Education Reform for Quality: Strengthening School Leadership, Teacher Management, and Community Engagement
Key Messages:
- Despite progress in access and gender parity, Cambodia faces low learning outcomes and high dropout rates, particularly in rural areas, due to economic hardship and weak foundational learning.
- Implementing merit-based school principal selection, continuous training, external evaluations, and performance-based incentives can improve school governance and accountability.
- Addressing teacher distribution imbalances, improving performance evaluations, and linking promotions and professional development to performance will enhance teaching quality and student learning.
- Sustaining efforts to promote parental and community involvement through flexible participation methods, digital tools, and corporate social responsibility initiatives can help strengthen school accountability and student retention.
- Integrating leadership reforms, teacher management improvements, consolidating professional development programmes, and community engagement will lead to better learning outcomes, reduced dropouts, and national development.
Introduction
Cambodia has made remarkable progress in expanding educational access and achieving gender parity in schools. Net enrolment rates in primary education have significantly increased, and gender equity has largely been achieved. However, the education system continues to face a persistent learning crisis, characterised by low learning outcomes and high dropout rates. National and international assessments highlight the severity of the issue: in 2021, 74.3 percent of Grade 6 students scored below the basic level in mathematics, while 45.4 percent lacked proficiency in Khmer literacy (MoEYS 2022).
Dropout rates remain alarmingly high in secondary schools, largely due to weak foundational learning and economic hardship. Many students, particularly in rural areas, leave school early to support their families, exacerbating the issue of low-skilled labour and intergenerational poverty. To address this crisis, Cambodia must strengthen school leadership, improve teacher management and professional development, and foster stronger community engagement.
Strengthening School Leadership and Governance
Effective school leadership is essential for creating a positive learning environment and ensuring accountability. However, in Cambodia, school principals are often appointed based on tenure rather than merit, leading to inefficiencies in school management. To address this, the government should implement a merit-based selection process for principals, ensuring candidates meet strict qualifications and undergo specialised training in leadership, school governance, and administration. Continuous professional development should be integrated into their career pathways to build long-term capacity.
Strengthening school governance also requires enhancing external evaluation mechanisms to ensure accountability and compliance with national standards. Evaluations should focus on key areas such as school management, teacher performance, curriculum implementation, student learning and discipline, and parental engagement. Additionally, a performance-based incentive system should be introduced to reward school leaders who demonstrate strong governance, effective resource management, and improved student outcomes. Linking financial incentives, career progression, and training opportunities to leadership performance will motivate principals to maintain high standards and drive better educational outcomes.
Furthermore, the government should continue to encourage school-based management by involving local communities and parents in decision-making processes. This approach promotes transparency and fosters a sense of ownership and collaboration among stakeholders. By adopting these measures—merit-based recruitment, continuous training, robust monitoring and evaluation, performance incentives, and community involvement—Cambodia can strengthen school leadership, improve governance, and ultimately enhance the quality of education (CDRI 2023).
Enhancing Teacher Management
With nearly 80 percent of the education budget allocated to teacher wages, there is a pressing need to improve the efficiency of teacher mobilisation (World Bank 2023). One of Cambodia’s most significant challenges is the unequal distribution of teachers. Rural and remote regions suffer from severe shortages, while some schools in urban areas, particularly Phnom Penh, experience oversupplies of teachers. This imbalance exacerbates learning disparities between urban and rural students.
To address the teacher shortages, the government has employed strategies such as contract teachers, double-shift teaching, and multi-grade teaching. However, these approaches often compromise quality, as many contract teachers lack proper training. Additionally, the lack of incentives for rural deployment and the absence of reliable data on teacher distribution worsen the problem, leading to inefficient transfers.
Despite teacher salaries more than doubling over the past decade, teacher performance remains inconsistent. Many teachers take on secondary jobs or private tutoring to supplement their incomes, a practice driven by inadequate accountability mechanisms and performance evaluations. Teachers are often assessed based on years of working rather than effectiveness, with no robust systems in place to motivate underperforming teachers or reward high performers. There is a need to establish a stronger performance evaluation system that incorporates teacher performance, provides constructive feedback, and links evaluations to promotions and professional development opportunities.
Consolidating Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
A systematic approach to CPD is essential for improving teacher effectiveness and student outcomes. Recognising this, the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS) has introduced policies and frameworks under the 2015 Teacher Policy Action Plan (TPAP). However, limited budgets and reliance on donor funding have constrained implementation, resulting in fragmented and donor-driven CPD activities.
To address these challenges, the government should prioritise reviewing and consolidating existing CPD policies into a well-financed, cohesive framework aligned with national strategies. The recent establishment of the Teacher Development Department provides an opportunity to lead this effort. CPD programmes should focus on specialised teaching strategies, such as tailored approaches for slow learners who are at risk of dropout, and raise awareness among teachers and school managers to ensure broader participation. Strengthening the CPD system will foster a culture of continuous learning, improving student outcomes.
The Role of Parent and Community Engagement
Engaging communities and parents in schools is critical for ensuring accountability, tracking student progress, and reducing dropout rates. Recognising this, MoEYS has taken steps to strengthen engagement by transforming school-supporting committees (SSCs) into school-managing committees (SMCs). However, challenges persist, particularly in rural areas, where economic hardship limits parental involvement. Many families prioritise immediate financial needs over participating in their children’s education, and parents often lack the time and resources to support learning at home.
To overcome these barriers, MoEYS should empower local leaders and include community representatives in school governance bodies. Schools can adopt flexible meeting schedules and mobile-based communication platforms to make it easier for parents to stay informed and involved. Introducing school-based income-generating activities, where parents contribute skills or time instead of financial resources, can foster greater community ownership of education. Encouraging corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives can provide sustainable support for school infrastructure and extracurricular activities while expanding digital tools, such as mobile platforms for tracking attendance and performance, can bridge the gap between schools and communities.
Conclusion
Improving learning quality demands a holistic approach that strengthens school leadership, improves teacher management and professional development, and fosters community engagement. By adopting merit-based recruitment and continuous training for school leaders and teachers, addressing teacher distribution imbalances, consolidating CPD programmes, and enhancing community involvement, Cambodia can build a more inclusive and effective education system. These reforms will not only improve learning outcomes and reduce dropout rates but also equip students with the skills needed to break the cycle of poverty and contribute to national development.
- CDRI. 2023. Successful Education Reforms in Asia: Lessons for Cambodia
- MoEYS. 2022. Results of Grade Six Student Achievement from the National Assessment in 2021
- World Bank. 2023. Cambodia Public Finance Review: From Spending More to Spending Better
