Cambodia
Education Structure
Education System Structure and
Enrollments 2007
Source: World Bank EdStats, Cambodia Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport EMIS

Cambodia
Education Structure
• The large discrepancy between net and gross enrollments indicates a large number of over-age children attending school at that level.
Education Configuration and Enrollment
Percentages
Classification Level/Grade Ages
% Net % Gross
Enrollments Enrollments
2007 2007
Pre-primary Pre-school 3-5
Primary, grades 1-6 6-11
Lower Secondary, grades 7-9 12-14
Pre-university
Upper secondary, grades 10-
12 15-17
Tertiary
Vocational secondary, grades
10-12 15-17
Post secondary TVET 18-22
2 year degree
4 year degree
18-20
18-22
11%
89%
33.7%
12.5%
N/A
N/A
11%
119%
56%
23%
8%
5%*
* Includes all categories of tertiary
Source: World Bank EdStats, Cambodia Ministry of Education , Youth and Sport EMIS

Cambodia
Population Structure
• 69% of Cambodia’s population is below the age of 30.
• The education opportunities that students receive now will seriously affect the country’s economic situation for many years.
Cambodia's Population Structure 2007
15-29 years
32%
30-65 years
28%
0-14 years
37%
Source: International Labor Organization
65+ years
3%

Cambodia
Education Policy
Relevant Education Policies:
1. Child Friendly School Master Plan 2007-2011
2. Education Strategic Plan 2006-2010
3. Education Sector Support Program 2006-2010
4. Education for All National Plan 2003-2015
5. Non-formal Education Policy 2004-2015
6. EFA Fast Track Initiative Award, $56.4 million
2006-2009
All policies available at:

Cambodia
Education Access: Pre-university
•Lower and upper secondary levels have doubled in the last 10 years.
•Secondary enrollments are increasing at an average growth rate of
3.1% a year (2.4% at primary).
Pre-university Net Enrollments
50
40
30
20
10
0
100
90
80
70
60
Pre-primary Primary
Source: Cambodia Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport EMIS
Low Sec
1990 1997
2007
Upper Sec

Cambodia
Education Access: Tertiary
• Higher education enrollments at 5% are considerably below the
ASEAN regional average of 23%.
• Private universities and colleges outnumber public universities at a
2:1 ratio (private:40 and public: 22).
Tertiary Gross Enrollments
10%
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
4%
3%
4%
3%
2%
2%
1%
1%
0%
2002 2004
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, EFA-FTI Cambodia Report 2007
6%
3%
Male
Female
Total
2006
5%

Cambodia
Education Access: Gender
•Gender parity has almost been reached at the pre-university level (0.9).
•Girls comprise 47% of the student population in grades 1-12.
Net Enrollments by Gender
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1996
Primary Boys
Source: World Bank EdStats
2000
Primary Girls
2002
Secondary Boys
2007
Secondary Girls

Cambodia
Education Quality : Teachers
• Most primary teachers have a grade 9 education and no graduate work.
• However, almost 100% of them have received pedagogical pre-service training.
Education Attainment of Primary Teachers 2006
69%
25%
Primary
L. Sec.
U. Sec.
Graduate
W/o Ped
Trng
6%
Source: Cambodia Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport EMIS

48
46
44
42
40
Cambodia
Education Quality: Class Density
• Higher pupil-class ratios in secondary education underscore the inadequate number of classrooms necessary for the increasing numbers of students at this level.
Pupil-class Ratios
52
50
Primary
Lower Sec
Upper Sec
2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06
Source: World Bank (2006) Teaching in Cambodia

Cambodia
Education Quality: Completion
•Cambodia has had major success in increasing completion rates at the primary level with an average 12.6% increase every 2-3 years.
•Boys and girls now complete the level in nearly equal numbers.
Primary Completion Rates
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Boys
Girls
Total
1997 2000 2002 2004 2007
Source: World Bank EdStats

Cambodia
Education Quality: Completion
• Of secondary education completion rates, rural and poor students account for a very small number.
• The poorest population segment completes secondary education at a rate of less than 1%.
Primary-Secondary Completion Rates 2005
Disaggregated
140,0%
120,0%
Primary Secondary
100,0%
80,0%
60,0%
40,0%
20,0%
0,0%
Total Males Females Urban Rural Quintile 1 Quintile 5
Source: Cambodia Household Survey 2005
Student Characteristics

Cambodia
Education Quality: Testing
• Cambodia does not participate in an international achievement exam such as TIMSS.
• The national grade 9 exam tests students’ knowledge for matriculation to grade 10.
• The national grade 12 exam is used as a final completion test to grant high school diplomas or certificates (for those who fail the test) and as an entrance exam for university study.
• Grade 3 and grade 6 achievement tests are being trialed now for imminent national use.
• Results on the trialed grade 3 exam (2006) indicated that students performed poorly on grade-level math
(40%) and science (37%) knowledge.
Source: Kingdom of Cambodia Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (2006)

