Putting children first: transforming education in Cambodia

In the remote Battambang province of Cambodia, the children of impoverished families work rather than taking advantage of recent improvements in primary education. A teacher shortage only served to heighten the challenge facing Remy Anigbogu when she arrived to provide essential organisational support. But a patient approach is paying dividends as she helps raise standards, as well as raising awareness of the value of education.

Ambitious plans, significant obstacles

More than thirty years after the genocidal regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, parts of Cambodia have yet to recover. Sokun Chab, deputy director of education in Maung Russey – a district in the Battambang province of northwestern Cambodia – laments the state of primary education, among other things. She says, “Thirty percent of 6 year-olds are not enrolled in the first class of primary school. Without any intervention, they might never start school.”

Poverty is the main reason many children do not attend school. Instead, they work with their parents at the market or in the rice paddies; sell merchandise to tourists; collect garbage; or work with cattle. Most of the parents in Maung Russey are illiterate and so do not appreciate the value of education.

To attract more children and to improve the quality of the education system, the government’s ‘child-friendly schools’ scheme sets high standards and places children at the heart of a teaching process that encourages them to think creatively and develop analytical skills.

Striving for change

An ambitious programme has been made more challenging by the stark shortage of teachers in Cambodia’s more remote areas. This was the situation faced by VSO volunteer Maria “Remy” Anigbogu, a 45-year-old district education officer with a background in psychology and administration, when she arrived to assist Sokun with the implementation of child-friendly schools.

“At first Cambodia was a bit difficult,” says Remy. “When I started, I wanted them to create their vision, mission and goals for the schools quickly, but they waited. It seemed that they had some distrust for new things. It is in their culture; Cambodians have been through a very terrible war.”

But when one school started, the others followed suit and Remy learned the value of patience. “I integrated with the people, but I also mingled with all the other VSO volunteers from different countries. This has made me more open-minded. I learned how to appreciate other ways of doing things.”

The rewards of patience

Sokun welcomes Remy’s ideas: “Remy networked with another NGO that gave us books, so we have set up a library in the schools.” Remy also suggested that they meet with the community to discuss the value of education, and the roles and responsibilities of teachers, children, and parents. This has helped change attitudes, leading to an increase in the number of children attending school in the region.

Looking back on the experience, Remy says, “Consulting in this district with 95 schools has been very rewarding. I trained the staff to become facilitators and provided workshops for the school directors in leadership, management, and teambuilding. After some time, I stepped back. It was good to see that they then advised themselves and I simply offered support. I always tried to put a bit of gender sensitivity into the training, since Cambodia is a very patriarchal country. There are few women directors. That is why I am very proud of Sokun.”