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| Visitors watch as Cambodian orphans learn computer skills and exploring the Internet world during the opening ceremony at the Future Light Orphanage on the outskirt of Phnom Penh (AP file photo) |
Friday, 26 August 2011
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh
“Cambodian students must get an education, and the first education is literacy.”
Cambodia’s literacy has improved over the past decade, but key challenges remain for girls, the rural poor and minorities, education experts say.
According to government figures, the literacy rate stands at about 70 percent. But that may only be basic literacy, where another ability, functional literacy, is harder to define.
Still, education experts say that still leaves 30 percent of the population without the ability to read or write, though that percentage could improve as the younger generation goes through school to learn to read and write.
Ministry of Education officials say they count a total enrollment of 3.2 million students, with about 607,000 in urban areas and more than 2.5 million in rural areas.
“This gathering of students at school means it is serving literacy,” Ou Eng, director general of the ministry, told VOA Khmer Thursday. “Cambodian students must get an education, and the first education is literacy.”
The literacy rate has improved greatly in the last 10 years. Unesco said in 1999 only about 37 percent of the population was “functionally literate,” with another 26.6 percent only “semi-literate.”
Santosh Khatri, an education specialist at Unesco, said Thursday that no further functional literacy tests have been conducted, so the rate now is unknown.
“Basic literacy is very important to build up on the functional literacy,” he said, but functional literacy has many levels and is hard to test.
Literacy is an important factor in quality of life, he said. It can improve one’s livelihood, skills and abilities, and help maintain peace.
Key challenges remain for Cambodia, including reducing the disparity of literacy rates among different groups.
Khatri said the adult literacy rate of Cambodia was 77.6 percent, but there was a wide gap between male (85.1 percent) and female (71 percent). The gap is even wider between urban dwellers (90.4 percent) and those in rural areas (74 percent). Minority groups, too, struggle with literacy.
Kan Kal, country director for Room to Read, a literacy NGO, said that urban-rural gap remained “worrisome.”
Other experts worry that the progress in literacy has slowed.
“We need to strengthen the process,” said Naoko Arakawa, an education specialist at Unesco.
And teachers say they worry as well.
“Among my 24 students in Grade 6, there are six students who cannot read,” said Ros Tith Malay, a teacher at Boeung Traboek primary school. Those who cannot read often come from poor homes or live with domestic violence, she said.
Rong Chhun, who is head of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association, said Thursday that many girls and boys only attend lower level classes, but they soon fall out of the system. The Cambodian education system does not aim for “quality,” he said.
However, Ou Eng of the Ministry of Educaiton said the government is now putting more focus on literacy, especially for children.
“Now we are prepared to publish new books to make it easier than before for children to read and write,” he said.
7 comments:
That is wonder for Cambodia but those screen are of the time for five years ago.
Yes, that is a wonderful to see Khmer kids to see and feel about the computers that they have never seen in their lives. This makes me very happy to Khmer children in such a learning environment.
Khmer Yeurng
children in cambodia need to instill in them the importance of getting a good education. that should be in their philosophy in life, really! the question they should ask are limitless: why education? what's the importance of getting a good education? why do i need an education? etc... the whole world is run on education! having an education is more than having advantage over others that are not, and it prevent others from trick you or take advantage of you or outsmart you, etc, etc, ok! teach the kids well, they are the future of cambodia.
Many students have to drop out because theirt parents cannot afford to pay for teachers' handout assignments or after tutoring services offered to students by their own teachers so that they could earn more income. Those who could not afford the above, eventually have to drop out because of poor attention of teachers or simply they cannot afford to bribe teachers to pass the class. Girls will be the ones to be dropped out. Most parents choose to do so in the rural areas.My family in Cambodia had all these experinces going through the education system in Cambodia all their lives. I feel sad that the government has done nothing to help the teachers' salary and to fix the educational system through out the country in particularly in the countryside. People who ahve money will be able to faciliate their children to go all the way in school from elementary to college. Those who cannot, their children will drop out and the cycle of illiteracy and poverty continues. Current government is the main culpril of this failed educational system in Cambodia because they are so corrupted and careless about the poor.
next time you dropped out of school, think twice, ok! that said, learning is a life long endeavor. in other words, it doesn't stop just because of yor age, or the fact you have to take a break from school or whatever circumstance you may have, ok! also, try self-education as well. remember the good advice you read from the west point grad interview, she mentioned that it's your courage, your penchance in persue of knowledge, etc that makes a real different. yes, it is up to you, so make a wise decision about your future, ok! nobody can force you to do thing, unless they make a gun to your head or take you to kill like during the stupid KR era, ok! remember that, ok!
Ok your mother fucker, shut the fuck off, ok?
Congratulation to this Khmer girl, Kimsy Tor, for her exceptional achievement in Phnom Penh and now she appeared in New York's newspaper today. Now that she got a scholarship and currently in NYC hopefully, she will make a difference.
Educational journey Cambodian teen to begin Manhattan College study
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2011/08/25/2011-08-25_educational_journey_cambodian_teen_to_begin_manhattan_college_study.html#ixzz1WI2KUpHk
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