User:Vichana Sar/Vichana

Introduction
Education is very important for every country in the world. It is the key to build up all parts in countries’ system. On the other hand, education is not widely reached and provided to all people. The reasons why those things do not happen is that there are many issues obstructing. In order to solve those problems, governments try to promote and create many projects. In the same way, in Cambodia, education is one of government’s main policy plans to develop the countries—especially to reduce poverty. They are progressively conducting research to find better strategies to make it work. Furthermore, in the last decade, one of the most problems which block the progress to that point is that students dropping out early in their time for receiving their knowledge and skill at schools even though Cambodia created a nine-year basic education system and tries to achieve Education for All by 2015. Particularly, to this position, many research conducted that explain high dropout rate of poor children in the field of education in Cambodia. As a result, this short research or literature research indicates three major things. First, supply-side factors have an effect on the quality and quantity of the schooling. Moreover, demand-sides factors give explanation about obvious characteristic of in need children in education affairs—in the context poor children. The last but not the least is the solution to down side the influence of the two factors above-mentioned on dropout.

Having study the topic well, three questions need answering. The most noteworthy question is “Why is reducing drop-out rate important among poor children?” In addition, three supporting questions have also been existed: (1). What are the supply-side factors and demand-side factors which may prevent poor children from keeping on studying in school? (2). What are the current strategies of the Royal Government of Cambodia to reduce the drop-out rate? (3). What could be suggested to this issue?

Because there are three questions, three answers are developed. In any case, making the topic unambiguous, a brief explanation of Education for All and universal primary education or a nine-year basic education system in Cambodia are described. In addition, the first answer to be responded is the detail about supply-side factors and demand-side factors. Moving to the second answer, it shows about the present detail plan of the Royal Government of Cambodia for achieving success in dropout issue. Along with, the last one is some suggestions made to contribute to improve and put some pressure to what will be much focused on.

A Brief Explanation: EFA and A Nine-Year Basic Education System
The World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal in April 2000, which over 1, 100 members from 164 countries presented. Its aim was to make EFA works progressively. Other noted the obstacles to achieve its goal and reintroduced commitment to make it sense. Six specific goals of EFA were out because of the World Education Forum, which formed a Framework of Action involving governments to achieve (UNESCO, 2000). They are Early Childhood Care and Education, Universal Basic Education/Primary Education, Life Skills and Lifelong Learning, Literacy, Gender Parity and Equality in Education, and Quality of Education (UNESCO, 2008).

A National EFA Plan 2003-2015 for Cambodia has been formulated, which held in April 2003 on a National EFA Forum officially (UNESCO, 2000). Moreover, MoEYS has established Education for All as the public priority by 2015 (SCW, 2006). In April 2001, A National EFA Committee was set up in Cambodia. It comprises of 141 members including concerned ministries, international organizations and NGOs. The Committee completed the National Plan of Action by early 2002 (UNESCO, 2000). Even having a placed clear strategic plan for EFA, Cambodia still confronts many problems in success its goal. Those are lack of access to education for the poorest children and youth, lack of economic resources for many families pursuing education, and the need to help families economic of the young children. Another thing to be considered, Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2004/2008 was revised to address these issues (The World Bank, 2005, p. 1).Furthermore, high dropout and repetition rates are related (Tan, 2007). In addition, senior government officials expressed that the chief attainment that Cambodia has completed were in having completed EFA policy creation and launch of a nine-year basic education system with strategic plans and strategies in the direction of reaching the goal of basic EFA. The government admitted failure to universalizing basic education and the problem of equitable basic education and the issue of equitable access and quality of basic education are still far from reaching the goals (Dy, 2004, p. 148).

