Eleventh Quarterly Report IMPROVED BASIC EDUCATION IN ...ibec.worlded.org/publications/IBEC_Quart_Report 11.pdf · Improved Basic Education in Cambodia: Eleventh Quarterly Report

Improved Basic Education in Cambodia: Eleventh Quarterly Report

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Eleventh Quarterly Report IMPROVED BASIC EDUCATION IN CAMBODIA (IBEC)

08 Fall

31 July 2012

Prepared by: WORLD EDUCATION, INC. In Partnership with: KAMPUCHEAN ACTION FOR PRIMARY EDUCATION

US Agency for International Development Cooperative Agreement No AID-442-A-09-00003

W O R L D E D U C A T I O N , I N C . 4 4 F A R N S W O R T H S T R E E T , B O S T O N M A 0 2 2 1 0 U S A T E L : ( 1 ) 6 1 7 - 4 8 2 - 9 4 8 5 , W W W . W O R L D E D . O R G

Covering the Period April to June 2012


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Table of Contents

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 2 ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION 6 2.1 Activity Overview and Cross-Component Summary 6 2.1.1 General Overview 2.1.2 Gender Themes

2.1.3 Partnership Themes 2.1.4 Poverty Reduction Themes 2.1.5 Public Private Partnership Themes

2.2 Component 1: LNGO and Government Capacity Building & Advocacy for Sustai-nability 2.2.1 Capacity Building Programming 2.2.2 Educational Outreach through Radio Programming and other Media

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2.3 Component 2: More Equitable School Access 18 2.3.1 Subcomponent 1: Scholarships 2.3.2 Subcomponent 2: Stakeholder-driven Discretionary School Grants 2.4 Component 3: Improved School Management & Community Engagement 29 2.5 Component 4: Improved Educational Relevance 33 2.5.1 Life Skills Development 2.5.2 Teacher Education 2.5.3 Improving Access to Information Technology 3 PROGRESS TOWARDS STATED TARGETS 51 3.1 Progress Against Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP) Indicators 3.2 Progress Against Operational Plan (OP) Indicators 4 OVERALL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION 57 4.1 Status of Grant Disbursements to Schools 4.2 Timeline of Activities 5 LESSONS LEARNED AND ISSUES IN IMPLEMENTATION 60 5.1 Exceptionally Strong Engagement with MoEYS Departments as Quarter Ends 5.2 Not the Right Time for Technology Theme Schools

5.3 Early Closure of Schools

6. GOVERNANCE ISSUES 61 6.1 Change in Tier Status 6.2 Anecdotal Reports on Improvements in School Governance

ANNEXES:

o ANNEX 1: Newsletter for the 11th Quarter


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List of Tables and Figures Table 2.1: Capacity-building Workshops Provided to Partners during the 11th Quarter Table 2.2: Meetings with Consultative Group members, 11th Quarter Table 2.3: Support Meetings and Workshops with Provincial Working Groups, 11th Quarter Table 2.4: Meetings with SSC in Target Beacon School, 11th Quarter Table 2.5: Capacity Building Support to CEFA Committees (Commune Level) Table 2.6: Summary of Radio Program Topics Table 2.7: Summary of Radio Broadcast Times and Dates Table 2.8: Content and Outlines of Audio Exercises Produced during the 11th Quarter Table 2.9: Dropout Levels at Primary Level (as of the end of 11th Quarter) Table 2.10: Reason Cited for Dropout among Primary School Scholarship Beneficiaries (Year 3) Table 2.11: Internal Assessment of LSMC Operation Based on Standardized Criteria, 11th Quarter Table 2.12: Dropout Levels at Secondary Level (as of end of 11th Quarter) Table 2.13: Reason Cited for Dropout among Secondary School Scholarship Beneficiaries Table 2.14: PTTC Scholarship Candidates by Year of Study and Province, 11th Quarter Table 2.15: Performance of Children’s/Students’ Councils, 11th Quarter Table 2.16: Library Readership at Primary School Libraries Supported by IBEC (11th Qtr) Table 2.17: Library Readership at Secondary School Libraries Supported by IBEC (11th Quarter) Table 2.18: Girls’ Counseling Services Provided during the 11th Quarter Table 2.19: Students Benefiting from Child Help Networks at Primary Level, 11th Quarter Table 2.20: Health Referrals during the Quarter and Since the Start of Year 3 Table 2.21: Promotion, Repetition, and Dropout Results in BCA Classrooms, Year 3 Table 2.22: Latest Update on WASH and Infrastructure Investments, Year 3 Table 2.23: Number of Participants Attending SMLTC Reflection Workshop 4 Table 2.24: Number of School Administrators Supported as Part of SMLTC 4, 11th Quarter Table 2.25: Summary of Study Visits and Site Exchanges, 10th and 11th Quarters Table 2.26: Summary of Monitoring Visits to Families Receiving Assistance Linked with Life Skills

Instruction, 11th Quarter Table 2.27: School Compliance with Institutional Framework Guidelines Table 2.28: Market Simulations in Year 3 Table 2.29: Life Skills Innovation Grants by location and Activities Type, Years 2 and 3 Table 2.30: Assessment Results of Child Friendly Secondary School Teachers Table 2.31: Assessment Results of Child Friendly School Teachers (Primary Level) Table 2.32: Assessment Results for Community Teachers

Table 2.33: Summary of Assessment Results for Science Lab Usage (Teachers) Table 2.34: Summary of Assessment Results for Science Lab Usage (Students) Table 2.35: Results of Subject Club Implementation in School Year 2011-2012 Table 2.36: Subject Club Activities in Secondary School, 2011-2012 Table 2.37: Outstanding Subject Clubs Receiving Awards during Project Work Fairs, 11th Quarter Table 2.38: Schools and Teachers Participating in Enhanced Reading & Writing Activities Table 2.39: Assessment of the Effectiveness of Measures Put in Place to Enhance Reading and Writing Table 2.40: Assessment Results of Reading and Writing in Selected Schools (N=127) Table 2.41: Scope of Participation and Presentations at Project Work Fairs Table 2.42: Results of Student Attitudinal survey on IT Access, Impact, & Efficiency Table 2.43: Average Scores for IBEC-supported Labs on a Standardized Assessment Tool, Year 3

Figure 2.1: Figure 2.2: Figure 2.3:

Special Areas of Interests Highlighted by Listeners in Audience Feedback Surveys Change in Teacher Observation Scores Students Improving Their Scores on Post-test Administration


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Table 3.1: Progress Summary of Performance Standard Indicators, 11th Quarter Table 3.2: Status of PMP and OP Indicators, 11th Quarter Table 3.3: Status of Operational Plan Indicators, 11th Quarter

Table 4.1: Approved Budgets and Expenditure for All Target Clusters by Province in Academic Year 2011/12, 11th Quarter

Table 4.2: Approved Budgets for All Target Lower Secondary Schools by Province in Academic year 2010/11, 11th Quarter

Table 4.3: Summary of Progress on Work Plan Implementation during the 11th Quarter Table 4.4: Explanation of Delayed Work Plan Activities during the 11th Quarter

Table 6.1: Table 6.2: Table 6.3:

Tier Change for Secondary Schools, Year 3 Tier Change for Primary Schools, Year 3 Tier Change for All Schools


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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Program Overview: This quarter was marked by the close of the school year. Secondary schools officially closed at the end of June and many primary schools, especially the more rural ones, also closed at the end of the quarter though they are officially supposed to stay open until the end of July. The recent reports of a very dangerous virus that has killed over 50 children has made the Ministry decide to also close the primary schools sooner than expected and it is believed that all schools will be closed by the middle of July. The quarter, therefore, saw a winding down of activities and the final liquidations of school grants to all schools. This winding down of activities refers in particular to the completion of the life skills pilot and the associated evaluation that began at the start of the last quar-ter. The completion of this pilot is a milestone event for the project since the life skills subcomponent is a flagship activity of the IBEC Project. To mark the completion of the project’s midterm point, World Education and KAPE organized an important Midterm Review in Siem Reap Province to pro-vide time to all government counterparts, staff members, local partners, and school-community mem-bers to reflect on the achievements and challenges of the last two and a half years and elicit feedback on the way forward for the remaining two and a half years of the project.

Component 1 – LNGO/Government Capacity Building & Advocacy for Sustainability: Capacity Building Activities: During the quarter, Component 1 followed up a final round of bench-mark appraisals with local partners. These activities have become increasingly important, as the project will be phasing out assistance to two partners (BSDA and EDA) in Year 4. Particular empha-sis has been placed on helping BSDA to re-apply for accreditation from CCC at the end of this calen-dar year so that they can join KAPE in being accredited. This is a key goal for the project with respect to its capacity-building agenda. A CG meeting with H.E. Sam Serey Rath occurred on 26 June to dis-cuss the submission of the Year 4 Work Plan to USAID and the expansion of life skills programming. H.E. Sam Serey Rath expressed full support for the proposed expansion of life skills education activi-ties and also the need for the Ministry’s departments to resolve the issue of over time payments for teachers teaching life skills subjects. The Component also worked with Provincial Coordinators in organizing numerous meetings with Provincial Working Groups to review measures for improving utilization of science labs, finalizing school tier classifications, and expanding the good work the project is doing in creating early grade literacy tools. As part of new efforts to help the Ministry in-crease the effectiveness of reading, a set of innovative reading materials was distributed to trial schools in Kampong Cham Province, which have been very well received. The Component also moved forward on its work to improve the use of Beacon Schools as exemplars of good practice. Ref-lection meetings were held with many Beacon Schools during the quarter and revised guidelines on organizing a Beacon School were also completed. Finally, the Component finalized its preparations to use communes as a primary means for providing grants to school next year. This involved numerous meetings with communes to review the roles and duties of CEFACs vis a vis the Ministry’s EFA poli-cy and awareness-raising on education issues for the upcoming Commune Investment Plan workshops in which funds will be allocated by government for the next fiscal year. Radio and Other Programming: The quarter saw the completion of activities designed to disseminate life skills education inputs to a wide audience through radio programming and other media. These activities took place as part of an extension of the work that Equal Access Cambodia, the predecessor to MEDIA One, undertook as part of the consortium of partners working on the IBEC Program. As MEDIA One, a new LNGO comprising many of the old staff of Equal Access, took over EAs work in Cambodia as of April 2012, it received approval to extend some of the activities that Equal Access had been undertaking into the third quarter of Year 3. During the present reporting period, MEDIA One completed all of its planned outputs, including production and broadcast of the life skills radio program, We Can Do It, and community engagement activities.

Component 2 – More Equitable School Access Component: Scholarships: Component: With the imminent of the school year, scholarship programming support


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began to wind down at all levels including in primary schools, secondary schools, and at the Provin-cial Teacher Training Colleges. At primary level, the LCSCs held meetings with parents to talk about keeping their children in school until the end of the year and to re-enroll them next year. Preliminary reports from the 170 schools receiving primary level scholarship support indicated that about 253 of those receiving scholarships in Grades 4 to 6 dropped out this year, or about 6% of the total. There are still 3,918 students receiving support as of the end of the quarter. The primary reason for dropout ap-peared to be ‘working at home’ (45%) and ‘migration’ (22%). At secondary school level, the 39 schools receiving support were evaluated with regards to how well they administer the scholarship program (e.g., the frequency of Local Scholarship Management Committee meetings, meetings with students, etc). While most schools scored well, there were about 31% of schools whose performance was only average, suggesting areas in need of improvement. The Commune Elections and examina-tions have been major distractions for several committees administering scholarship activities. Tutor-ing activities were also successfully administered in most schools during the quarter leading to very good examination results. In this respect, 98% of beneficiaries passed in Kampong Cham and 92% in Siem Reap. Reporting has not yet been received from Kratie at the time of the writing of this report. In some cases, beneficiaries were in the top level of the examination results, indicating a very good result. In terms of dropout, schools reported a rate of about 5% of the 1,934 students receiving scho-larship assistance at lower secondary school level this year. There are currently 1,843 beneficiaries remaining of the total number of supported students at the start of the year. Key reasons for dropout were working at home (29%) and migration to Thailand to seek work (22%). The final distributions of scholarship support were also distributed to 240 PTTC students. Provinces reported no dropout and are currently preparing posting plans to target schools to address teacher shortages.

Stakeholder-driven Discretionary School Grants: As in other components, school grants for discre-tionary educational services started to wind down in the countdown to the end of the school year. Fi-nal renovations to libraries were completed along with a refresher course for 39 school librarians. Schools reported large end-of -quarter statistics that demonstrate widespread usage of the provided libraries including 95,000 users at primary school level and over 68,000 users at secondary level. There are a total of 228 schools with project-supported libraries. The project also distributed a new series of books entitled, Discoveries, Inventions, and Creativity, which were provided by the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology. About 400 storybooks in this series were distributed. The Component also completed assessments of children’s and students’ councils during the quarter using standardized review tools. While 77% of councils at secondary level got satisfactory scores or better, only 53% of primary level councils demonstrated a minimum standard of performance, suggesting the need for additional capacity building. An assessment of Girls’ Counseling Networks serving over 22,000 children found over 1,709 consultations provided during the quarter with over 95% of girls who had left school for over three days eventually returning to school. Reporting from schools with Child Help Networks indicated that 7,874 children benefited from classmate-mediated assistance in-cluding peer tutoring (947 children), pen pals networks (3,405), homework clubs (3,395 children), and support for physically challenged children 127 children. In addition, the project the provided health referrals to another 49 children during the quarter for disabilities and chronic illnesses. Discussions are currently under way with the USS Mercy to use the project’s outreach network to identify addi-tional children in need of advanced medical services. Services from 14 bilingual classroom assistants working in schools with large Cham populations also concluded the year with reports of a 91% pro-motion rate in supported classrooms. A Reflection Workshop with BCAs indicated the continuing popularity of this intervention in the Cham community and a real incentive for Cham families to enroll their children in the state schools. Finally, the latest updated information from the WASH Team demonstrates the achievement of major scope in the assistance provided this year including nearly 200 toilets, 70 water tanks, and 60 upgraded classrooms that were completed during the year.

Component 3 - School Management and Community Engagement Component: With the completion of School Management and Leadership Training Workshop 4 last quarter, the most central activity subset for the Component has really been completed, i.e., the training of school directors to run their schools effectively. Nevertheless, the Component continued to implement a series of related activities such as a Reflection Workshop for District-based Project Officers to provide assistance to


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schools in completing their task work, which was assigned during SMLTC 4. In all, 20 project per-sonnel received guidance in how to conduct task work support visits, review school data, and monitor community outreach activities. Following the workshop, hundreds of support visits occurred during the quarter throughout supported schools to help school directors complete their task work. The Com-ponent was also involved in the organization of site exchange visits for school directors and teachers involving about 102 participants. This included a study tour to Lamplaimat School in Thailand (paid for by the Oak Tree Foundation), visits to Beacon Schools, and participation to Project Work Fairs to exchange ideas on subject club and project work implementation. Component personnel also worked with LNGO partners to follow up life skills activities among vulnerable families that also receive scholarship assistance. Out of 260 families receiving such assistance, the Component organized visits to 46 families to see if they are using the grant assistance for income generation activities linked to life skills effectively. Preliminary findings have so far been positive with a full report being prepared for the next quarter.

Component 4 – Improved Educational Relevance:

Life Skills Education: Throughout this quarter, the Life Skills Team has been evaluating the Life Skills Pilot, assessing implementation processes at the school-level, distributing textbooks and other classroom materials, and refining teacher manuals and materials. In this respect, the project distri-buted 117,000 different learning and teaching materials among target schools across the three prov-inces. To evaluate the Life Skills Pilot program, the evaluation team undertook assessments across five parameters including: (i) Teacher Methodology; (ii) Curriculum Clarity; (iii) Student Competen-cy; (iv) Attitudinal Changes among Parents and Students; and (v) Institutional Framework Effective-ness. The assessment was completed during the quarter with significant MoEYS input. An Evaluation Report summarizing the findings is currently being prepared and will be presented in draft form at National Workshop being organized by the Department of Curriculum Development. Summary find-ings are generally positive but highlight several areas in need of improvement including a need for revisions in the life skills manuals, changes in the way that teachers are trained, and policy level guidelines relating to overtime payments. The MoEYS has shown excellent responsiveness to these findings so far and is in the process of issuing additional guidelines regarding overtime payments for life skills education.

At the same time as the Life Skills Evaluation was in progress, the Component also worked with the Vocational Orientation Department (VOD) to assess a Career Counseling Framework that links close-ly with the Life Skills Pilot, particularly a life skills module entitled, The World of Work. The assess-ment was carried out jointly with VOD, looking at 22 schools where it was being implemented. The assessment found that thee was a high compliance with some key guidelines including the completion of student assessment career forms (94% of schools); one-to-one interviews with selected students for career counseling (69% of schools); and mapping career opportunities in the local area (84% of schools). Nevertheless, there were reports that schools struggled with the guidelines due to lack of staffing and leadership, which highlight significant challenges for future expansion.

In addition to these major clusters of activity, the Component also organized Market Simulations in 22 schools as well as provided on-going support for Life Skills Innovation Grants that are emerging as a key strategy to support income generation in schools so that life skills activities can be sustained in the future. This year, ten new schools started Life Skills Innovation Grants involving mushroom growing, poultry, and vegetable cultivation in addition to seven last year for a total of 17 schools. Ap-proximately $4,000 in grants was provided to schools for this purpose.

Teacher Education: The Teacher Education Sub-component carried out a huge number of assessment activities to determine the effectiveness of various interventions to improve learning environments. This included the assessment of Child Friendly School Teachers at both primary and secondary level as well as Community Teachers. CFS teacher observations determined that 76% of teachers at sec-ondary school level were compliant with minimum expectations for performance while about 85% of primary school teachers were found to be compliant. Observation results were based on a randomized sample of the teacher population comprising 10% of all teachers. In this respect, Component and gov-


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ernment personnel carried out 67 classroom observations at secondary school level and 68 more at primary level. With respect to Community Teachers, an assessment of a sample of teachers found 86% meeting basic standards of instruction.

The Component also organized another major assessment of the use of Science Labs. Since project start-up, about 20 science labs have been built, mostly in Tier 1 schools. There had been major con-cerns, however, about underutilization. After considerable intervention and reflection meetings with teachers to teach theory and practice in the same lesson, there seemed to be a major improvement in the utilization of Science Labs. For example, 52% of teachers reported that they use the labs three or four times a week or more and two-thirds indicated that their school now has an explicit time table for the use of the labs and a tracking record of when teachers use the lab. Among students, 61% of stu-dents reported using the lab multiple times during the year and 87% reported engaging directly in doing experiments (as opposed to just watching). While far from perfect, these outputs are much, much better than what was observed last year and earlier in the present year. During this quarter, the Teacher Education Team also interviewed students in 22 subject clubs, or 23% out of the 92 total clubs that are being supported. These assessments found that about 80% of clubs appear to be func-tioning well since they were established.

Another important area of activity undertaken by the Component refers to the establishment of meas-ures in 71 schools to enhance reading and writing. These measures include storybook reading, sup-plementary reading materials, and literacy corners in classrooms. An assessment indicted that most schools had complied with the establishment of these measures but that utilization rates were still rela-tively low, due in large part to the lateness of their establishment in the school year. An Early Grade Reading Assessment administered to over 127 randomly selected students in Grade 1 at the end of the quarter indicated that about 70% of students had acquired basic reading and writing skills, indicating a need for further inputs.

IT Access: The ICT Team reported that all lab emplacement activities and teacher training had been completed since the last quarter. In this regard, eight labs were installed in Year 3 for a total of 23 labs since project start-up. During the quarter, the ICT Team focused on organizing Project Work Fairs in the three provinces to provide a forum for students doing project work to make presentations and share ideas. This is the fourth year that project work fairs have been organized with USAID funding and these events seem to be greatly anticipated by students each year. The fairs include prizes for Best of Show and have dance and dramatic performances by Subject Club members in attendance. The fairs this year were the largest on record with 638 student participants making 105 PowerPoint presen-tations on various topics such as the hazards of smoking, local history, and Khmer poetry. The team also carried out attitudinal surveys among 350 students in 20 schools to determine the degree to which students have access to lab facilities. Survey results were generally positive with about 64% of stu-dents reporting that they had had at least two hours of ICT instruction per week, no one had been charged access fees, and that access to computer lab facilities had played some role in the decision of most students to stay in school.

Progress towards Stated Targets: The Work Plan approved by USAID in September 2011 in-cludes 66 key benchmarks or results to be achieved within Year 3 implementation. Each result is as-sociated with an Intermediate Result (IR) specified by USAID as part of the RFA announcement. A total of 70 outcomes have been identified during the life of the project including ten standard (i.e., Operational Plan) indicators. At the end of 11th Quarter, field offices have been able report on the sta-tus of 48 indicators, up from 35 indicators in the last quarter or about 73% of the total. In all, 44 indi-cators have so far been achieved (67% of the total) while 18 others or about 27% more are pending end of year data but are still on track to be achieved. A total of four indicators or 6% will likely not be achieved.

Project Management Summary Utilization of School Grants: In general, fund utilization rates have been very slow with about 85% of funds left remaining at primary level and 36% remaining at secondary school level. Out of a total


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grant budget of $290,851, only about $215,452 has so far been liquidated or about 74% of the total allocated budget. The primary reason given for the slow rate of fund utilization reflects numerous dis-tractions among school directors and teachers that relate to the commune elections in March 2012. On top of this, schools were asked to close early this year due to a dangerous virus that has further con-stricted the time for the implementation of activities. Field offices have reported, however, that once many outstanding advances are liquidated, fund utilization rates will jump to a much higher level, es-pecially at secondary school level where many funds are still unspent.

