The Primary Education Department (PED) under the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and education NGO, VVOB, organised a five-day training course on “Early Grade Math (EGM) grade 1 semester 1” for 1,050 educators in Kampong Thom province from November 26 to 30.
The training, funded by the government of Belgium, aims to strengthen teachers skills who teach math in the early grades of primary school with new teaching methodologies and classroom management techniques, according to a joint press statement released on November 26.
The training is spurred by the fact that Cambodian children are lagging behind in mathematics skills, citing the National Assessment for grade 3 performance in 2020 which showed that by the end of grade 3 children on average can only answer 40 per cent of the grade 3 level test questions correctly.
Chan Sophea, director of PED, said that EGM training will contribute to the ministry’s core strategy focusing on strengthening primary school teachers to better support and teach students in grades 1, 2, and 3 in Khmer and mathematics.
“In addition to this training, which will be implemented in multiple provinces over the coming period, the ministry also produced learning-support materials including videos for guardians and parents, to help their children at home,” he said.
Merel Luichies, VVOB's country programme manager, said she expected the new teaching materials will help to improve the math skills of early-grade students, creating an important foundation for their future learning and career and that teachers would enjoy the training and get inspired to apply the new techniques in their classrooms.
“The face-to-face training that is taking place now is the core of the capacity development for the teachers,” she said.
She also thanked Minister of Education Hang Chuon Naron for his trust in VVOB as a partner. Her thanks also went to relevant partners for strengthening early grade math education in Cambodia.
According to the statement, along with the implementation of the EGM training in grade 1 and grade 2, the ministry is also finalizing the grade 3 content for future implementation.