Public Expenditure on Primary Education
The level and regularity of public spending on social sectors is an essential factor of social results. To this point, a steady public expenditure on education overall and on primary education has been set up in Cambodia. In addition, 6.6 per cent average yearly has been grown in the education financial plan, which has been increased one of the principal parts comparing to the many different sectors. More than 60 per cent of the overall education budget in primary education has been given in the education sector expenditure. Combining with lower secondary education, a nine-year basic education has been allocated 80 to 84 per cent of whole education budget in Cambodia, which is higher than more developed countries in neighbourhood (UNICEF, 2007, p. 8). For example, basic education expenditure was 74 per cent of the total education budget for Thailand and 68 per cent for China (World Bank and Asian Development Bank, 2003, p. 142). Higher level of spending in basic education in Cambodia obviously showed the need in increasing enrolment rates. Both relative and absolute terms were increased in resource allocation during the same length of time. Public spending per beginner student for primary school increased by 150 per cent between 1997 and 2002, from 26, 050 Cambodian Riels to 66, 024 Cambodian Riels (World Bank and Asian Development Bank, 2003, p. 47). However, 25 per cent of total children of authorized age are not attended in primary education even having helpful public expenditure trends. Problems of distance from school, school infrastructure and facilities, and numbers and training of teacher were addressed especially in remote, rural areas and poor provinces for admission to primary education (UNICEF, 2007, p. 7).

Pupil-Teacher Ratio
Pupil-teacher ratio in primary education between 1996 and 2002 became worse by way of the employment of more teachers kept pace not successfully with large growth in enrolment—particularly pupil-ratio with poor areas having a higher ratio. Pupil-teacher ratios in schools in the richest 300 communes averaged as much as 46 pupils per teacher comparing to 79 in the poorest 300 communes (World Bank, 2006, p. 101). Moreover, Cambodia has one of the highest pupil-teacher ratios in the region, between 1.8 to 2.9 times more than other countries, which affect directly on attendance and learning results—especially for children who live in underserved regions (UNICEF, 2007, p. 9).

School Infrastructure
Substantial improvement of the quality of physical infrastructure in Cambodia education sector was seen since late 1990s. The decline in the number of incomplete school—schools that do not offer the full six grades of primary school because of lacking classrooms or teachers—have been gradually and progressively done, and now primary schools are located in most villages. On the other hand, a third of those schools in the country are still incomplete, a large number of which are particular in rural and remote regions (UNICEF, 2007, p. 9). For instance, the proportion of primary schools that were incomplete school in remote areas was as much as three times in urban areas (Fayaud, 2003). In addition, Koh Kong, Kratie, Mondulkiri, Preah Vihear, Ratanakiri, and Stung Treng had high scales of incomplete schools. The six provinces had an average of 85 per cent comparing to the 36 per cent national average (Asian Development Bank, 2004). Besides, incomplete primary schools really obstruct children to study and complete the primary education. Consistent with the Asian Development Bank (2004), the most noteworthy reason in high dropout and repetition rates in Cambodia is the incomplete school existence.

Child labour.
In accordance with the Cambodia Child Labour Survey, approximately half of all children aged 7 to 14 years old in Cambodia were energetic in the state of economy in 2001, which show larger number comparing to other countries with not different income level (ILO, UNICEF and World Bank, 2006). Child work is spread widely and children start working at a young age (World Bank, 2005, p. 61). The beginning of child labour is not in timely time, for example, before school age. With demands of extensive housework, this kind of thing postpones the possibility that a child will start school at the age of six in primary level. For example, among boys, participation in fruitful work and housework decreases the possibility of attending school at the age of six by 17 per cent and 13 per cent, in turn (ILO, UNICEF and World Bank, 2006, p. 35). Despite the fact a majority of children who work in school attending age, their amount of work is demanding, with average of 22 hours of productive work each week for the age 7 to 14, which have influences destructively on learning achievement of children. Child labour both interrupts the suitable time for schooling and learning results (UNICEF, 2007, p. 11).

Costs of child schooling.
Family expenditure of primary education is high in Cambodia. In 2004, families paid 56 per cent towards the direct cost of children attendance in primary school, downsized from 77 per cent in 1997, which it is not included the combining of family and government supply. Families accept too heavy on financial issue when their children at primary school studying. Moreover, even the reduction of family direct cost through the Priority Action Program (PAP) in 2000, pocket money, transportation spending, and additional tutoring are remained (World Bank, 2005, p. 3). Anyway, stop to earn money are important point of the direct or opportunity costs of child’s payment in schooling. It is regardless of sex to earn money to support the family economic. The Cambodia Child Labour Survey 2001 reports that it is twice time in income daily for older children—increasing from 1, 594 Riels to 4, 354 Riels between the children aged 6 to 10 and the children aged 15 to 17 (ILO, UNICEF, and the World Bank, 2006, p. 34). The high opportunity cost of education in term of forgone income is the serious difficulty to attend and complete primary education for children in poverty (UNICEF, 2007, p. 11).

