Majority of Cambodian children living at the rural area from the economically disadvantaged family have lack change for education; they are the vulnerable children to quit their study if the living situation of their family become harder such as member of family fall sick, disable or pass away. EIM RONG, 14 years old, studies at grade 7 at ROTHMONI KIRIUDOM lower secondary school, which locates at BASEDTH district, KAMPONG SPEU province; RONG has three siblings and RONG is the youngest. RONG’s father passed away by HIV and his mother leaving home then to prevent the discrimination in her commune bringing elder brother at the age of 4 to keep him at children center; she has disappeared. RONG and eldest sister have lived with grandparents who have suffered blood pressure, this situation forced his elder sister to quit school at grade 7 to find job at another area; she can send money home 400,000Riel (U$100) every month; it is very small amount for supporting 3 persons per month. RONG, though living in poverty, goes to school regularly, and wishes to be a teacher at lower secondary school. He, after school time and holiday, has to find job at neighbors’ homes to get income to support his family and study. RONG, living in such situation, is one of vulnerable students who will quit school if there is no support for his study. To help RONG to reach his dream is only to support education for him; to support education is to donate him valuable treasure for human. |
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NARY SREY NUCH, 13 years old, studies at grade 7 at ROTHMONY KIRIUDOM Lower Secondary School, which locates at BASEDTH district, KAMPONG SPEU; she likes studying Khmer language and wishes to become a staff of non-governmental organization. SREY NUCH’s family is like the other families at the rural area that most parents have to migrate to find job at the neighboring country Thailand after the cultivation so that to get additional incomes to support the family as well as to support children to go to school. SREY NUCH said that: I have felt comfort and hopeful that there will be no obstacle for my study and my dream will become true; I want to work for the non-governmental organization so that to help developing the rural area, but everything has gone away; I feel disappointed and discourage, because my father and mother passed away because of traffic accident in Thailand last year. She added that: I and my younger brother live with my grandmother and my youngest sister lives with my aunt; I don’t know how about my study, because I grandparents have no job, except rice farming and my grandmother has poor health. I want to study and want to work at the non-governmental origination. SREY NUCH, in such situation, has faced with problem for her study; she really need support for her study. To help building bright future for SREY NUCH is to support her study; to provide education support is to donate her wisdom; it is a valuable treasure for human. |
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One of the biggest problems cited in education in Cambodia is low survival rate of secondary education; the education statistic in 2016 - 2017 indicated that the net enrollment at primary education was 93.5% and gross enrollment at lower secondary education was 55.5% and at upper education was 25.1%; and the dropout rate at primary education was 4.6%, at lower secondary education was 17.0% and at upper education was 19.4%. |
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Education is free in Cambodia, but the heavy burden still falls on parents to provide a large amount of the costs associated with accessing education such as buying study material, uniform meal and so on; these costs can seem negligible, when added together; they can pose an insurmountable barrier for the family, thus decision about whether to keep children in or out of school are easier to make if there is an additional economic strain on the parents to keep their children in school. |
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In Cambodia, access to access education is a significant gender issue, especially for the poor and in the rural areas, with far fewer females than males benefiting from education. The gender gap increases with levels of schooling and is especially pronounced from lower survival rates than boys; girls are also significantly in technical and higher education. This is the result of combination of social, cultural and economic factors. |
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SAMAIN and elder brother, grade 8 student, have to
help the family; after school time have to find food at the fields and collect
waste material in the village, and
on Sunday and holiday to find job at
neighbour’s homes; this situation strongly Over ten years ago, the governments
of 164 counties including Cambodia together with all development partners
jointly committed to expanding educational opportunities for all children,
youth and adult by 2015. Cambodia, as 2015 passed, could not achieve this
policy; a larger number of school-going age children have been outside school, especially
school-going age for secondary education. There were, due to the education statistic
2016-2017, 1,051,978 school going-age children for lower secondary education
and 1,113,919 school going-age children for upper secondary deduction, but only
586, 042 children enrolled at lower secondary
and 279,409 enrolled at upper secondary school. These data clearly
denote that there is a challenge in Cambodia education; this challenge because
of poverty.
SENG SAMAIN, 14 years old, studies at grade 9; has four siblings and she is number two. SAMAIN’s father passed away and leaving the heavy burden for her mother to take care of the children. SAMAIN‘s family has no farmland; her family making the daily life by work exchange; it is to borrow rice or money from neighbours and refund by labour. impacts their study and feeling. SAMAIN and her elder brother, though living in such situation, struggle with their, because they want to get out of poverty.
To ask them what grade that they want to study; they shortly answer that: “It depends on the living situation of my familyâ€.
There is about 85% of Cambodian population live at the rural area, and most of them engage in agriculture with small farmland, which provides poor product; this causes many families live under poverty; poverty is the main obstacle for education.
The effective key to help improving education of Cambodia is to provide education support to poor rural students; education will strongly encourage students to study, increase and retain enrolment at school.
