International agencies hope they can give children a better start in life with a

scheme to pump funds into education.

The Asian Development Bank has agreed to a technical assistance grant of $600,000.

The money, coming from the Japanese Government, will be used to help Cambodia achieve

one of its Millennium Development Goals of giving education for all.

According to the ADB, the key issues facing education reform in Cambodia include

the high number of pupils dropping out of primary and secondary schools, poor financial

controls and improving standards of basic education.

The organization also cited problems with the lack of an overall education policy.

ADB education specialist Paul Chang said: "While there has been a growth in

enrolment rates, this growth could stagnate if the expectation of parents for further

education for their children is not assured."

At present 92 per cent of all children are enrolled into a primary school, but just

20 per cent make it on to lower secondary school.

Another priority is to expand formal training opportunities for young people so they

have the chance of learning new skills through better training.