructure and access to water) that make it hard for students to both go to school and be prepared for school. Additionally, Cambodian youth in particular often face pressure to drop out of school in order to focus on supporting their families, prioritizing mere survival over education.

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Despite this, the government has allocated a lot of their budget towards education, clearly hoping to improve in this area with the right resources. For example, in the past decade, the enrollment of students in primary school has surpassed 97 percent. Organizations like UNICEF continue to work hard towards Cambodia’s future, collaborating with different organizations to encourage parents and students alike to remain enrolled in school. They also train teachers and personnel for the role and make sure that students with disabilities or those from rural areas especially have access to education. Private organizations such as Love Without Boundaries (LWB) have also stepped up to the role of bettering Cambodia’s education system, having enrolled over 700 students in their Cambodia program and providing them with not only quality education but basic nutritional needs as well. 

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The government is seeing steps in the right direction, and with the right global partnerships, provision of basic needs, and training of personnel, the future of Cambodia has hope towards quality education.
 

Resources

1. Love Without Boundaries. (Sept 19, 2023). Cambodia’s Education System: History, Challenges, and LWB’s Innovative Approach. Love Without Boundaries Organization. https://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/blog/cambodias-education-system-history-challenges-and-lwbs-innovative-approach/

2. UNICEF. (n.d.). Cambodia: Education. UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/cambodia/education

3. UNCTAD. (n.d.). UN list of least developed countries. UN Trade and Development. https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/list

4. Wikipedia. (n.d.). Cambodia. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia