Kampong cham: Cambodia on Tuesday initiated two national campaigns aimed at ensuring every child remains in school as the country prepares to open its classrooms for the 2025-2026 academic year this November. The campaigns, titled Caring Parents, Smart Kids and Your Choice, Your Future, are crafted to guarantee that every child, from early childhood through adolescence, has access to inclusive and quality education.
According to Namibia Press Agency, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron emphasized the importance of improving learning outcomes and reducing dropouts as core priorities of Cambodia's Education Strategic Plan. Despite significant progress in expanding educational access, Naron stressed the necessity of ensuring that every child not only starts school but also completes it with essential skills for life and work.
The campaigns aim to enhance early childhood care and development, promote inclusive learning, and address factors contributing to early school leaving. Naron stated, "Together, we are working to build an education system that is equitable, resilient, and responsive to the needs of every learner across Cambodia."
In 2023, Cambodia had approximately 3 million school-age children, with around 300,000 not attending school, as per official data. By 2024, dropout rates remained high, with 15.5 percent of students leaving school at the lower secondary level.
Will Parks, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative in Cambodia, underscored at the launch event in Kampong Cham province that quality education is a duty, not a dream, and emphasized the urgent need for action to ensure every child is supported and given a fair chance. Parks highlighted that the campaigns aim to raise awareness, mobilize communities, and strengthen support systems to retain children in school and improve learning outcomes. The focus will be on early childhood education, inclusive learning environments, and targeted interventions for the most vulnerable children.