Boost to salaries following Valuing Teachers Report, Cambodia - VSO

Case study – Cambodia
Boost to salaries following Valuing Teachers Report
Challenge
Good-quality teachers are one of the most important requirements in
providing high standards of education and shaping the next generation.
However, in Cambodia their work and contributions have historically been
undervalued and under-compensated. Teachers would earn less than US50$
and few additional benefits. One teacher said “You spend a lot of time and
money learning how to be a teacher, and then when you get a job you receive
very little money”.
This tough situation meant that teachers often lacked motivation and as a
result, performance in the classroom – both of teachers and pupils – suffered.
As one teacher said, who works in Kampong Cham Province, “I always feel
tired with my heavy workload. I feel resentful at not being paid enough for it.
We don’t want to get a second job, but feel we have to because of the low
salary.”
Catalyst
In order to gain a better understanding of the situation of education in
Cambodia and the status of teachers, NGO Education Partnership (NEP), with
support from VSO, conducted a research project on teacher motivation. Since
2001, NEP has become increasingly recognized as the voice of education
NGOs in Cambodia and works closely with development partners and the
government (Ministry of Education) in discussions supporting policy reform
and implementation.
Valuing Teachers is a research project which VSO have so far carried out in 14
developing countries. In Cambodia VSO collaborated with NEP to examine
education in the country from the teachers’ perspective, focusing on those
issues that affect their motivation, morale, performance and the quality of
education they can deliver. VSO provided funding and volunteers to help the
staff of NEP to conduct the survey and write the report.
The report showed that low salary, corruption, nepotism, poor leadership,
and lack of voice were the main factors which demotivated teachers. The
report also recommended actions to bring these issues to the Government of
Cambodia, through the Ministry of Education. There were also
recommendations for NGOs, donors, regional authorities, school directors,
teachers, the teachers union, communities and parents.
The final Valuing Teachers Report was submitted to the Ministry of Education
for their response. Two Members of Parliament from the UK travelled to
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Cambodia under the VSO Political Volunteer initiative. They proved to be
highly effective in lobbying the Minister of education to accept the report.
During a national meeting on World Teachers Day in 2009, all 400 participants
received a copy of the report; the NEP Executive Director presented the
findings to the participants during the event which included the Ministry of
Education, NGOs and teachers.
Results
In January 2010, the Royal Government of Cambodia confirmed its
commitment to increase teachers’ basic salary by 20 per cent every year. The
Secretary of State for Education announced during an Education Strategic
Plan meeting that the government would increase the salary of teachers
effective from that moment. The new monthly salaries of public teachers
were US50$ for primary school teachers, US75$ for lower secondary school
teachers and US100$ for upper secondary school teachers. The first step has
been made to reaching an adequate level of pay, and it has been
acknowledged that in the coming years salaries should improve more.
In addition to this teachers will receive other benefits; for example an
additional incentive for teachers who are willing to go to remote areas.
According to the Secretary of State, the new salaries will mark a major
improvement in the living standards of teachers in rural areas. However, he
also raised some concerns regarding teachers who live in cities, where living
costs are higher compare to rural areas.
It is hoped that teacher salaries will continue to increase, and the corruption
and financial management problems which prevent many teachers from
accessing their money will also be resolved.
2010
See the Valuing Teachers page for more information on this research:
http://www.vsointernational.org/what-we-do/advocacy/campaigns/valuingteachers.asp#0
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