Partners came together on June 14 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at the invitation of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, to launch the 3rd education program financed by a US$20.6 million GPE grant.
The program will focus on children from disadvantaged groups, and will foster effective teaching, leadership and management skills of education staff.
“This new, additional GPE support will allow us to broaden and deepen our pool of qualified teachers, giving more children from the most disadvantaged groups the conditions they need to learn and prosper,” said His Excellency Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sport.
The new program has two components:
- a ‘fixed’ component of US$14.4 million, the Strengthening Teacher Education Program in Cambodia (STEPCam), which will target early grade teachers of primary education and teacher trainers at provincial teacher training centers. UNESCO will be GPE’s grant agent for this part.
- a ‘variable’ component of US$6.2 million that is linked to the achievement of specific results to improve education equity, efficiency and learning outcomes. UNICEF will be GPE’s grant agent for this part.
Cambodia, a GPE partner since 2006, has made steady progress to strengthen its education system: its net primary education enrollment rate grew from 87% in 2001 to 94% in 2015, and enrollment in early childhood education across the country more than doubled between 2005 and 2015. Cambodia received two prior grants from GPE totaling US$95.6 million.