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CAMBODIA5. Cambodia-Australia National Examination Project(CANEP)Secondary education became more important in Cambodia in the 1990sas reflected in a 24 per cent increase in enrolments between1991(250,000) and 1997 (327,566). Examinations were conducted for manyyears at Grades 5, 8 and 11 by the Ministry of Education, Youth andSport. In recent years the examinations were held at Grades 9 and 12.Limited resources meant that all examination administration and recordkeeping was done by hand. There were limited print runs for examinationpapers. For example, cost allowed only one examination paper perclassroom with question(s) written on a chalk-board in the examinationroom. One effect of this was to restrict the type and format of theexamination questions, and to over-emphasize rote learning and therecalling of facts, thus limiting the validity of examinations. A disruptivefactor, too, was the tendency for family members and friends, anxious fortheir student to do well, to gather round the examination centres, and forsome members of the crowd to attempt to throw answers into theexamination room to help students. Consequently it was necessary todeploy security personnel to secure the examination centre externally. Inaddition elaborate administrative measures have been needed to guardagainst irregularities by students in the examination rooms throughallocating examination supervisors, controllers and heads of examinationcentres from different provinces. In 1994 a review of the education sectorrecommended that nationally moderated grade 5, 8 and 11 examinationsbe introduced and a National Schools Examination Unit (or Board) andInspection/Supervisory service be established. AusAID – Australia’sAgency for International Development – provided assistance for an initialinvestigation in 1995-97, which led to the present project.List of Projects by CountryThe Cambodia-Australia National Examination Project began in 1997and is due to complete in 2001. It has Ministry of Education andAusAID support. It aims to:• provide infrastructure support to promote the efficient and secureadministration of the national examination system at Grades 9 and 12• improve the quality of the examination papers and of the markingprocesses, and• facilitate the review and development of examinations and othereducational policies on the basis of reliable data and research.List of Projects by Country © 27