World Teachers Day

A brief history of education in Cambodia: Before the 20th century, traditional education in Cambodia was handled by the local wat (temples) and the monks and priests ("bhikku") were the teachers. The students were almost entirely boys, and the education was limited to memorizing Buddhist chants in Pali.  ​

From 1932 to 1939, there were 18 Franco–Khmer public schools, which offered comprehensive primary school curriculum. It consisted of mathematics, history, ethics, civics, drafting, geography, hygiene, language, and science. In addition, the curriculum included physical education and manual work. The first and only comprehensive secondary education curriculum was offered in 1935. 
 
The only facility in the country for higher education before the 1960s was the National Institute of Legal, Political, and Economic Studies, which trained civil servants. Wealthy Cambodians and those who had government scholarships sought university-level education abroad. 

​During the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979), 90 percent of teachers were killed under the Khmer Rouge regime. The meagre educational fare was centred on precepts of the Khmer revolution; young people were rigidly indoctrinated, but literacy was neglected. An entire generation of Cambodian children grew up illiterate. ​

After the Khmer Rouge were driven from power, the education system had to be re-created from almost nothing. Illiteracy had climbed to more than 40 percent, and most young people under the age of 14 lacked any basic education. In the former schools which could still be used, but also in the streets, civil servants and teachers who remained alive showed an exceptional devotion by teaching even at night! 

Today’s Education in Cambodia: Fast forward to 21st Century, although more schools have been built in Cambodia, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported that the total secondary school net enrolment rate in Cambodia is only 27.7 percent in 2014. Many young people dropped out of school after they have completed primary school. Some of them did not even complete the primary education. This is where PeopleStories comes in. 
 
If the Khmer Rouge is the “dark age” of education in Cambodia, the Covid-19 pandemic is another serious impediment to the education in Cambodia. We are starting to see increasing dropout rate in the Cambodian schools.  
 
PeopleStories is working harder and closer with the teachers in Bakong District, where our projects are based, to help the students go back to school. PeopleStories is constantly in touch with our local volunteers and local teachers to find a solution to bring school to the students. Hence, we started working on our new project – Smart School Anywhere! ​

Thank You, Teachers! Every 5 October is the World Teachers’ Day. It is a day that is dedicated to raising public awareness on issues related to teachers and teaching. These include things like teaching teachers to teach, the importance of all levels of education, and the challenges teachers often face in third world countries. 
 
From the bottom of our heart, PeopleStories would like to say Thank You to all the teachers, especially to those who have been working closely with PeopleStories. Thank you for trusting us, and working with us to make the change. 
 
PeopleStories is committed to transform lives through education. Want to make a difference together? Email: [email protected] to start your change maker journey. 
 
Adapted from: 

1. https://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-plus/cambodias-turbulent-educational-history 

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Cambodia 

1. https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldteachersday 

Story written by: Volunteers Bok Hoon Ong and Pei Khoek