Levelling the Playing Field

ISSUES May 20, 2013/ISSUE 1/Price $1/4000RIEL Education CAMBODIA DisadvantgedLevelling Students Fight the for their Playing Education to Assure Field their Future EDITORIAL “EDUCATION IS THE ONLY WAY Education TO GET RID OF POVERTY” CAMBODIA Department of Media and Communication Royal University of Phnom Penh Russian Blvd, Phnom Penh Tel: (855) 23 884 408 ducation has been playing a cru- Email : [email protected] cial role in developing as well as experts and professionals involved in the developed countries in helping to field If Cambodia wants to provide edu- Supervisor: Ellie Dyer Ereduce poverty and boost the economy. cation for all, there needs to be more re- Cambodia is trying to improve its educa- sources for and more attention paid to Design Supervisors: Colin Meyn, Cristine Schmutzler tion sector and provide education to its disadvantaged groups of students. population in order to alleviate poverty Cambodia’s education sector was de- Designer: Mech Dara and build up its economy. Although the veloped during the 1950s and the 1960s, country has made remarkable improve- the glorious and prosperous era of Prince Editors: Michelle Vachon, Stav Zotalis ments—high enrolment rate in primary Norodom Sihanouk’s regime. During that school and an increase in the number of short period, the country saw many so- Contributor: Ty Samphors Vicheka both public and private schools—there cioeconomic advances in education and still is a lot of work to be done to help many schools, universities and research Photos: Mech Dara disadvantaged students such as the poor, laboratories built. In addition, teachers children with disabilities, ethnic minori- were getting salaries that enabled them to Advertising & Sales Tel +855 (0)23 228 218 ties, girls and children who live in remote support their families. All this contribu- Email: [email protected] areas. ted to creating high-quality education. This month focuses on some of tho- However, the Khmer Rouge regime Printed with the kind support of Michelle se disadvantaged children in an attempt completely destroyed the formal educa- Vachon and Stav Zotalis to determine their access to education: tion system between the 1975 and 1979. Published May 20, 2013 children of families relocated to a remo- After the Pol Pot regime, the country star- te site, children with intellectual disabili- ted to rebuild its education system in the ties, and children who are deaf, blind or 1980s, with schooling opportunities pro- have low vision. This overview was com- gressively expanding. piled through series of interviews in the Compiling the magazine involved a field with parents and children, teachers, lot of challenges and difficulties. Some experts, government officials and staff of government officials and organizations relevant NGOs. were very helpful and provided support This describes the situation of some of that made these stories possible. At ti- those disadvantaged children and whether mes, there was no countrywide informa- they have access to education: children of tion or statistics available, which made it families moved to a remote relocation difficult to get an overview of a situation. site, children with intellectual disabilities, And some organizations were so eager and children who are deaf, blind or have to protect the children they care for that low vision. Compiled through series of they tended to distrust anyone wishing interviews in the field with parents and to know about them or their work, which children, teachers, experts, government complicated coverage. ON THE COVER officials and staff of relevant NGOs, the This magazine is a modest attempt to magazine also includes information on draw attention to children whose schoo- Art Vanny, a special education teacher of where parents may get information and ling is jeopardized by providing accurate Rabbit School in Phnom Penh, teach stu- help for their children. information in a balanced way meant to dents with intellectual disabilities. The stories in the magazine describe both inform and appeal to the reader. It children’s living and learning conditions, is hoped that it can play a small part and Below, illustrations are from the book highlighting the difficulties they face as it serve as a bridge between readers and stu- “Child Friendly School Policy” published is important to bring this to the attenti- dents, parents, teachers, government offi- by the Ministry of Education to train on of the public through comments from cials and NGOs in the education sector. teachers. 