Activity Completion during the 11th Quarter: All components reported that there were 145 activities to be implemented during the quarter. Activity completion rates were excellent this quarter with near-ly all of the identified activities (99%) completed. Component 2 reported a somewhat lower rate of completion for a number of activities but even they completed nearly 95% of their approved activities. Only three activities were not completed during the quarter. With regards to activities outstanding from last quarter, Components reported that all such activities have now been completed except two.

Lessons Learned and Issues in Implementation: A number of factors appear to be having a very positive effect on the engagement of Ministry departments in key IBEC activities. The change in leadership of the Consultative Group with the appointment of H.E. Sam Sereirath has brought about renewed interest in the project and its work with life skills education. Things are now moving very rapidly in this area. In addition, the project itself has made many overtures to the various departments by redoubling efforts to demonstrate the amount of technical support that can be provided in many technical areas including career counseling, life skills education, and teacher education at Child Friendly Secondary Schools. The life skills pilot, for example, has made a deliberate effort to involve as many Ministry staff members as possible in the evaluation along with salary supplements from pri-vate sources. Over the course of the quarter, the project has, therefore, seen very positive engagement in such areas as life skills education, career counseling, and teacher education for Child Friendly Sec-ondary Schools. Unfortunately, the project has not met with success in its efforts to set up Technology Theme Schools in collaboration with Microsoft Corporation. The project has, therefore, decided to withdraw its proposal for further consideration. Due to the outbreak of a potentially deadly virus called EV71 that can be fatal to children, the MoEYS also announced the early closure of schools at the end of the quarter, which constricted the time available for schools to complete using their school grants. The project is hopeful that once some outstanding advances are liquidate, utilization rates will improve.

School Governance Issues: Every year IBEC staff conducts spot check assessments to evaluate the progress of each target school supported by the project. This assessment looks at school gover-nance criteria relating to financial governance (as it concerns the administration of school grants) and activity completion. This quarter, the spot check was completed in May 2012. Spot check results are the primary criterion used to assign schools to their development tier. Assignment to a high tier (Tier 1) indicates increased capacity to utilize development assistance efficiently. The project expects schools to move up in their tier assignments as a result of capacity building inputs. Based on a review of spot check results and discussions with Provincial Working Groups, the project upgraded 31% of secondary schools and downgraded 2% (see Table 6.1). With respect to primary schools, 24% were upgraded while 9% were downgraded (see Table 6.2). Overall, 27% of schools were upgraded this year so that 61% of schools now occupy the highest tier (see Table 6.3). This represents a considera-ble increase from last year’s classifications (Year 2) where only 32% of secondary schools occupied the highest tier and 21% of primary schools did. In contrast, 72% of secondary schools now occupy the highest tier while 55% of primary schools do. It will now be incumbent upon the project to vali-date these classifications to make sure that they have real meaning both in terms of the efficiency with which activities are managed and administered.


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2. ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

2.1 ACTIVITY OVERVIEW AND CROSS-COMPONENT SUMMARY 2.1.1 General Overview Summary of Key Events and Progress: This quarter was marked by the close of the school year. Secondary schools officially closed at the end of June and many primary schools, especially the more rural ones, also closed at the end of the quarter though they are officially supposed to stay open until the end of July. The recent reports of a very dangerous virus that has killed over 50 children has made the Ministry decide to also close the primary schools sooner than expected and it is believed that all schools will be closed by the middle of July. The quarter, therefore, saw a winding down of activities and the final liquidations of school grants to all schools. This winding down of activities refers in par-ticular to the completion of the life skills pilot and the associated evaluation that began at the start of the last quarter. The completion of this pilot is a milestone event for the project since the life skills subcomponent is a flagship activity of the IBEC Project (see Section 2.5.1). To mark the completion of the project’s midterm point, World Education and KAPE organized an important Midterm Review in Siem Reap Province to provide time to all government counterparts, staff members, local partners, and school-community members to reflect on the achievements and challenges of the last two and a half years and elicit feedback on the way forward for the remaining two and a half years of the project (see below).

IBEC Mid-Term Review Meeting: The IBEC project reached its midterm imple-mentation point at the end of March 2012. The project has now been in operation for two and a half years. In order to summarize successes and future challenges over the last two years, the project organized a Mid-term Review Meeting with broad participa-tion from government and development partners. The Review Meeting was held on 11 May 2012 in Siem Reap and was chaired by H.E Sam Sereyrath, Director General, Directorate of General Education and Ms. Tara Milani, USAID OPHE Deputy Direc-tor. There were about 100 participants at the meeting representing Ministry depart-ments, Provincial and District Offices of Education from the three target provinces, school directors, teachers, communes, stu-dents, and local partners. The meeting was organized to include exhibits that demon-strated the achievements of the project over the years including the completion of a life skills education curriculum comprising 30 teacher manuals. POE Directors and Vice Directors made presentations on the project’s progress in their respective prov-inces, demonstrating a high degree of ownership and understanding of the project’s work in their schools. There were also presentations on the Life Skills Pilot (a project flagship activity) and efforts to improve access to ICT in schools. Stakeholders made some very moving presentations about how the project had affected them personally including a young scholarship recipient enrolled at the

Midterm Review Meeting: Honored Guests open the seminar (above); Participants examine the exhibitions at the seminar during the break


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Teacher Training College in Kampong Cham Province. The key achievements, future plans, and chal-lenges facing the project were significantly stressed by project managers as well, seeking solutions and suggestions from participants. H.E. Sam Sereirath closed the meeting with a very strong en-dorsement of the project’s work and expressed his view that the project is on the ‘right track’ in its approach to develop the school system. The meeting was then followed by a number of visits to target schools by members of the Consultative Group in the Ministry that oversees the project. USAID’s Assessment on Water and Sanitation: On 24 and 25th April, visitors from Washington and the Mission came to review the implementation of Water & Sanitation activities in the project as well as compliance with environmental conditions that were outlined in the Environmental Document Forms (EDF) that were submitted to USAID at the beginning of the school year. The visitors came in two groups and reviewed two schools in Oriang O District of Kampong Cham Province on the 24th and two schools in Kang Meas District, also in Kampong Cham on the 25th. Those in attendance in-cluded Mr. Robert MacLeod, Bureau Environmental Officer from Washington as well as Janet Lawon and Sieng Heng from the Mission. The teams reviewed a number of interventions including toilet construction, washing stations, wells, water systems, and infrastructure upgrading for classrooms, li-braries, IT labs and science labs. The project is currently awaiting a report from the Mission on the findings of the visitors in order to make any needed improvements in the way that WASH activities are implemented. 2.1.2 Gender Themes

Scholarship programming with its focus on gender balance came to a close during the quarter. The project has now begun to compile statistics on the Gender Parity Index for Enrolment and Dropout to determine changes from the baseline.

