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Smart investment: Govt hikes Education Ministry budget to around $990 million for next year [1]
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Date: 2023-11-08 20:05:38+00:00
Smart investment: Govt hikes Education Ministry budget to around $990 million for next year
Students being introduced to the STEM curriculum at Som Thom High School in Ratanakiri province on September 23.
Students being introduced to the STEM curriculum at Som Thom High School in Ratanakiri province on September 23. STEM Cambodia
As part of its reformist Pentagonal Strategy, the Government of Prime Minister Hun Manet is focusing on education to meet the needs of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
To do this, the government has hiked the Ministry of Education budget by 9% to around $990 million.
It has set a budget of 4,081,367 million riels, or about $990 million, for education in 2024 to promote further education reforms, according to the document obtained by Khmer Times.
The budget increase has been hailed by some experts as a boost for education.
Kim Sopheak, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said that the government plans to disburse 4,081,367 million riels, or about $990 million, on investment in education next year.
He said that the government’s plan for education expenditure in 2024 will be increased by 9.4% compared to this year, during which 3,730,157 million riels or more than $905 million is being spent.
He added that the increase for physical educational assets in 2024 will be set at 3,765,597 million riels, or about $914 million and an increase in scholarships for teacher trainees of 29,586 million riels, or more than $7 million.
Sopheak said capital expenditure was set at 315,770 million riels, or more than $76 million.
According to the Budget Working Group which comprised 20 international and national NGOs, the Education Ministry was budgeted for $797 million for 2022, while in 2021, it received $810 million, a reduction of 1.6% due to the COVID-19 fight.
The government’s Pentagonal Strategy prioritises education reform.
It continues implementing education reforms by focusing on eight priorities, namely: 1). School reform programmes; 2). Teachers’ development; 3). Digital education; 4). Science and technology education; 5). Enhancement of school health; 6). Youth development; 7). Increasing the number of the Centres of Excellence in higher education; and 8). System building and capacity development.
Khuon Vicheka, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, said yesterday that every year the government gradually increased the education budget, except during the COVID-19 epidemic period.
She said the government’s Pentagonal Strategy has given priority to improving the training of human resources and the quality of education, while in 2024 it has decided to increase scholarships for teacher trainees, which is a factor in expenditure increase.
“The increase in costs is due to the provision of materials for science experiments from primary to high school,” she said.
“The Ministry of Education has also revised the new teaching method for primary reading to improve the quality of education in Khmer language as well as mathematics,” Vicheka said.
On October 5, Prime Minister Hun Manet gave teacher trainees “a present of higher allowances” and announced a slew of reforms to strengthen the education sector.
Mr Hun Manet said the government’s first phase of the Pentagonal Strategy is to improve the quality of education, sports, science and technology, as well as continue to reform public schools, promote the establishment of model schools, and promote the active participation of parents, communities and the private sector.
He also announced that the government has decided to increase the monthly allowances of trainee teachers by more than $100 so that they cope with their living conditions.
Mr Hun Manet said that there are three categories of teacher trainees – A, B and C.
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, said that presently there are about 3,000 teacher trainees in the Kingdom.
Category A trainees who received monthly stipends of 603,000 riels (about $146) this year will get 1,170,000 riel (about $283) next year.
Those in Category B will get 1,100,000 riel (about $266) next year, up from 562,000 riel (about $136) this year. Those in Category C who received 530,000 riel (about $128) this year will get 980,000 riel (about $237) next year.
Dr Quach Mengly, a well-known education expert, said that a 9.4% increase in the annual budget was modest, but more importantly, the government is willing to use the budget wisely and better than in previous years.
Dr Mengly hopes that the government will use the national budget for effective education, focusing on improving the quality of education and teacher training.
“The budget must be well used and more effective, and they must monitor the implementation of strengthening human resources in terms of technology, STEM and science. It will be better to a large extent,” he said.
“I believe that attention is paid on, work is done well, the money is used efficiently and correctly,” he said. “So despite it being somewhat modest, we can outperform it.”
“We still have many years to go before we can improve the quality of education, even though we are a developing country, but we are not far behind on the international stage because our people are intelligent,” he said.
He added that if the Cambodian people have the same opportunities as those in developed countries, they will have full capacity to develop the country towards the Industrial Revolution 4.0.
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