The Cambodian Consortium for Out of School Children, a project led by Aide et Action Cambodia in partnership with Educate A Child, a global programme of Education Above All Foundation met with the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport (MoEYS) on June 22, 2022, at the National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh to reaffirm joint commitment towards to supporting out of school children in Cambodia and achieving quality education for all.
The meeting was presided over by His Excellency (H.E.) Dr. Nath Bunroeun, Secretary of State, and the representatives of the Consortium member organisations, discussions centred around the shared goal and the commitment to sign an additional 15 partnership contracts for the project expansion.
Building back education
Despite the prolonged disruption to education caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, The Consortium has supported over 1,3000 marginalised, out of school children in Cambodia through community mapping, remedial classes, space to learn, enrich learning, and support in kind and scholarship materials enabling them to be enrolled in this semester. The Consortium has 50 classrooms that were renovated or built to offer students safer and improved learning environments after prolonged school closures and improvements to non-formal education which allowed almost 3,000 marginalised children to access to education.
A holistic approach
Additionally, central to quality education is also quality teaching. The Consortium trained teachers and school directors in remote learning pedagogies across Cambodia with a focus on coastal provinces and provinces neighbouring the Tonle Sap lake, where access to education remains challenging for remote and economically disadvantaged children.
In terms of health and hygiene, the Consortium installed Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in schools across the country and distributed hygiene products (masks, alcohol, and more) to facilitate a safe return back to school for children and teachers.
School enrolment campaigns and Covid-19 prevention campaigns were organised in different provinces to further support schools’ re-opening and access to education for all.
