UN Analysis Final.pdf - United Nations in Cambodia

I have three children. I usually spend around,3500 riels to buy my children’s score…but not knowledge for
my children…Moreover if our children do not buy goods from their teacher at school, they are stared at
when seen buying from others…the food corner at school is mostly full of teacher’s goods… so we have
to give a lot of money to our children to attend school…. Over the past four or five years, there has been
an increase in extra classes that students have to take to pass the exams… Before, students took extra
classes only during their exam year, but now we have them even at primary level – FGD with mothers group,
Svahoul Village, Siem Reap
Earning income is getting harder and harder but food and consumer goods are getting more and more
expensive. Soon, we will hardly earn enough to buy enough rice to eat. We have to pay a lot of money for
our kids’ education and will less afford this in the future and we are even doubtful about their future
prospects with education... – FGD with fathers’ group, Ratanakiri
It is not so important for children to have high education…all we want is just to let them be able to read, write
and do some calculation…though they may have good education they still work as waiter or waitress…
we are poor and to get work for children, we need social network so they may not need high education.
FGD with mothers’ group, Phnom Penh
In addition to tuition, there are additional school-related costs including uniforms, pocket money, transport
and supplementary tutoring. In the face of tough financial decisions it is usually the males who remain in
school:
We prefer to support our sons to continue their education for as long as possible, despite our limited
capacity, because we believe that our sons can do almost anything. They can work far away from home
with less insecurity and can find higher positions than our daughters… the girls however,have at least some
chance to work in a garment factory or at least to do housework, which cannot be done by the boys…. FGD
with parent groups
Demand for child labour: Children contribute about 28 per cent of total household income, according to the
Child Labour Survey (CLS) of 2001. The majority of the interviewed youths reported that providing labour for
household needs is a factor contributing to their dropping out of school. It also interferes with schooling by
reducing the time available for school activities and diminishing school performance as a result of physical
exhaustion.
Being born into a poor family pushes us to have very limited choices, we need to help our parents eke out a
living which is why we have to quit our schooling at a very early age...we really regret that our student life is
over…we do not expect to have better life with our current job since we know nothing… – FGD with males
aged 20-24, Sangke Village, Svay Rieng
Because we are poor, our children quit school at an early age or after only one or two years to help the family
earn extra money for living… Living in poverty without good knowledge results in our kids remaining
shortsighted and powerless… – FGD with fathers’ group, Svahoul Village, Siem Reap
Forms of child labour across all six study areas included income-earning for subsistence–oriented
productive or trading activities, and household productive tasks (e.g., caring for younger siblings, cooking,
cleaning, getting water), many of which are necessary in order to free parents to work, which may include
prolonged absences elsewhere in Cambodia or in Thailand. Children may also follow their parents when
46 Situation Analysis of Youth in Cambodia