Final
Report: 39th SEAMEO Council Conference
The Empire Hotel and Country Club, Jerudong
Negara Brunei Darussalam
1-4 March 2004
The Empire Hotel and Country Club, Jerudong
Negara Brunei Darussalam
1-4 March 2004
Proceedings
Contents |
| Proceedings |
| Appendices |
Statement
by H E Mr Im Sethy Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and Head of the Cambodian Delegation at the 39th SEAMEO Council Conference |
Mr Chairman, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, |
On
behalf of the Cambodian Delegation, I would like first of all to
congratulate H E Pehin Orang Keys Lalila Wijaya dato Hall Abdul
Aziz Umar, Minister of Education, Brunei Darussalam on his election
as the newly elected President of SEAMEO Council and Chairman of
this Conference. My congratulation also goes to H E Prof Dr Nguyen
Minh Hien, Minister of Education and Training Vietnam on his appointment
as Vice President. |
I
would like to express my gratitude as well to H E Dr Ediberto C
de Jesus, Minister of Education of the Philippines, for his meaningful
contribution and successful chairmanship during his tenure as President
of the 38th SEAMEO Council. |
I
would also like to extend my appreciation to Southeast Asian Ministers
of Education Council, Representatives of Associated Member Countries
and SEAMEO Secretariat. I wish also to express my appreciation to
the Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam for hosting and organizing
this very important regional conference, and for the warm generous
hospitality and excellent arrangements extended to the Cambodian
delegation. |
| Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, |
The
Royal Government of Cambodia wishes to reaffirm its commitment to
the fullest participation in SEAMEO regional activities in education.
The SEAMEO organization and its development is a key process and
institutional arrangement for sharing experiences and learning lessons
about education reform. The MOEYS in Cambodia recognizes that it
can draw on SEAMEO experiences as the reform process in Cambodia
moves towards a phase of policy led and sustainable development. |
At
the previous SEAMEO Council Meeting in 2003, the Cambodia country
report focused on progress made with our sector wide education reform
process. In this presentation, I would like to offer both a further
update and also outline the next phase of our rolling program of
policy and strategy review. |
In
Cambodia, the focus on a sector wide approach (SWAP) to education
reform is particularly important in linking education with broader
poverty reduction strategy and financial and governance reform.
The annual joint Education Sector Support Program (ESSP) review
is a key mechanism for government, MOEYS and its development partners
to assess sector performance and plan for further reform. I will
outline how this review will be linked to the preparation of the
next Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2004/08. |
| Overview of ESSP Review 2003 Findings |
The
ESSP review in May 2003 highlighted a number of key issues, which
are important starting points for the ESP revision process. These
key policy and planning issues will include: |
|
We
anticipate that the revised ESP/ESSP policies and strategies will
directly address these issues. I am aware that many SEAMEO countries
have already faced these challenges and would welcome any opportunities
to share experiences and expertise over the coming months. |
| Education Reform and Broader Socio Economic Development |
Cambodia
recognizes that it is critical that any revision of its Education
Strategic Plan must be responsive to Government's broader poverty
reduction and socio economic development plans. In order to do this,
the Ministry's planning taskforces will need to address some key
questions. Firstly, how can education and training system be reoriented
to ensure an optimum contribution to broader poverty reduction,
economic growth and social well being for Cambodia's people? |
Secondly,
are additional education and training policies and strategies needed
or can existing ones be implemented more effectively? Thirdly, within
the context of EFA, what is a realistic target for expanding post
basic education services and what should be the role of Government
in doing so? Finally, how best can the relevance, quality and standards
of education services be improved and what should be the role for
the Government in assuring and governing standards? |
We
are also aware that any revised Education Strategic Plan will need
to be both financial realistic and also ensure that education budget
reforms are consistent with stated policies and priorities. In order
to do so, the education financing framework will take account of
a number of issues, including: |
|
In
formulating our education financing strategy, the Ministry intends
to adopt a number of key principles. Firstly, we must ensure that
Government support for education is pro poor through given priority
to expanding access to nine years of quality basic education. Secondly,
we will examine mechanisms for expanding public/private partnership
in education, especially enabling private sector and community involvement
in TVET and higher education. Thirdly, we will consider the opportunities
for improving the living conditions of the education staff, both
classroom teachers and managers. |
We
are aware that addressing these issues will mean resolving some
difficult challenges. Firstly, the ESP reform will need to strike
a careful balance between expanding access and assuring quality
at all levels of education. Secondly, while encouraging private
sector involvement, the Government must ensure that parents and
students are provided with high, quality education and value for
money. Thirdly, any improvement in education staff salaries must
be associated with improved performance and productivity as well
as preparedness to be accountable to parents, students and community
groups. |
Once
again, I would welcome an opportunity to draw on the experiences
of other SEAMEO countries in resolving these complex policy and
strategic issues. |
| Cambodia Education Reform and SEAMEO Regional Initiatives |
I
would like to highlight that there are a number of opportunities
for linking Cambodia's education reform process with some of the
SEAMEO regional initiatives. The Ministry is fully committed to
providing inclusive and child friendly schooling, including for
students with disability and from ethnic minority groups. We intend
to address these issues in the revised ESP and would welcome an
opportunity to incorporate lessons learned from regional SEAMEO
activities. |
A
second platform of our reforms will be to accord high priority to
expanding HIV/AIDS education and awareness program. Our current
program has been expanded in late 2003 to incorporate activities
for both primary and secondary school students and teachers nationwide,
including border provinces. The program incorporates use of a mufti
media approach to delivering these programs. Once again, we would
like to draw on the knowledge of the SEAMEO regional program as
we design our new HIV/AIDS education strategy. |
A
third area of innovative cooperation is expanding the use of information
communication technology (ICT) in education, especially for curriculum
enrichment and for teacher training. We hope to finalize our medium
term plan for ICT in education by May 2004 as part of the ESP revision.
My Ministry would like to be kept fully informed about the design
of the SEAMEO program and the lessons learned to date. This will
enable us to incorporate some of the successful features of the
program into our own initiatives. |
Finally,
and in closing my statement, I would like once again to express
my heartfelt thanks to the Government of Brunei Darussalam and all
the people concerned for their kind assistance and warn hospitality
extended to us, and thank for their thoughtful and excellent arrangements
for the organization of the 39'" SEAMEO Council Conference
jointly with the Secretariat. |
| Thank you. |