2 3 PHOTO OF THE MONTH Education CAMBODIA Content 6 Stepping Up As Cambodia aims to reach education for all by 2015, engaging disadvantaged youth is one of its greatest challenges 8 Out of the Dark For the first time in Cambodia, teachers are reaching out to special-needs students and helping them fit into society 14 Young and Relocated The Impact of eviction on children’s education 19 Indigenous Groundbreakers Success educating indigenous children 20 Against All Odds Deaf students pursue education with determination 24 Cambodia Challenges to Run Pre-school The challenge for teachers to teach pre-school students 26 Staying Focused The everyday challenge of blind and low vision students 29 Interview Advantages of Non-Formal Education 30 Photos People with disabilities to live, learn and work with hope 32 Taking a Break Schools throughout Cambodia enjoy some well-deserved time off for Khmer New Year 33 Opinion Start with the teachers 34 English Monthly Vocabulary, tips, idioms, quizes, wishwords, and web scholar- Students on their way to success, ship Pong Toek High School, Phnom Penh 4 5 As Cambodia aims to reach education for all by 2015, engaging disadvantaged Stepping Up youth is one of its greatest challenges. Mech Dara Left: Schoolchildren play during a break at Hun Neang Boeng Trabek Khangkoeut primary school. Center: A disabled boy who does not go to school sits outside of By Mech Dara his house in Kandal province. Right: Students take notes during class at a primary school in Kompong Speu province. ince the 1990s, Cambodia has step- and resources of every sort. principles of freedom of education and ped up its effort to improve its edu- According to the 2013 UN Develop- equal access to schooling, in order to offer 50 percent, the report says. Then between and youth have equal opportunity to ac- dents with disabilities have the right to en- cation sector and make education ment Program’s Human Development each citizen the equal opportunity for the grade six and grades seven to nine, fees cess quality education consistent with the rolment in public and private educational Savailable to all students. Report “The Rise of the South: Human betterment of his/her living condition.” jump 76 percent, which puts lower secon- Constitution and the Royal Government’s establishments. Laws were adopted and policies es- Progress in a Diverse World,” the Cambo- Moreover, Article 68 of the same chap- dary school beyond the reach of many pa- commitment to the UN Child Rights The Ministry of Education and NGOs tablished, spelling out the government’s dian government only spent 2.6 percent of ter specifies that “the State shall ensure for rents and children. Convention, regardless of social status, have worked together to develop and im- belief that every child in the country has its gross domestic product on education all citizens free primary and secondary This leads a large number of students to geography, ethnicity, religion, language, plement training programs for teachers a right to education whether he is rich or between 2005 and 2010. education at public schools and citizens drop out of school between grades six and gender and physical form.” so they can identify and educate children poor, has a physical or intellectual disa- Moreover in its 2013 budget, the Cam- shall receive schooling for at least nine nine, the report says. In addition, poverty This also applies to students with phy- with physical and intellectual disabilities. bility, is of Khmer origin or belongs to a bodian government set aside only 9 per- y e ar s .” forces many 12-to15 year-old students to sical and intellectual disabilities. In 2008, Those programs remain modest due to minority group, lives in a city or a remote cent of its budget for education: It alloca- However the Ministry of Education’s start working full time to help their fami- the Ministry of Education adopted the budget constraints and limited resour- area. As the government has stated many ted 1,119 billion riel, or $279.9 million, to lack of funding to pay teachers living wa- lies, the report adds. Policy on Education for Children with ces on the part of both the ministry and times, Cambodia aims to meet by 2015 education out of a total budget of 12,095 ges has rendered the concept of free edu- The situation is such that, according Disability aiming to “provide quality edu- NGOs. the “Education for All goals” that UN- billion riel, or $3.02 billion. cation a goal rather than a reality. In its to the World Bank, nearly half of the stu- cation, life skills or vocational training to Efforts are being made by the Cam- member countries adopted in 2000. And yet, the government’s intention is 2007 study “The Impact of Informal Scho- dents had dropped out of primary scho- children and youth with disabilities equi- bodian government and NGOs to make The Ministry of Education, Youth and clear and is even enshrined in Cambodia’s ol Fees on Family Expenditure,” the NGO ol in 2009-2010 because they needed to tably and effectively, increase enrollment, education accessible to students in di- Sports has been working with many or- 1993 Constitution. Education Partnership reported that edu- work. promotion and survival rates in the scho- sadvantaged situations.

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