Cambodia

2. Institutional Context of Secondary Education
2.1 Education System
The education system in Cambodia is divided into four levels: pre-school education, primary education,
secondary education (lower and upper), and higher education. Pre-school education and early childhood
programmes cater to children, generally, from the age of three to five years old. They are provided on an ad-hoc
basis where space and staff are available. Six years of primary education and three years of lower secondary
education make up the country’s basic education provision. After the completion of lower secondary education,
students have the option of continuing to upper secondary education or of entering secondary-level vocational
training programmes offered by the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MOLVT). After completing
upper secondary education, students can either enter vocational training (which lasts for one to three years
depending on the programmes) or universities (which offer two-year associate degree programmes, four-year
bachelor’s degree programmes, and seven-year medical programmes). The Non-formal Education Department
of the MOEYS plays an important role in providing literacy and life skill programmes, as well as short-term
vocational training to school dropouts and adults. The department provides such programmes all over the
country in cooperation with both local and international organizations.
Although there are no official documents defining compulsory education in Cambodia, the Constitution
stipulates that the State has the duty to provide primary and secondary education to all citizens. This stipulation
has been referred to in a number of policy documents with some modifications, most remarkably the inclusion
of the word “free”.
(See Figure 1 Education Structure: Approximate Starting Age and Duration on page 1.)
2.2 Legislative Framework and Key Policy Documents
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1993)
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia, adopted in 1993, includes a number of articles regarding
education. Article 68 of the Constitution reads “the State shall provide Primary and Secondary Education to
all citizens in public school”, recognizing the rights of citizens to opportunity of education and education of
quality through a provision of standardized system. Furthermore, the implementing agencies have rights to
adjust contents, pedagogy and foreign languages to maximize the quality of the education delivered. Article
68 also mandates the State to control public and private schools at all levels.
Policy of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (1996)
The policy of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MOEYS) focuses on four broad policies from which
several other sub-policies or strategies have been developed in order to achieve these broad policies. These key
policies were first published in 1996 and have been republished every year in the Chart of Education Indicators,
an annual publication by the Department of Planning, MOEYS, which presents a summary of education
statistics and indicators. While the format and content of the chart are modified every year, the section on
MOEYS’s policy has remained unchanged since 1996: (1) to universalize nine years of basic education and
develop opportunities for functional literacy; (2) to modernize and improve the quality of education through
effective reform; (3) to link education/training with the labour market and society; and (4) to rehabilitate and
develop the youth and sport sub-sector.
Education for All: National Plan 2003-2015 (2003)
The National Plan of Education for All spells out comprehensive technical and financial plans focusing on (a)
gender responsive strategies, (b) early childhood care and development, (c) formal basic education, and (4)
non-formal education and adult literacy. The plan focuses on both quantity expansion and quality/relevance
of the programmes.
Specific to lower secondary education, which is considered the last stage of Cambodia’s basic education
programme, the plan focuses on coverage, quality and efficiency. Some of the strategies include scholarship
schemes for the rural poor to increase the transitional rate from primary to lower secondary; capacity-building
4 Secondary Education Regional Information Base: Country Profile