Promoting Equity to Achieve MDGs 2 and 3 in Cambodia High Level meeting on Cooperation for Child Rights in the Asia Pacific Region 4-6 November 2010, Beijing Dr. Nath Bunroeun, Secretary of State Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Cambodia

Outline of Presentation Policy Environment with focus on Equity and related Strategic Policy Decisions Achievements in narrowing Equity Gaps Remaining Challenges and How to Address them Ideas for South-South Partnerships

Policy environment: Equity and Pro-Poor Focus Rectangular Strategy Phase 2 was formulated by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC); National Strategic Development Plan updated for ; National Programme for Sub-National Democratic Development and IP3 ( ) National Plan for Education for All ; Cambodia has Education Strategic Plans since Current ESP with three policy pillars: – Equitable Access to Education. – Quality and Efficiency of Education. – Institutional Development and Capacity Building for Decentralisation

Key Strategic Policy Decisions to promote Equity School operational budget for all schools Abolished school registration fee since 2000 National School enrolment campaigns Child Friendly School as a Framework and National Policy for inclusiveness and quality improvement Cost-effective Expansion of Early Childhood Education, e.g. community based and home based preschool education Scholarships targeting poor children School feeding program Bi-lingual education for minority children in highland area Re-entry and Accelerate Learning programs for students who dropped out School facility development, particularly in remote areas

Major Achievements BaselineTargetActual EMIS2003/42008/9 Net Admission Rate Primary NER Total Primary NER Female Primary NER Remote Areas Population Census Data School Attendance School Attendance 6-14 F Literacy Male+Female Literacy Female Good Progress in Terms of Access and Narrowing Equity Gaps Equity Gaps narrowed considerably - by sex / urban&rural / among provinces&districts / socio-economic 5

Narrowing Equity Gaps: Primary Net Enrolment By Sex: Gender Parity AchievedBy Area: Improvement in Remote Areas

Major achievements (continued) Draft CMDG report 2010: Cambodia on track to achieve the 2015 CMDG targets Good Analysis possible thanks to Strengthened MoEYS Capacities in Data Collection and Analysis and well established EMIS system Use of recent Census and Survey data (Census 2008, DHS 2005) allows for more comprehensive analysis and understanding of the remaining challenges MoEYS: Acknowledgment of challenges and commitment to address them. This is important: we can only deal with the challenges if we acknowledge they exist and understand them.

Atttendance by Age: Comparing DHS 2005 & Census 2008 Progress: 1.Getting children in school at an earlier age 2.Keeping children in school longer BUT: No progress to increase attendance beyond 90% Who are the last 10%? -the poorest -the disabled -the ethnic minorities -the child labourers

Remaining Challenges Remaining Equity Gaps: particularly when looking at Wealth Quintiles and Geographical Areas (Provinces / Districts) Related: still not all children start school at the right age and high repetition rates, particularly in the early grades Focus on the last 10% not in school requires special interventions ….. Some examples using tables and maps ……

A look at Equity Issues.... School Attendance GenderArea of Residence Total FemaleMaleRuralUrban Attend73.6%70.7%71.4%76.9%72.1% Not attend25.1%27.6%27.1%21.3%26.3% n.a.1.4%1.8%1.5%1.8%1.6% Total100.0% School Attendance by Gender and Area of Residence among 6-11 yr Children School Attendance Wealth Quintile Total PoorestPoorerMiddleRicherRichest Attend57.9%68.3%75.8%78.9%85.4%72.1% Not attend39.9%29.8%23.0%20.1%13.2%26.3% n.a.2.2%1.9%1.2%0.9%1.4%1.6% Total100.0% School Attendance by Household Wealth Quintile among 6-11 yr Children 1. Gender 2. Rural / Urban 3. Wealth Quintiles Source: DHS Sub-national: Province / District

Addressing Remaining Challenges ESP includes Core Breakthrough Indicators (CBIs) that help to focus on continued improvement of equity in education, e.g. districts reaching at least 80% completion & number of schools achieving maximum 10% repetition. CBIs reflect priority areas where it is acknowledged that more progress is needed to reduce equity gaps and are crucial for achievement of (C)MDGs. Moving towards Sub-National Annual Operational Plans and provincial sector performance reviews. This will allow for targeted strategies that are responding to the actual situation in each province. Addressing disparities and focus on the most disadvantaged often requires targeted interventions that sometimes require higher investment (rights based and pro-poor remains at the core of the ESP) Continue Comprehensive Analysis of Census 2008 data with particular emphasis on Equity Issues and Out of School Children and Children At Risk of not completing Basic Education

South-South Partnerships Cambodia is interested to share with and to learn from other countries, for example related to: – Strengthening south-south partnership for education analysis, e.g. exchange experiences with EMIS, Census analysis, qualitative research. – Sharing experiences with innovative pilots that address equity issues. – How decentralization and deconcentration can impact positively or negatively on equity in education.

Thank you very much for your attention!