2.1.3 Partnership Themes

Visit of MoEYS Leadership to IBEC School in Siem Reap: On 7 June 2012, H.E. Sam Serey Rath visited Puok High School in Siem Reap Province along with the Director of the Provincial Office of Education. H.E. Sam Serey Rath is the new chairman of the project’s Consultative Group (the project’s oversight body) and this was his first visit to a project school. His Excellency was very impressed with the many successful interventions that he observed in-cluding bio-gardens, fish raising ponds, and the ICT lab. He indicated that the support to life skills educa-tion by the project had been very systematic, effective and exactly what the Ministry is looking for. He ex-pressed his hope that it would be possible to expand these activities to even more schools in the future. Workshop on Developing Administrative Ques-tionnaire to Improve Student Learning at Primary School: Between 09 - 11 April, the IBEC Dep-uty Chief of Party and IBEC KAPE Program Manager were invited by the Primary Education De-partment (PED) to share experiences in a workshop on developing different types of administrative questionnaires (checklists) for child friendly schools. The department will be using these tools to pro-vide results-based performance measures to better monitor student learning outcomes at primary level and the school-based institutional support that these outcomes receive. The workshop took place in Kampong Speu Province. These questionnaires will be used for multiple stakeholders including 1) School directors, 2) Teachers, 3) Students, 4) Parents, and 5) School Support Committees (SSC) and District-based Training and Monitoring Teams (DTMT). To help the Ministry in these efforts, IBEC has also shared all the relevant monitoring tools that it has developed for a similar purpose.

MoEYS Expresses its Satisfaction with Project Support: H.E. Sam Sereyrath talks with the school Director of Pouk High School in Siem Reap to congratulate him on the excellent progress his school has made


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Seminar on Innovative Behavioral Change among Youth to Work Towards ASEAN Integra-tion: On 17th May, the IBEC Deputy Chief of Party was invited by the ASEAN Academy of Engi-neering and Technology for a Seminar on innovative ways to achieve behavioral change among youth in order to facilitate Cambodia’s integration into ASEAN by 2015. H.E Dr. Sous Kong, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Rural Development, and H.E Chey Charb, Secretary of State of MoEYS chaired this seminar. There were about 1,000 seminar participants comprising young Cambodian en-gineers, teachers, students, and NGO representatives. The seminar organized many stimulating lec-tures about Science Learning, Technology & Innovation Education for Economic Transformation, the Role of Youth in Environmental Protection, and Nurturing Innovation in Young Children. At the end of the seminar, IBEC received 480 short story books on Discoveries, Inventions, Innovation & Crea-tivity for its supported school libraries. Workshop on the Identification of Strategic Priorities for Research in the Education Sector: On the 18th of May, the IBEC Deputy Chief of Party was invited by the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) for a workshop on the Identification of Strategic Priorities for Research in the Education Sec-tor. The meeting was chaired by H.E Nath Bunroeun, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS). The purpose of this workshop was to identify areas of interest where re-search could inform future Ministry policy development. In the future, the Ministry would like to re-duce its reliance on foreign TA and use researchers enrolled at the RUPP who are engaged in com-pleting their Master’s Degree research to compile reports in selected areas of interest to the Ministry. The research will be funded by EU, Sida and UNICEF in collaboration with the Directorate of Gener-al Education. Most of the points discussed related to the challenging issues in the education sector now and in the future. This included the quality of education, ASEAN community integration by 2015, skills for students for the 21st century (life and career skills, and ICT education), lower second-ary school drop out, scholarship, textbook distribution, and expanding to Child Friendly Schools poli-cy to the secondary school sector. IBEC mentioned that it has already been involved in supporting some researchers from RUPP to conduct research on specific topics such as the success of local teacher recruitment interventions that are implemented jointly with the Teacher Training Department. The IBEC representative also mentioned that the project has already made extensive interventions in the area of Child Friendly Secondary School expansion and has a wealth of experience to share. The meeting concluded by recording a list of possible areas of research in collaboration with RUPP. The Visit of World Bank to IBEC Target Schools: On 23rd May, Ms. Lynn Dudley, International Adviser for Education Sector Support Scale Up Action Project (ESSSUP/FTI) accompanied Dr. Helen Abadzi, a specialist from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), came to visit IBEC supported schools to learn about innovative activities in the area of early grade reading. Dr. Abadzi is a well-known researcher in the area of early grade reading and assisted the Ministry in implementing the Ear-

ly Grade Reading Assessment that informed the de-velopment of the new Grade 1 reader in 2010. The schools visited included Hun Sen Cheas PS and Thmor Pech PS in Tbong Khmom District, Kam-pong Cham Province. The schools visited demon-strated interesting interventions to the visitors such as remedial reading support, specialized classroom learning aids, bilingual classroom assistants, peer tutoring, and child-to-child help networks. The visi-tors actually spent about 30 minutes in a Grade 1 class to assess children’s learning of reading and writing skills and came away considerably im-pressed They also observed and video taped the stu-dent remedial program activities. Dr. Abadzi was very pleased with what she saw and said the schools were excellent and that it is obvious that IBEC is doing a great job.

Looking and Finding the Substance: Dr. Abadzi from the World Bank discusses the new reader with a student in an IBEC school


9

ADB/EEQP Meeting on Secondary Resource Center (SRC): The Deputy Chief of Party of IBEC attended a consultative meeting held by ADB on the development of resource centers, ICT labs, and science labs that are being funded under the Enhancing Education Quality Project (EEQP). The meet-ing attempted to review the results of the 18 resource centers set up by ADB in the past and the les-sons learned. IBEC was able to share a great deal of experience regarding the use of ICT systems (which EEQP has already adopted) as well as the use of science labs. There is considerable concern whether the MoEYS can sustain these facilities after the ADB funds for utilities and other mainten-ance costs runs out. There are 18 more of these facilities that are planned, in spite of the fact that they appear to be greatly underutilized by schools so far. 2.1.4 Poverty Reduction Themes Nothing to report during this quarter.

2.1.5 Public Private Partnership Themes Possible Increased Support from Barclay’s Bank: KAPE has been invited by Aflatoun to sub-mit a new proposal to Barclay’s Bank for a new pro-gram on financial literacy linked to the IBEC scholar-ship programming. Aflatoun has developed an excel-lent Social and Financial Literacy Curriculum that it is promoting worldwide with support from Barclay’s Bank. The project’s Life Skills Subcomponent has al-ready incorporated the Aflatoun curriculum into two manuals that were developed as part of the 30-topic structure piloted this year (Spending & Saving and Children’s Social Enterprises; see illustration of manual cover on spending). The new project will be focused more heavily on lower secondary education (Aflateens) and will work with scholarship groups to help beneficia-ries improve their financial literacy skills, establish links with MFIs, and support micro-enterprises among the students’ families. The new project will be integrated into IBEC programming as another ‘pilot within a pilot’ and will be based in Kampong Cham. KAPE is requesting approximately £30,000 for this new activity.

Update on Collaboration with Microsoft: Discussions with the ICT Office to organize Technology Schools in IBEC target sites have sadly come to nought. In spite of numerous revisions in the concept note submitted to the ICT Office for its review and eventual conveyance to the Minister of Education, the ICT Office has continued to stonewall the proposal neither approving nor rejecting the document outright but rather asking for more and more revisions. After one year of discussion and revisions, the project has sadly decided to recognize the futility of any further discussion; this clearly is not the right time for such an initiative in the education system.

