Education underpins society. It is a fundamental right that should be accessible to all; it improves an individual’s chances in life and helps tackle poverty at a local and national level. However, for many children in Cambodia, this right remains unfulfilled.

When I started on my journey to create sustainable educational support for children in Cambodia, I vowed that I would commit my life to bringing health and happiness to people in impoverished communities. In 2009, I started out by raising funds to build a non-government-regulated school within Siem Reap. I initially assumed that by raising money to build schools in the most impoverished areas, we would slowly, step by step, school by school, improve the quality of life for children and their families. For many children, it was a great success.

If only it was that easy!!

I soon realized that creating this school, investing in resources, and recruiting excellent teachers only removed the three obvious barriers to learning.

Historical turmoil

Year on year, in most developing nations, there is a steady improvement in educational provision, but throughout history, accessibility, equity, and effectiveness of education in Cambodia has remained uneven. Political instability and conflict have resulted in setbacks to its progress. Taking the impact of the 1975-1979 Pol Pot regime for example, Cambodia’s education system was shattered: teachers were killed or fled while school buildings were destroyed. The consequence being that Cambodia has only recently started rebuilding its education provision.

Poverty

By 2009, 81 percent of children, with a male dominance, were enrolled in a form of primary education; a result of many families wanting their daughters to stay at home to help with the chores. By 2011, 90 percent of boys attended1. primary education, in comparison to just 49 percent of girls. Sadly, enrollment in secondary education dipped substantially with just 34 percent enrolment for lower secondary and 21 percent for upper secondary.  This barrier to learning is based on the financial burdens faced by so many families. Many still don’t recognize the need for learning the skills taught in schools; after all, if the available jobs in the area are farming or construction-based, why does their son need to learn algebra?

Curriculum

Today, the government’s education development is working hard to ensure its national curriculum meets the needs of the evolving job market, but another hurdle is the fact that the skills demanded by employers in developed areas are so different from those in remote, rural districts. Mobility is still uncommon: children growing up in rural areas will commonly stay in those areas, supporting the family business, while children in the cities will benefit from learning 21st-century skills including technology and engineering.

Rural and Remote

Sadly, despite these positive enrolment rates, in many impoverished, rural regions less than 50 percent of children complete primary school3. This figure is a glaring contrast to the national average. Once children can start to work on the land, to supplement their family’s income, secondary education is often seen as unnecessary.  

Even in situations when families value the power of education, government schools are often located too far away.

Funding

Funding is another barrier to the development of the education system in Cambodia. Comparing global government budget expenditure data, the percentage allocated to education varies significantly by country. High-income countries like Norway spend 6.6 percent of its GDP on education4, while low-income countries like Zambia spend only 1.3 percent of its GDP. In more recent years, Cambodia’s government has committed to improving its education system, recognizing its power to bring about economic change. Thankfully, today’s education system operates under the national government’s Ministry of Education, which is making huge steps forward. While things are improving, in 2024, Cambodia allocated just 2.82 percent of its estimated GDP to education.

Finding and maintaining qualified teachers

From our personal experience, the lack of qualified teachers is another hurdle that we are facing. Under a historically challenged education system, many of today’s workforce grew up illiterate. Because of the lack of teachers, schools commonly only operate for half-a-day, morning or afternoon sessions. Many classes are overcrowded, and it is difficult for students to make substantial academic progress by attending for just a few hours a day.

Staff turnover

Added to this is the constant difficult in maintaining qualified teachers. 2024 saw a record 6.7 million international tourists visiting Cambodia, a 22.9 percent increase from 5.45 million the previous year2. The allure of financial gain from this thriving tourism sector makes it challenging to retain competent and qualified teachers once we find them; an issue we are actively striving to address.

Investing in teacher training, development, and remuneration is crucial for improving the quality of education across the country.

Less obvious barriers to learning

Aside from the obvious barriers such as a lack of schools, funding, qualified teachers, and resources, there are so many other complex reasons why children can’t attend school, each with numerous interconnected issues.

At Kaleidoscope Child Foundation, we have realized through our experience that only by examining all the barriers to learning can we support the growth of education provision.

Despite schools being accessible, and well-funded some children living in villages without a piped water supply, face a significant challenge. They often have to walk for miles, every morning to collect water, leaving them with limited time for education. Other children may face physical challenges including disabilities, such as partial sightedness, or hearing impairments. 

It is for all these reasons that our work can’t simply be focused on building schools. To effectively ensure all children can receive a well funding, effective education, we have to also work to create water wells in some towns, and fund corrective treatment for those who are partially sighted or hard of hearing.

Thankfully, with a government committed to improving education provision, we are starting to see progress. International NGOs like Kaleidoscope Child Foundation will continue to strive to overcome all these barriers, so no child is left behind.

References

1.      World Bank: Cambodia Social: Education Statistics Educational Attainment: At Least Bachelor’s or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: % Cumulative

2.     Khmer Times: How Tourism is Shaping Cambodia’s Growth, February, 2025

3.     CEIC, World Bank Primary Completion Rate % Data

4.    National Center for Education Statistics, Education Expenditures by Country, 2023