The Education, Youth and Sports Reform Strategy 2018-2023 – the second phase of reform in education – has demonstrated the achievements of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) over the past five years.

The final year of this reform strategy is 2023, and in order to achieve Cambodia Vision 2030 and 2050, as well as the goal of sustainable development, the Ministry of Education has set the direction for the future through eight priority points.

This article will focus on these eight priority areas of reform in education, youth and sport.

The first priority set by MoEYS is school reform, which is divided into two categories – New Generation Schools and Effective Schools.

New Generation Schools focus on providing autonomy in the implementation of the curriculum to cultivate human resources equipped with skills for the 21st century.

Teachers and school management should:

(i) Have strong ethics and professional standards;

(ii) Be accountable and innovative;

(iii) Be able to use information technology in learning and teaching;

(iv) Know how to use new teaching methods.

Students should demonstrate:

(i) Initiative and entrepreneurship;

(ii) Effective communicating and writing skills;

(iii) The ability to analyse and evaluate information;

(iv) Curiosity and imagination;

(v) Critical thinking and problem solving;

(vi) A readiness to cooperate;

(vii) Mental agility and an understanding of how to apply knowledge in practice.

Effective Schools should focus on five key areas.

(i) They must be accountable to the community and meet Effective School standards;

(ii) They must have autonomy in school improvement plans and provide regular developments to management and teachers;

(iii) The testing of students using transparent and fair standards to improve teaching and learning, the helping of slower-learning students, and providing information to parents and the community;

(iv) Teachers using test results to improve teaching and learning, and regularly developing their qualifications;

(v) The participation of parents and communities in supporting and developing schools.

The second priority is the training of teachers through the reform of teacher training institutions. This focuses on:

(i) The improvement of teacher training programmes;

(ii) The development of the professional capacity of trainers for the content of pedagogical lessons and teaching methods, and the use of technology in teaching;

(iii) The development of infrastructure in line with new technologies, and modern libraries and materials;

(v) The development of leadership and management;

(v) Linking theory to the implementation of pedagogical curricula;

(vi) Ensuring the quality of training.

The third priority is digital education. The Ministry of Education will continue to promote digital education through:

(i) Improving existing digital platforms, and establishing digital education centres and remote learning centres;

(ii) Producing instructional videos for core subjects and exam classes, with these disseminated on existing digital platforms;

(iii) Integrating technology into teaching and learning;

(iv) The development of digital infrastructure in schools, such as preparing digital rooms and better equipping school management systems;

(v) The development of digital education programmes.

The fourth priority is science and technology education, with MoEYS to:

(i) Increase the number of New Generation Schools and STEM schools, as well as increase teaching and learning hours focusing on STEM subjects;

(ii) Invest more in improving the quality of STEM teacher training to reach fully professional standards;

(iii) Improve STEM teaching methods by focusing on scientific methods, research methods and other methods for teaching mathematics and science;

(iv) Provide greater investment in equipment and experiments in New Generation Schools and resource schools;

(v) Promote the establishment of after-school clubs and strengthen youth councils, establish interconnected systems such as science fairs and competitions, and develop partnerships with higher education institutions and private companies.

The fifth priority is to promote health education. Schools must continue to:

(i) Establish health education committees in schools;

(ii) Improve health infrastructure, such as setting up standardised nurse stations, and ensure green learning environments and the maintaining of clean, garbage-free schools;

(iii) Promote hygiene, with the provision of clean water for drinking and washing, sanitary hand-washing areas and toilets, as well wearing masks and keeping a safe distance;

(iv) Promoting nutrition by focusing on food safety and school feeding;

(v) Health education and the new normal by following the content of studies into health, exercise and sport.

The sixth priority is youth development to provide 21st century skills, with the development of young people across all aspects and in all forms including:

(i) Youth development programmes featuring the learning of both hard and soft skills, with a focus on 21st century skills and improving leadership qualities;

(ii) Education and vocational training to impart soft skills for youth to be able to participate in solving the nation’s common problems, have the courage and the skills to express themselves, have the ability to think critically and carry out research and share ideas, as well as foster public speaking skills with knowledge and ethics;

(iii) Providing opportunities for young people to express ideas and showcase talent, as well as creating a harmonious society with goodwill for all, establishing good relations, and promoting the value of friendship;

(iv) Establishing a nursery for the training of young people to be resilient, mature and thoughtful.

The seventh priority is the establishment of centres of excellence in higher education. Higher education institutions must focus on:

(i) Strengthening governance, improving the qualifications of professors on master’s and doctorate degrees, improving curricula and learning resources, using technology and applying modern teaching methods, carrying out research focused on agricultural science and technology, and increasing investment in infrastructure;

(ii) The establishing of the Nimit University to promote the effective use of digital technology for teaching and learning, sharing and utilising digital and academic resources between higher education institutions for teaching and digital learning, practising credit transfer systems, and linking with distance learning universities in Cambodia;

(iii) The linking of training to the job market based on principles of real-life practice;

(iv) Establishing digital centres and creating research networks with partner countries.

The eighth priority is system building and capacity development.

The Ministry of Education will implement an outcome-oriented management approach by establishing quality management mechanisms and allocating quality-oriented inputs.

These inputs are to support the improvement of student learning outcomes and school quality, and meet standards for the training of quality human resources and good citizenship.

Over the past five years, the Education, Youth and Sports Reform Strategy 2018-2023 has demonstrated the progress and development in the education, youth and sport sector.

The many achievements have been made possible by the efforts of education staff at all levels, ministries, relevant institutions, development partners, teachers, parents, students, all learners and all relevant actors.

The eight priority directions set by MoEYS will actively contribute to the development of education, youth and sport towards a better, brighter future.