Successful Conclusion of TA Support for Sustainable Teaching Aid Production: The project has been providing technical assistance to KAPE to help it organize a social enterprise that can sustaina-bly produce teaching aids for distribution to schools. IBEC and many projects like it provide a consi-derable number of teaching aids to schools but the sustainability of these efforts has always been in question because the supply chains are project-mediated. When projects end, so too do the supply lines even when schools have the money to buy teaching aids. An important sustainability strategy within IBEC has been to ensure on-going availability of high quality teaching aids after the comple-tion of IBEC. Following the TA provided by IBEC, KAPE will now move to set up a publishing house called Thonthean Suksa or TTS that will develop teaching aids and market them to schools at a very reasonable cost. TTS is now working on a product line of 60 items, a website (www.tts-kape.org), and a brochure. The social enterprise will be independent of the project starting in the next quarter and will be relying on internal KAPE resources for printing, marketing, and distribution.

http://www.tts-kape.org/

http://www.tts-kape.org/


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2.2 COMPONENT 1: LNGO AND GOVERNMENT CAPACITY BUILD-ING & ADVOCACY FOR SUSTAINABILITY

2.2.1 Capacity Building Programming

General Overview: During the quarter, Component 1 followed up a final round of benchmark ap-praisals with local partners. These activities have become increasingly important, as the project will be phasing out assistance to two partners (BSDA and EDA) in Year 4. Particular emphasis has been placed on helping BSDA to re-apply for accreditation from CCC at the end of this calendar year so that they can join KAPE in being accredited. This is a key goal for the project with respect to its ca-pacity-building agenda. A CG meeting with H.E. Sam Serey Rath occurred on 26 June to discuss the submission of the Year 4 Work Plan to USAID and the expansion of life skills programming. H.E. Sam Serey Rath expressed full support for the proposed expansion of life skills education activities and also the need for the Ministry’s departments to resolve the issue of over time payments for teach-ers teaching life skills subjects. The Component also worked with Provincial Coordinators in organiz-ing numerous meetings with Provincial Working Groups to review measures for improving utilization of science labs, finalizing school tier classifications, and expanding the good work the project is doing in creating early grade literacy tools. As part of new efforts to help the Ministry increase the effec-tiveness of reading, a set of innovative reading materials was distributed to trial schools in Kampong Cham Province, which have been very well received. The Component also moved forward on its work to improve the use of Beacon Schools as exemplars of good practice. Reflection meetings were held with many Beacon Schools during the quarter and revised guidelines on organizing a Beacon School were also completed. Finally, the Component tried to finalize its preparations to use communes as a primary means for providing grants to school next year. This involved numerous meetings with com-munes to review the roles and duties of CEFACs vis a vis the Ministry’s EFA policy, using a poster as a reminder of things communes should follow up in the education sector during internal meetings, and awareness-raising on education issues for the upcoming Commune Investment Plan workshops in which funds will be allocated by government for the next fiscal year. Capacity-building for Local Partners: During this period, Component 1 personnel completed the first benchmark monitoring visits for Year 3 covering the period from January to March 2012. The meeting with BSDA was quite important as the Component worked to help them align their bench-

marks with the requirements laid out by the CCC ac-creditation team. BSDA is working to comply with the recommendations received from CCC in order to be able to re-apply for certification on “NGO Gover-nance & Professional Practice” (GPP) in August. This certification process is currently one of only two known NGO self-regulation practices operating in Southeast Asia. KAPE received its certification in February this year. Finally, local partners were invited to attend a training provided by IBEC advisers on power point presentations. All partners sent manage-ment staff to attend (see Table 2.1). Key Capacity-building Activities in KAPE: As noted before, the coming year will be a strategic year for the IBEC project, during which all the involved organizations will need to invest time in advocacy in order to promote the project achievements. Because

communication (e.g., use of PowerPoint presentations) will play a central part in the communication process, all IBEC Project Managers and Provincial Coordinators were invited to participate in a one-day training on how to produce effective Power Point presentations. Starting from the presentation of good and bad practices, the training provided practical suggestions to improve the lay out, presenta-

Improving Communication: Project part-ners learn about how to provide clear PowerPoint Presentations


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tion techniques (both verbal and body language), and content of their presentations. Participants were given some task work to complete over the next several months as part of the continued follow-up of the training received. In addition, KAPE is working in the identification of possible future sources of funds in order to give continuity to IBEC achievements once the project will be completed. This in-cludes joint proposals with the existing partners such as BSDA. Table 2.1: Capacity-building Workshops Provided to Partners during the 11th Quarter

Consultative Group Meeting: A CG meeting with H.E. Sam Serey Rath occurred on 26 June to dis-cuss the submission of the Year 4 Work Plan to USAID and the expansion of life skills programming. H.E. Sam Serey Rath expressed full support for the proposed expansion of life skills education activi-ties and also the need for the Ministry’s departments to resolve the issue of over time payments for teachers teaching life skills subjects. He asked the representative from the Department of Curriculum Development to be sure to discuss this matter with the relevant officials and get it resolved in time for the new school year. In addition, VOD was actively involved in conducting the career counseling evaluation, in order to measure its impact on students and resource persons while monitoring the im-plementation process. The activity was jointly supervised by Components 1 and 4 as well as KAPE staff members and advisors. A summary of activities with the CG during the quarter is provided in Table 2.2.

Table 2.2: Meetings with Consultative Group members Date Activity Partners Participants 26 June 2012

o Life Skill pilot: - Life Skills manual review committee - Workshop on life skills pilot results. - Overtime payment for life skill teachers. - Possible life skills expansion to others

provinces. o Update on cooperation IBEC-MoEYS and

Microsoft for resource school development.

8 CG members and 7 IBEC staff members

10 (Female 1)

25 June 2012

o IBEC staff present the result of Career advice evaluation to VOD staff.

VOD 5 (Female 2)

Support to Provincial Working Groups: During the quarter, PWGs held meetings to discuss the relevant issues that occurred in the quarter. A common issue for all Provinces was the management of science labs that have been provided to over 20 schools at considerable expense. In Kampong Cham, the PWG discussed the change in leadership in some schools, which might affect the program’s im-plementation. The PWGs were also involved in school classifications based on the spot-check results (see Section 6). The new classifications were communicated to all schools by letter. Finally, PWG members suggested that IBEC support schools with additional didactic materials for Grade 1 students. The material was developed by Component 4 and includes games to be used with students while teaching. The materials are proving quite popular and the PWGs would like to see the project expand

Date Activity Partners Participants 05 June Training workshop on presentation skills

• How to prepare a presentation • How to present • What to write

WE, KAPE, WCRD, BSDA and EDA

26 (F11)

29 May DPOs Capacity Building: follow up Commune Council training

IBEC DPOs and PC

4 (F1 )

23 May Regularly monitoring of benchmark action re-quired to achieve quarterly targets.

KAPE 11 (F 5)

08 June WCRD 2 (F 0) 10 April EDA 3 (F 2) 18 April BSDA 5 (F2)


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Reflecting on Being a Beacon: Project team meets with personnel from Heng Samrin Reussey Srok Secondary School to reflect on best practices at their school

18-05-2012.

their provision if possible. A summary of activities undertaken with PWGs is provided in Table 2.3. Table 2.3: Support Meetings and Workshops with Provincial Working Groups

Date Activity Partners Participants 06 July 2012 o Review the results of school spot-

checks and discuss further actions. o Inform about phase out school o Temporary classroom which not func-

tioning. o Feedback from school

o Kratie Province: PWG members, PC, DPOs, and IBECP DCoP

11 (Female 2)

14 June 2012 o Changing of leadership at some schools which affect to IBEC program implementation.

o Enhancing reading and writing o Managing IBEC science labs target

schools

o Kampong Cham Prov-ince

PWG members, PC, DPOs and IBECP DCoP

19 (Female 1)

22 June 2012 o Review the result of school spot-checks and discuss further actions.

o Feedback from PWG members after schools visits.

o School grants

o Siem Reap Province PWG members, PC, DPOs, and IBECP DCoP Siem Reap

19 (Female 3)