Cambodia
Education Equity: Gender/ Geographic Disparities
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
• Rural students account for 67% of primary enrollments.
• Remote area enrollments have doubled in the last ten years and account for 7% of total primary enrollments.
Primary Net Enrollments by Location
100
Total
Urban
Rural
Remote
1998 2000 2003 2005 2008
Source: Cambodia Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport EMIS

Cambodia
Education Equity: Income Disparities
• The poorest students have little success in accessing secondary and university level education.
90,0%
80,0%
70,0%
60,0%
Net Attendance by Income Quintile and Level 2005
85,70%
82,80%
62,90%
72,50%
78,90%
50,0%
40,0%
30,70%
30,0%
17,30%
20,0%
7,20% 11,50%
10,0%
0,05% 0% 0,12%
0,0%
Poorest 2
Primary
3
Income Quintile
Secondary
Source: Cambodia Household Survey 2005
4
0,67%
University
48,90%
8,80%
Richest

Cambodia
Education Efficiency: Expenditure
• Cambodia education expenditures are low by regional standards.
Public Spending on Education in
SE Asia % ( Most recent year 2000-2005 )
OECD
ASEAN
Bangladesh
Laos
Indonesia
India
Cambodia
Thailand
Philippines
0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0%
Source: World Bank Education at a Glance, Global Monitoring Report 2008
% Public
Spending
% GDP
25,0% 30,0%

Cambodia
Education Efficiency: Expenditure
•Spending two thirds of the education budget on primary education has paid off in high enrollments in grades 1-6.
•Cambodia now needs to allocate more funds to the growing secondary levels of the system.
Spending Pattern 2005
64%
11%
3%
1%
21%
Pre-primary Primary Secondary Teriary Other
Source: World Bank Education at a Glance

Cambodia
Education Efficiency: Repetition
• The low education expenditure level in Cambodia is in part reflected in the very high repetition rates.
Public Spending on Education and Primary Repetition
Rates ASEAN (most recent year 2000-2006)
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
%GDP
Repetition
Source: World Bank EdStats, UNESCAP

Cambodia
Education Efficiency: Repetition
•
Few Cambodian children seem to get through primary education without repeating grades.
• Grade 9 shows a slight increase and Grade 12 a huge rate of repetition probably because of students’ failure to pass matriculation exams.
Repetition Rates by Grade 2007-2008
25,0
20,0
15,0
10,0
5,0
0,0
Grade
1
Grade
2
Grade
3
Grade
4
Grade
5
Grade
6
Grade
7
Grade
8
Grade
9
Grade
10
Grade
11
Grade
12
Source: Cambodia Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport EMIS

Cambodia
Education Efficiency: Staff Ratios
• Staff ratios are steadily declining. Non-teaching staff prefer classification as teaching staff to maintain their pedagogy allowance and work a 10-month year.
Teaching/Non-teaching Staff Ratios
9
8
Primary
L. Sec
U. Sec
Total
7
6
5
4
3
2002 2004
Source: Cambodia Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport EMIS
2006 2008

Cambodia
Education Efficiency: Private Tutoring
•
Private tutoring is a common alternate occupation of teachers especially at the secondary level and in urban areas.
•
Participation in tutoring is strongly correlated with teachers’ levels of education, with those with upper secondary education significantly more likely to tutor.
•
In a 2006 survey, approximately 87% of lower secondary teachers reported being involved in tutoring.
•
Collection of ‘unofficial fees’ is also a common practice in the system despite education supposedly being free to all.
•
Informal costs cover illegal actions such as bribes to access services or gain preferential treatment, or legal actions such as procuring additional tuition.
•
Unofficial fee collection is most widespread in urban areas as students in rural areas are too poor to pay for extra services.
•
Despite viewing the practice as illegal, the Cambodian government acknowledges that low teacher salaries encourages them to be involved in the practice.
Source: World Bank (2005) Teaching in Cambodia

Cambodia
Education: Conclusion
Successes:
• Access: High rate of primary enrollment with gender parity.
• Quality: Dramatically increased grade six completion rates. 100% preservice trained primary teachers.
•
Equity: High primary enrollment rates from rural/remote areas.
• Efficiency: Low teaching/non-teaching staff ratios.
Challenges:
•
Access: Secondary enrollment challenges especially for rural/remote students. Low tertiary enrollments.
• Quality: Low education level of primary teachers. No systematic student academic assessment process in lower grades. High primary repetition rates.
• Equity: Inequitable spending patterns on secondary education levels.
Inequitable access to secondary and tertiary levels by poorest students.
• Efficiency: Low public expenditure rates on education. Wide-spread practice of unofficial fee collection by urban teachers.