In the academic year 2022 and 2023, Panha CHHIM is studying in his 6th Grade at Kirivoan Primary School. Panha lives in Kirivoan village, Steung Chhay commune, Kampong Seila district, Preah Sihanouk province (southwest of Cambodia). Panha is the fourth child of five siblings (three sisters and two brothers). His father, Huot CHHIM, is a worker and his mother, Sophea HUY, is a factory worker. Panha uses a bicycle to commute to school three kilometers away.
Founded by Bandos Komar Association (BK) in 2021, Panha was identified as a slow learner and in need of a lot of support in terms of remedial classes. BK is one of the members of the Cambodian Consortium for Out Of School Children (CCOSC). The consortium has given children like Panha extra remedial classes for slow learner students to catch up with other students who are aged similarly.
Panha attended a remedial class for slow learner students, which was supported by the from October to November 2022. Panha attended the slow learner class from October 10 to November 30, 2022. This class is open every Monday to Friday from 2 PM to 5 PM. Panha was selected to study in the remedial class because Panha’s average score in the first semester was only 4.40. Panha felt very happy to attend this class because there was a teacher to encourage him, and he had to do a lot of exercises and get homework every day. He learned better in mathematics and the Khmer language class.
Ms Ty Srinet, a teacher of Remedial class for grades 5 and 6 at Kirivoan Primary School, who is also Panha’s teacher, said, “The remedial class is practical and helps a lot of show learners or students who fail average in the first semester. This class showed learners had the opportunity to strengthen the foundation of two core subjects, including mathematics and the Khmer language. It also increased the promotion rate and reduced the dropout rate of students at my primary school. In addition, I have strengthened my ability to teach slow-learning students compiled by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. I am happy to contribute to helping the slow learner rank and get promoted together.”
In Panha’s class, other students are slow learners like him. During this two-month class, Panha did many suitable activities, such as calculating numbers (addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication) with other students, doing homework assigned by the teacher, and getting good scores in math. But there are also a few things he needs to improve at related to the Khmer language, such as reading and writing.
For the results of the academic year 2021-2022, Panha advanced to grade sixth with a score of 5.51. Panha suggested that slow learners should study hard, not feel ashamed to attend the slow learner class, and not drop out of school before finishing grade 12.
