|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
  |
 |
  |
Cambodia
>> Regional Overview >> Cambodia Overview ACTIVITY DATA SHEET
PROGRAM: Cambodia
TITLE AND NUMBER: Improved Quality of Primary Education, 442-003
STATUS: Continuing
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: None.
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: None.
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY1995 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2002Summary: A weak and seriously underdeveloped human resource base remains one of the most serious constraints to Cambodia's future development. Under the Khmer Rouge, the education system was dismantled and a large majority of the educated population was either killed or forced to flee. As a result, an entire generation of educated Cambodians was lost. Attempts to rebuild the educational system in the 1980s fell far short of expectations. Although there is considerably more donor support now, concerted efforts among bilateral and multilateral donors and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are required so the next generation of Cambodians can learn the basic skills needed to operate in an expanding and dynamic society.
Prior to its suspension in July 1997, a USAID-supported nationwide initiative, called Cambodian Assistance to Primary Education (CAPE), was using the school cluster approach to provide in-service training for the country's estimated 45,000 primary school teachers in a classroom methodology known as child-centered learning. CAPE made significant progress in helping to reorient the centralized structure of Cambodia's primary school administration toward a more community-based structure. Following the suspension of assistance to the Cambodian government, a local NGO continued the program in several clusters where the concept had achieved ownership by the community. In FY 2000, USAID added support to this very successful effort, renamed KAPE, with the original "Cambodian" changed to "Khmer."
Key Results: Prior to suspension of the activity, 4,185 out of an estimated 45,000 primary school teachers received significant exposure to the new student-centered teaching methodology under the year-long in-service teacher training program. These teachers worked and lived in 72 school clusters, comprised of 464 schools and representing 10 percent of primary school teachers and administrators. Training programs were initiated for the 72 established local cluster school committees and for resource center managers. Resource center construction was completed for 49 of 51 planned centers. These centers were turned over to the cluster school committees, and still are being actively used by teachers and communities.
Performance and Prospects: From September 1994 to July 1997, USAID worked closely with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) to develop and refine the government's investment plan for the education sector. This action was necessary to ensure that USAID's in-service teacher training activities (which began in earnest in the fall of 1996) were coordinated with related activities undertaken by other donors and NGOs. The methodology used under the USAID program built upon pilot activities pioneered by MoEYS, with assistance from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in teacher training and cluster school development. USAID's assistance combined elements of these programs in an effective, low-cost fashion that enhanced the likelihood that MoEYS would be able to continue skills development on its own after USAID assistance ended. Alternatives to the use of school clusters also were being explored for the more remote, sparsely-populated areas. Studies also were being conducted to examine constraints to the participation of girls in primary school and to develop strategies to increase their participation.
Possible Adjustments to Plans: None. Should legislative restrictions on assistance to the Cambodian government be lifted, USAID will consider the possibility of providing primary education assistance under a new activity.
Other Donor Programs: Previous USAID assistance to the primary education system built upon Cambodian government initiatives to enhance teacher skills and to develop school clusters. USAID's work has complemented assistance provided by other donors, including UNICEF, the Asian Development Bank, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France. Various NGOs have provided a range of assistance in cluster schools, curricula, textbooks, capacity building, teacher training, and language.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: Prior to activity suspension in 1997, teacher training and cluster school development activities were implemented through a consortium made up of the U.S. NGOs World Learning, World Education, and Save the Children. Capacity building in education policy was partially provided through a USAID Global Bureau activity, Advancing Basic Education and Literacy II.
Selected Performance Measures: Indicators and targets prior to activity suspension included:
- Schools and clusters able to support quality classroom instruction, i.e., improved teacher knowledge and practice; reduced constraints on teachers' planning and performance; improvements in communication among and between teachers, schools, and parents; and improvements in decision making and problem solving by teachers, schools, and clusters.
- Effective teacher training, i.e., improved math and Khmer competency; increased use of student-centered teaching methodologies; and increased access to teaching resources. (Original target: 9,000 teachers trained each year in using student-centered teaching methodologies, with country-wide coverage by 2002.)
- Effective school clusters, i.e., increased interaction between teachers, schools, clusters, and PTAs; resource centers set up and functioning; and increased community involvement. (Original target: 75 school clusters established each year, with functioning resource centers in cluster schools constructed and stocked, with country-wide coverage by 2002.)
- Appropriate primary education policies.
U.S. Financing
(In thousands of dollars)
Obligations Expenditures Unliquidated Through September 30, 1999 2,000 DA 2,000 DA 0 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 7,990 ESF 7,631 ESF 359 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Fiscal Year 2000 0 DA 0 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 131 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA Through September 30, 2000 2,000 DA 2,000 DA 0 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 7,990 ESF 7,762 ESF 228 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Prior Year Unobligated Funds 0 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA 0 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001 0 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Future Obligations Est. Total Cost Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA 0 DA 0 DA 2,000 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 7,990 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA
 |
|||
Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