Late entry into primary school.
In Cambodia, children aged 7.6 years in average late to attend primary school in 2001, which merely 25 per cent of total number attended school timely. Moreover, frequent repletion made children up to 10.8 years in primary school in 2001 (World Bank, 2005b). It was more serious for poor children, which is higher in the level of average delay and 80 per cent of this issue because of late enrolment, school progress/repetition (World Bank, 2005b, p. 17). Before the time children reach high grade of primary school, most of them are in mid-teens, which is the time the economic pressure in family is more important gradually and progressively. It makes very high dropout rate especially among poor families. Furthermore, girls are considerably affected by late entry into primary education (UNICEF, 2007, p. 12). For instance, a girl late to entry school, her opportunities are left only 6 per cent low, her opportunities to complete primary school are 60 per cent low, and overall years to complete primary school is down 3 years, which in extra years (World Bank, 2005). The poor children dropout starts from Grade 4 and gradually fast. As a result, poorest children quintile is 33 per cent lower chance to complete primary school comparing to the richest quintile (UNICEF, 2007, p. 12). Furthermore, even only girls having significant in numbers, school delay has a substantial bad affect on children schooling experiences (World Bank, 2005, p. 61).

The Current Strategies of Royal Government of Cambodia to Reduce Dropout of Poor Children
In recent years, Royal Government of Cambodia created Government’s priority strategy to reduce the cost difficulties on the poorest families to increase more opportunities for the children to participate completely in primary education (World Bank, 2005, p. 85). Since 1992, the Royal Government of Cambodia has been involved in several national and international activities aimed at combating the worst forms of child labour (MoEYS & World Bank, 2008, p. 7). A series of Priority Action Programs is one of the major strategies. Moreover, the new updated ESP for 2004-2008 has new framework for basic education in three main respects: “increased emphasis on demand-side intervention; increased attention to improving education quality; and increased focus on lower secondary education” (MoEYS, 2004a). The demand-side innervations reduce expenditure obstacles to access basic education by abolishing any payments from grade 1 to grade 9 and providing scholarship in grade 7 to grade 9. Furthermore, supply-side interventions increase the quantity and quality in basic education by removing incomplete primary schools; increasing lower secondary school facilities; providing school operating budgets; developing remedial classes; improving school readiness, increasing core instructional materials; increasing the use of new Teacher Training College (TTC) to any underserved areas in the country and increasing the recruitment of TTC to these areas; increasing teacher monthly salaries, reinforcing system and teacher performance; increasing in-service training, and introducing a student and school-based assessment system (World Bank, 2005, pp. 85-86). All in All, if the above-mentioned strategies achieve the goal, dropout of poor children is no longer existed in Cambodia.

Suggestions
However, even having excellent strategies, some important challenges really left. There are three broad areas of action, which MoEYS need to pay attention to achieve its goal of basic education for all. First, the government need to expand re-entry and equivalency programs for school dropouts. Second, policies that attract children to attendance school in officially timely age of 6 years old will be the key to solve the issues of primary school dropout. Third, any schooling expenditure needs to be removed—formal and informal fee. In addition, a clearly substantial budget framework for teachers needs forming (World Bank, 2005, pp. 87-88).

Conclusion
In conclusion, this writing show obviously about the demand-side and the supply-side factors related to dropout, RGC strategies about this issue, and suggestion to reduce dropout rate in particularly for children who live in poverty. However, as we know, Cambodia just survived from genocide 1975-1979 in Khmer Rouge Regime, which every sector of country systems was destroyed. It is unlikely to recover everything back in short time 31 years latter, especially in education system. RGC is currently working so hard to achieve Education for All by 2015. Consequently, it cannot be succeeded if only RGC plays important role alone. It needs the cooperation with its people the whole country either.