Capacity Building Support for Beacon School Devel-opment: Beacon schools are considered to be a kind of local resource that can facilitate capacity building activities because they exemplify best practices in education in each district. Personnel in Components 1 and 3 have been work-ing on the development of Beacon Schools since last year. Beacon Schools were identified and selected through a per-formance assessment tool developed internally. During the last quarter, central and field-based staff members have been working together to strengthen Beacon schools’ abili-ty to present their schools as a model while reinforcing their areas of expertise identified. In this respect, there have been numerous meetings to help schools reflect on what they do best and plan for additional improvements. In addi-tion, Component 1 is in the process of finalizing guidelines to use as a reference for such support, which will include a definition of minimum standard criteria for the schools to continue to be considered a “Beacon” in the area. The guidelines will be the result of all the documentation produced so far combined in one sin-gle document. A summary of activities undertaken by program staff is provided in Table 2.4 below. Table 2.4: Meetings with SSC in Target Beacon School

Date Activity Partners/Participants # Participants 04 May 12 Meeting to review

roles and responsibili-ty as Beacon Schools and assessing the progress and area for improvement for selected activities.

Siem Reap, Samdach Ov USS IBEC facilitation team 3, School staff 7, commu-nity 1

11 (female 6)

17 May 12 Kampong Cham,Mitapheap Kam- puchea-Chin LSS. IBEC facilitation team 3, School staff 6, community 1

10 (female 2)

18 May 12 Kampong Cham, Heng Samrin Reussey Srok USS IBEC facilitation team 3, School staff 6, commu-nity 0

9 (female 2)

21 May 12 Kratie,Moni Kesar LSS I BEC facilitation team 2, School staff 9, commu-nity 1

12 (female 6)


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22 May 12 Kratie,Kapo LSS IBEC facilitation team 2, School staff 10, com-munity 1

13 (female 6)

Support to Commune Councils and CEFACs: During this quarter, the Capacity-building Team continued to monitor and coach DPOs in the provision of support to target CCs in preparation for their higher profile role next year when they start channeling grants to local schools. The specific tasks in this quarter included:

1. Coaching CCs to understand the CEFACs roles and responsibilities 2. Creating a poster that will remind CCs of their roles and responsibilities 3. Integrating an education agenda into CC meetings on a regular basis 4. Building awareness-raising on education is-

sues to prepare ideas for the coming CIP re-duction process.

A summary of capacity building activities in the quarter is provided in Table 2.5. With regards to Point 2, a needs assessment con-ducted in a number of communes in March has shown that most communes face difficultly in orga-nizing CEFAC meetings. This is linked with other problems such as a lack of funds, time, or expertise in facilitating useful discussion on education issues. At the same time, there were only a few instances where CCs combined CEFAC activities and meet-ings with those organized by the Children and Wom-en's subgroup within the Commune, which were or-ganized more regularly. The Component is currently exploring ways to create better synergies between CW and CEFAC activities.

The CB team has also been increasing the involvement of DPOs in facilitating overall coaching activi-ties with Commune Councils. This new element will help ensure more punctual and effective support from the project, starting with the refresher training on CEFAC roles and responsibilities. This re-fresher training is needed due to personnel changes within target councils.

Finally, the Component started to assess the effectiveness of a small trial run in the provision of a grant to two communes in Kratie and Siem Reap. This experience will be important in preparing for large-scale administration of commune-mediated grants during Year 4 implementation. These two communes each received matching funds after completing a work plan where they also defined their contributions in the activities identified. All the lessons learnt in this process will be used to finalize the Matching Fund Guidelines before the end of Year 3.

Table 2.5: Capacity Building Support to CEFA Committees (Commune Level) Date Activity Partners/Participants # Participants

19 - 22 June 2012 Making visit to targets CCs/CEFAC for coaching then on roles and re-sponsibility: - Explain on IBEC background. - Explain on CEFAC role and re-

sponsibility. - Explain on IBEC strategy in Y4,

2012-2013 and engage with CCs/CEFAC to support school needs.

- CCs/CEFACs members in target communes in Kratie Province

21 persons/2 fe-male

The CB team meets with the Kratie field team to enlist their support in capacity building for com-munes


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2.2.2 Educational Outreach through Radio Programming and Other Media

General Overview: The quarter saw the completion of activities designed to disseminate life skills education inputs to a wide audience through radio programming and other media. These activities took place as part of an extension of the work that Equal Access Cambodia, the predecessor to ME-DIA One, undertook as part of the consortium of partners working on the IBEC Program. As MEDIA One, a new LNGO comprising many of the old staff of Equal Access, took over EAs work in Cambo-dia as of April 2012, it received approval to extend some of the activities that Equal Access had been undertaking into the third quarter of Year 3. During the present reporting period, MEDIA One com-pleted all of its planned outputs, including production and broadcast of the life skills radio program, We Can Do It, and community engagement activities.

Radio Program Production: Following the program format established by Equal Access, MEDIA One produced four new episodes of the We Can Do It youth life skills audio program in the past months. The programs were broadcast 18 times, 9 on each of two partner radio programs in Kampong Cham. The following is a summary of mini-dramas aired during the quarter.

MINI-DRAMA SUMMARY

Episode 27: Mom is Mao’s older sister. Because the family is poor, Mom’s mother wants Mom to leave school and migrate abroad for work. Mom doesn’t want to go abroad because she wants to study in Cambodia. At the library, Kunthea advises Mom to ask for information from the commune chief before migrating. The commune chief tells Mom a lot about labor migration and she decides that it is not the best opportunity. Mom considers that she makes fruit jam to earn some money. And she persuades her mother that she can earn a bit of money to support the family while staying in school to continue her studies, which is better for her long-term future. Mom’s mother agrees with her after the discussion.

Episode 28: Mom sells her fruit jam at school. She is earning good money. And her teachers also appreciate that she de-cided to stay in school. Makara, Kunthea, and Kanika also help buy her fruit jam. Kanika wants to buy a large amount of fruit jam from Mom to sell in her shop at her home. Mom is so happy. When visiting Mao’s barbershop, Makara finds that the fruit jam is being sold there too. Mao says that Mom followed Kanika’s idea by packaging fruit jam in small plastic bags. When Theary arrives, he also wants to buy fruit jam to sell at his repair shop. Mom visits Kunthea’s house. Kunthea tells Mom to make fruit jam from other kinds of fruit. Makara agrees and encourages Mom to find more customers. Mom offers to pay Makara a commission if Makara finds more customers. Mom and Mao have a talk and Mao said that he heard their parents saying that they want Mom to study at university. Mom is so happy, and says that she’ll try to study hard and earn more money.

Episode 29: When it’s break time, Kanika runs to sit under the tree to figure out her new phone because it has been locked and she cannot access the phone. Makara asks Kunthea about Kanika because he wants to ask Kani-ka about buying fruit jam to sell.

When Makara and Kunthea see Kanika sitting under the tree, they walk towards her. And after speaking to her for a moment they realize that her phone has a problem. Kunthea asks Kanika if she knows anything about the phone. Kanika says no and says that she just uses the phone to listen to the songs and to receive calls. Kunthea tells Kanika about the benefits of modern mobile phones. Kunthea and Kanika are aware of the benefits of this new technology, and they also recognize that they also need to learn more about com-puters. Therefore, in addition to studying computers at school they also join a computer course outside of school. Kanika thinks that she should buy a computer rather than a modern phone. Makara goes to meet Mom to talk about the challenges of running the business. Makara says that Mom should buy a phone so that she can communicate easily with her customers. Kanika arrives and says that if Mom wants to buy a phone, she should buy her phone because she doesn’t use it and she’ll sell it for a low price. Mom agrees.

