[{"bbox": [85, 154, 324, 187], "category": "Section-header", "text": "2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [85, 220, 235, 248], "category": "Section-header", "text": "2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [96, 266, 1134, 401], "category": "Text", "text": "Cambodia is a Least Developed Country potentially graduating in 2027, although almost 20% of Cambodians still live in poverty. Inequalities are increasing as a result of policies that give rise to low quality jobs and inadequate basic services. While the country was a high-achiever for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), since 2015 the progression in terms of SDG and UN Human Development Index (HDI) is less rosy, with indicators (including SDG4, 5, and 8) either only moderately improving, or stagnating."}, {"bbox": [96, 430, 1134, 538], "category": "Text", "text": "Education is a crucial factor to unblock Cambodia's potential in the next years and define the country progression (or not) towards the SDGs. Weak education system and lack of skills have been identified as one of the major obstacles for the country to attract further investments, the private sector to expand and the people to find decent employment opportunities."}, {"bbox": [96, 563, 1134, 804], "category": "Text", "text": "The Cambodian education sector is currently at a cross-road. On one side, starting from the “ground zero” of the civil war, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) has experienced considerable success over the past twenty years, resulting in almost universal access to primary education. A number of important policy measures and functions –firstly piloted with high external support- have now become embedded in the MoEYS. On the other side, more and better skilled human resources are needed in order to transform to a knowledge-based economy and progress towards the achievement of the SDGs. Less than 70% of Cambodian youth attend lower secondary, less than 40% upper secondary and 12% progress to University, of which only 1/3 to study STEM subjects⁴. In terms of quality, less than 10% of 15 year old students achieve the minimum level of proficiency in reading or in mathematics⁵, boys performing worst than girls."}, {"bbox": [96, 829, 1134, 962], "category": "Text", "text": "The education sector has been deeply impacted by COVID 19. Cambodian schools have been close longer than the global and ASEAN average in 2020 and 2021⁶. Hard data⁷ confirm learning losses as well as increased drop-out rates, most likely linked on both poor school results of discouraged students and the cost-opportunity to enrol into unqualified and low-paid work. The next full PISA⁸ (to be released by mid-2023) is likely to confirm the strong impact of the crisis on the learning outcomes of Cambodian 15 year old girls and boys."}, {"bbox": [96, 987, 1134, 1281], "category": "Text", "text": "Cambodia recognises the potential pivotal role of education to progress towards its vision of a high-income and high-developed country by 2050, as described in the Education Sector Policy (ESP), the Cambodia Secondary Education Blueprint (CAMSEB), Higher Education Vision 2030 and relevant sectorial document. That said, the MoEYS budget, which for over 80%, covers teachers' salaries is low compared to regional standards and international recommendations, therefore insufficient to promote such reforms. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) is reticent to increase the education budget unless MoEYS can prove, with solid evidence, learning outcome results and improves its accountability toward performance. This limits MoEYS' scope to improve further the access and quality of the education offer, which, among other, is currently not suited to prepare the youth for future job opportunities in a more environmentally-sustainable, digital and climate neutral circular economy and climate change adaptative strategies of production in agriculture to which the job market is leaning. This perverse spiral of low investment and low results hampers the sustainable development of Cambodia."}, {"bbox": [96, 1306, 1134, 1439], "category": "Text", "text": "Responding to these odds, under the framework of the Multi Annual Indicative Plan (MIP) 2021-2027, the action acts as an enabler of TEI 1 and TEI2 in two ways. First, it promotes the creation of skilled human resources needed to support the low- carbon, climate-adapted and digital transformation under the industrial and agricultural value chains promoted under the TEIs. Secondly, it supports the overall governance and efficiency of the system, for improved performance and domestic financing."}, {"bbox": [85, 1525, 1003, 1550], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ Education Congress Report, April 2022; Mid Term Review of the Education Sector Policy (ESP) 2021/2022."}, {"bbox": [85, 1549, 418, 1573], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ PISA-D (2018) report. Available [here](#)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1573, 543, 1597], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ UNESCO school closing monitoring data 2020-2021."}, {"bbox": [85, 1597, 227, 1621], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ Available [here](#)."}, {"bbox": [85, 1621, 1142, 1646], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸ Supported by the European Union under the complementary measures of the current Budget Support programme (2018-2023)."}, {"bbox": [1037, 1681, 1144, 1707], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 6 of 34"}]