Education is a fundamental and non-negotiable right for everyone but many are still deprived of it. Today, more than 773 million adults, two-thirds of whom are women, are illiterate and 250 million children are not currently in school. Deprived of their fundamental rights, particularly to education, children and adults, men and women, find themselves exposed to extreme insecurity and social exclusion.
That’s why the “enrollment campaign”, or awareness-raising campaign is working to guarantee the right to education for everyone, especially those who are most vulnerable children, girls, women, minorities…
During Cambodian schools opening for a new academic year in December 2023, the CCOSC (Cambodian Consortium for Out-of-School Children) with Action Education in partnership with Education Above All, through its Educate A Child programme and its partners organized various enrollment campaigns across the country. The events aimed to raise awareness, encourage all parents to enroll their children in public school, promote education within the community, and support children in need to improve their educational outcomes. The initiative also sought to strengthen collaboration among education sector stakeholders to promote increased access to quality and inclusive education for all.
“Dear all parents and guardians, please bring your children from 4 years to 6 years to enroll for the new academic year free of charge at preschools and primary schools.” the vocal shout out loud from a speaker across the villages during the campaigns.
A campaign took place at Run Kandal Primary School in Soutr Nikum, Siem Reap province, the Tonle Sap Great Lake region in Cambodia. Meth Leapheng, 10 years old, a representative student is determined at this stage to study hard to be a good child, good student, and good friend.
Leapheng says, “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Royal Government of Cambodia at all levels and non-governmental organizations who overcome all obstacles to make it easier for all of us to learn at school and get better study materials. I also thank the teachers for their hard work in teaching and explaining to me and my classmates.”
“I commit to motivate and encourage my children to come to school every day and monitor their education both at school and at home.” says Hom Sochea, 32 years old, the father of a student at Run Kandal Primary School, in front of hundred participants.
The campaign’s methodology included both social media content and physical activities to achieve its objectives, such as local parades using walking tractors, and motorbikes to display banners and play audio recordings of key messages across multiple villages. The schedule for the campaign at each primary school included various activities such as traditional dances, summary reports on the education situation in the district, welcome speeches, short play performances, certificates of appreciation, and the distribution of scholarships to students with difficulties. With more than ten thousand active participants, including students, teachers, local authorities, district governors, representatives from the provincial department of education, youth and support, and various Non-governmental Organization representatives, the event made strides toward an inclusive education!
A parallel enrollment campaign called Bike for Education/Edubike was a 425-kilometer bike ride across Cambodia to raise awareness of the importance of education and encourage out-of-school children to enroll in school. The Campaign was run by the Foyer Lataste, a Franco-Khmer non-governmental organization dedicated to the protection and education of underprivileged children in Cambodia, in partnership with the CCOSC, and was passing five provinces of Cambodia along the majestic Tonle Sap Lake and through the countryside. EDUBIKE in November 2023 was impactful with over 500 school students joining the campaign by cycling to designated schools along the route, and more than 1,000 notebooks and 200 reading books were distributed in 5 different primary schools and 1 commune across the five capital/provinces. News articles and interviews related to Edubike2023 were distributed on different Cambodian news channels.
The “I Must Learn” campaign also ran through social media and a notebook. In coordination with local media, at least 30 interviews and video clips were conducted and published on social media reaching more than 36K views. With the authorization of the book owner, AEA Cambodia published over 50,000 notebooks (with the story inside), sharing the inspiring story of Ms Bun Channimol, a true champion for education who overcame countless obstacles to pursue her dreams. The notebooks are spreading the message of hope and resilience through her book, “I Must Learn.” This powerful story chronicles her struggles and serves as a beacon of encouragement for students to persevere and never give up on their education.
“Parents and guardians have to send their children to school because learning is life, learning is a weapon to overcome adversity, learning is the energy of goals, learning is the light of life and learning is the foundation of happiness,” says Samphors Vorn, Country Director at Action Education in Cambodia.
December is the enrollment month for public schools in Cambodia. The annual nationwide campaigns intend to raise awareness among both children and their parents about the enrolment period and the importance of education as well as to encourage the communities to bring out-of-school children to school.
The collaboration between local authorities, public institutions, and NGOs is important in countries like Cambodia where the national capacity to provide services to rural and vulnerable populations remains limited. The top priority is to promote awareness about the importance of education, identify out-of-school children (OOSC), determine why they are out-of-school, and enroll out-of-school children in public schools to boost the capacity of community trust in the public school system. Authorities and schools rely on collaboration with NGO networks during enrollment campaigns to ensure the largest number of at-risk or OOSCs are being registered.
To ensure that there are no children left behind when the official enrollment period is over, NGOs are allowed to identify children who remain unregistered. These children become the focus of future education outreach efforts as social workers determine the reason they did not register and if they could benefit from NGO support, such as the Non-Formal Education program, which supports children in their education with the goal of reintegrating them into the public school system.
The Cambodian Consortium for Out of School Children led by Action Education (formerly Aide et Action) in partnership with Educate A Child, a global programme of the Education Above All Foundation, aims to enroll over 116,000 out-of-school children in school. The project directly supports the objectives of the Cambodian Education Strategic Plan 2019-2023 which include ensuring equitable access for all to education services, enhancing the quality and relevance of learning, and providing effective and flexible education services.
