Cambodia: UN-backed education policy ready for government approval

In a bid to improve the quality of vocational education in the country, the Ministry of Education and Unesco will submit a National Policy on Lifelong Learning to the Council of Ministers following multiple discussions on the matter.

The ministry held the final consultative meeting on the topic with Unesco yesterday and decided that it will move forward with the submission of a new Unesco-backed national policy to improve the quality of vocational education.

Kuoch Koulamor, director of the non-formal education department at the Ministry of Education, said yesterday that the strategy of the national policy is to support job-seekers to get the training and education they need to obtain quality employment.

He added that the policy would benefit all Cambodian citizens.

“Everyone from the young to the old will benefit from the national policy,” Mr Koulamor said. “Those who didn’t receive a formal education, they could find employment by acquiring non-formal education and learning professional skills.”

Regarding the meeting itself, he said that many discussions weighing expert opinions were held prior to the decision.

Mr Koulamor noted that the policy will soon be submitted, but stopped short of disclosing exactly when the Council of Ministers would receive the draft.

“We will send it to the Council of Ministers soon,” he said.

According to the draft policy, the objective is to provide services in formal and informal education sectors to increase literacy, numeracy vocational skills and the number of professionals across all fields in the country.

Lifelong Learning programme directors would also emphasise programme designs, material development and teaching methods.

The national policy would encourage ministries, the private sector and development partners to implement Lifelong Learning programmes to accommodate employee training and development, as stipulated in the Cambodian National Qualification Framework.

Anne Lemaistre, Unesco representative in Cambodia, said that the UN body has always supported the country’s initiative to improve the quality of the education sector.

“This policy is important to encourage Cambodians to become global people,” Ms Lemaistre said. “Especially to meet the demands of the job market.”

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