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Cambodia underwent a domestic war over 30 years, especially during the darkness and nightmare period of culture genocide from 1975-1997; all the national infrastructure and human resources were almost destroyed. In the 1990s, after the Paris Peace Accord and the UN sponsored election, there were significant changes in the education system, many new schools building were constructed and more material became available through donor funding. The education system of Cambodia, though, has improved and dramatic changes, but there still many problem in Cambodia education; there is low survival rate at secondary education. The reason of low survival rate of secondary education is poverty. PHOUNG PHOU is 14 years old, studies at grade 6 at TOUL VIHEAR primary school, which locates at TEUK PHOS district, Kampong Chhnang Province; PHOU like studying mathematic and wishes to be a nurse and works at the clinic in his commune where there are many poor people and have no money for treatment when getting sick. PHOUNG PHOU has 9 siblings and he is the 7th son of the family living in a poor cottage where about 10km from school without access road; PHOU’s 4 elder brothers and 2 elder sisters quit their study at primary school due to the hard living situation of the family. PHOUNG PHOU’s parents are unhealthy, so all children have to work so that to survive the family. PHOU will graduate primary school this year and continue to Junior high school next academic year; he is a vulnerable student and may quit his study if the living situation becomes harder. Majority of Cambodian children living at the rural area from the economically disadvantaged family have to work after school time, Sunday and holiday so that to survive day by day; it is quite deferent from children from the economically advantaged family; they can take relax, visit resort area, access to additional course and get warm comfort from their family. Children from the poor family have lack chance for education; they are the vulnerable children to quit their study due to poverty; poverty is the enemy to destroy their future. To help building bright future for poor Cambodian children is to provide them with education support; to provide education support is to donate them wisdom; it is valuable treasure for human. |
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The education system of Cambodia was totally destroyed by the Khmer Rouge regime during 1975-1997. Almost human recourses were killed; schools and education institutions were closed and transformed into prison and warehouse. It was restored in 1997 with lack of resources, human and material. In the 1990s, after the Paris Peace Accord and the UN sponsored election, there were significant changes in the education system, many new schools building were constructed and more material became available through donor funding. While the funding for education has improved and dramatic changes are underway, but there still many enormous problem with education service delivery, a large gab in education quality between urban and rural or remote schools; there is low enrolment and high dropout rate at secondary education at the rural area. The reason of this is because of poverty and social factor. BUN THEIT is 13 years old, studies at grade 6 at ROKATONG primary school, which locates at TEUK PHOS district, Kampong Chhnang Province. THEIT is a clever student; he is 6 among 25 students in his class; THEI likes studying mathematic and wishes to be a teacher of primary school. BUN THEIT in a single son of his family; his parents divorced few years ago; THEI at present lives with his father who has suffered serious tuberculosis that cannot do any job; both father and son have lived in the ruin house and have been fed by relatives and neighbors. BUN THEIT will graduate primary education this year and will continue secondary education in next academic year. What will happen to this poor boy as his unhealthy father cannot do anything? THEIT is vulnerable boy who will quit study because of his family’s living situation; he need encouragement and support for his study and living. People living at the rural have narrow access to find job at their community, except farming; they, after harvesting, have to migrate to the urban area or city to find job and leaving children alone at home. Majority rural people are vulnerable to be poor if the member of the family get sick or accident; it is like BUN THEIT‘s family as the evident. Majority of Cambodian children living at the rural area from the economically disadvantaged family have to work after school time, Sunday and holiday so that to survive day by day; it is quite deferent from children from the economically advantaged family; they can take relax, visit resort area, access to additional course and get warm comfort from their family. Children from the poor family have lack chance for education; they are the vulnerable children to quit their study due to poverty; poverty is the enemy to destroy their future. To help building bright future for poor Cambodian children is to provide them with education support; to provide education support is to donate them wisdom; it is valuable treasure for human. |
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Education is free in Cambodia, the state provides many elements of education, but the burden still falls on parents or guardians to provide a large amount of the costs associated with accessing education such as start up cost, daily cost, school fee as well as additional cost. This matter is one of the reasons to cause many children at rural area have lack of change to continue their study, because a majority of Cambodian population live rural area and engage in agriculture basing on natural condition, thus they have faced with poor living situation and causing children to quit study to help family. CHEON YIN is 16 years old, studies at grade 6 at TOUL VIHEAR primary school, which locates at TEUK PHOS district, Kampong Chhnang Province. YIN is a clever student who is 3 among 37 students in her class; she wishes to be a teacher of primary school. CHEON YIN has five siblings and she is the third daughter of the family living in a cottage where about 10km from school without access road. YIN’s elder sister quit her study at grade 7 and elder brother quit his study at grade 6, because of family’s poor living situation. YIN will graduate primary education this year and will continue to junior high school next academic year; she may face with the situation as her elder sister and brother if the situation of her family becomes harder; she is a vulnerable children to quit her study if there is no support. Majority of Cambodian children living at the rural area from the economically disadvantaged family have to work after school time, Sunday and holiday so that to survive day by day; it is quite deferent from children from the economically advantaged family; they can take relax, visit resort area, access to additional course and get warm comfort from their family. Children from the poor family have lack chance for education; they are the vulnerable children to quit their study due to poverty; poverty is the enemy to destroy their future. To help building bright future for poor Cambodian children is to provide them with education support; to provide education support is to donate them wisdom; it is valuable treasure for human. |
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Every citizen has right to access education at least 9 years in public schools with free of charge, but however, there is a far gap between the children from economically advantaged family and children from the economically disadvantaged family. |
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