Episode 30: While Makara and uncle Meth are making natural fertilizer uncle Meth’s friend arrives and asks uncle Meth to go to drink with him. But Uncle Meth declines as he’s busy making natural fertilizer. His friend says that he doesn’t need to spend energy to make natural fertilizer. He would rather use chemical fertilizers because the chemicals help the plants to grow faster. But Makara says that they should also think about the envi-ronment and pollution. When Makara arrives at Mom’s house he sees Mao slip and fall because of a papaya skin that had been discarded on the ground. Mao isn’t happy. But Mom and Makara try to encourage him. Makara also advises Mom to keep her rubbish in a suitable place because improper disposal of garbage creates an unhygienic atmosphere. At school, Mom is selling fruit jam as usual. The children who buy it ask for the plastic bags for easy carrying. Kunthea and Makara tells Mom and the gathered customers that using a lot of plastic causes pollution. Thus, the customers should reuse their bags. They also tell them about World Environment Day and encourage their friends to protect the environment, for it’s their life. Makara, Theara, Kanika and Kunthea intend to plant trees to celebrate the World Environment Day. They ask for small trees from the bio-diversity garden at school to plant at the local pagoda.


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During the past quarter four radio programs were produced and broadcast about the following topics, which were selected based on feedback from listeners: Table 2.6: Summary of Radio Program Topics

Topic Content Life Skills Promotion

Safe Migration and Gender

- Discussion about safe migration and gender

- Discussion on related risks of unsafe migration and human trafficking

- Discussion on what information and where to seek it before deciding to migrate

- Negotiation skill

- Livelihood Skills

Cooking Skills and Making Fruit Jam

- Discussion about how students can contribute to fami-ly livelihoods

- Introduction to the importance of livelihood skills like cooking and making products (like jam)

- Discussion about creative small business ideas, such as cooking and making fruit jam

- Livelihood Skills

- Marketing Skill

Learning about Tech-nology

- Inform students about the importance of technology

- Discussion about what technology can do for students

- Demonstrate how technology allows greater access to research and learning

- Feature students’ ICT forum

- Computer skills

Learning about the Environment

(World Environment Day on 5 June)

- Discussion about the importance of environmental protection and the need to keep our environment clean

- Discussion about benefits on society of a good envi-ronment

- Discussion about what an individual can do to protect the environment

- Environment protection

- Hygiene

- Creativity

Multimedia Content Distribution: During the reporting period, MEDIA One broadcast We Can Do It on two Kampong Cham provincial radio stations (see Table 2.7). Each episode aired twice on each station (except for episode 28, which aired three times on each station), and the broadcast times were staggered so that the shows could be heard during school hours or after school, depending on the pre-ferences of the students and their teachers. However, because schools were closed for vacation in April, MEDIA One started broadcasting in May.

Table 2.7: Summary of Radio Broadcast Times and Dates

Episode Station Month, Day Times Broad-

cast

Episode 27 FM 100.5 May 5, 12 2

FM 92.5 May 3, 10 2

Episode 28 FM 100.5 May 19, 26 and June 2 3

FM 92.5 May 17, 24, 31 3

Episode 29 FM 100.5 June 9, 16 2

FM 92.5 June 7, 14 2


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Episode 30 FM 100.5 June 23, 30 2

FM 92.5 June 21, 28 2

Total 18

In addition to the broadcasts, MEDIA One distributed CDs of every radio program to twenty schools within KAPE’s area of coverage in Kampong Cham province. The CD copies contribute to the audio learning libraries at each school. The radio programs distributed on CD are edited differently than those broadcast on the radio stations. A 10-15 minute audio exercise is recorded for inclusion at the end of each CD distributed to the schools. The audio exercise is meant to encourage further learning and classroom activity related to the programs’ themes. Hosts ask listeners to think critically about program topics and complete a short assignment that can be shared with their classmates, teachers, parents, and friends. During this past quarter, two more short audio exercises were produced and sent along with CDs to the listening clubs. Table 2.8 below shows the content and outlines of the four au-dio exercises, produced in this period. Table 2.8: Content and Outlines of Audio Exercises Produced during the 11th Quarter

Program Number

Topic Duration Objectives

Program 27 Safe migration and Gender

15 minutes o Students will understand the concepts of safe migration and gender

o Students will be aware the connection between unsafe migration and human trafficking

o Students will know how to migrate safely o Students will reflect and think about alternative livelih-

ood activities in their communities Program 28 Cooking Skill and

Making Fruit Jam 15 minutes o Encourage students to practice livelihood skills they

have learned at school o Students can consider a cooking skill as their livelihood

skill in the future o Encourage students to think of creative idea in cooking

or making fruit jam for sale to earn extra income to sup-port the study and family

Program 29 Learning about technology

15 minutes o Students will be aware the benefits and the use of tech-nology

o Students will use technology to research documents for their study and entertaining

Program 29 Learning about the Environment

15 minutes o Inform students to be aware of environment and the im-portance of protecting the environment

o Encourage students to improve the environment around them for hygienic living and good health

o Encourage students to process decay waste to be natural fertilizer

o Encourage students to reduce the use of plastic bags

Print Material Develop-ment: During this quarter, MEDIA One made progress on another jigsaw puzzle game in the series. The puz-zle was in the final design phase at the end of the re-porting period. The puzzle covered all topics explored in the We Can Do It youth

Jig Saw Puzzle Game


17

Activity of listening and dialogue group meeting

radio program, including key messages from the episodes. An A2 Jigsaw Puzzle Game was designed to test the ingenuity of students and help student to become flexible, fast learners with stronger memo-ry skills. It also helps students to gain cognitive abilities, sharpen language skills and also polish their critical thinking skills. Plus, it helps them to improve their group work skills and it is a fun activity to complete among friends.

The Surface of the puzzle is a story of a student who makes a painting of his friends who have differ-ent skills and interests. Students can start with putting together pieces in a logical way in order to find out what the surface looks like. It requires students to recognize patterns and create a particular order.

Print Material Distribution: The final printed puzzle will be distributed to 101 schools in three tar-get provinces for the IBEC project—Kampong Cham, Siem Reap and Kratie. MEDIA One will report on distribution of subsequent puzzled game in the final report.

SCHOOL OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

Listening and Dialogue Group Activities: During this quarter, listening and dialogue clubs met 34 times with total attendances by 667 participants among all 30 clubs in 20 schools. Due to the busy time at school, only 23 clubs could meet and discuss the topic raised on the radio program, but the groups remained quite active with an average of 22 participants attending each meeting. This average equaled the previous quarter’s average level of participation. In addition, some meetings from the past few months were not yet recorded and will be reported in the final report.

Audience Feedback and Interaction: MEDIA One producers have created an audience feedback loop to allow exchanges between listeners, producers, and presenters. The comments, ideas and ques-tions received were used to develop new radio program topics and track whether MEDIA One’s pro-gramming responded to audience preferences and needs. The team tracked the number of these “inte-ractions” with the program on an on-going basis and fed this data to content producers. Audiences sent feedback in the form of letters, SMS text messages, and at the listening and dialogue group meet-ings.

In the past three months, MEDIA One received 404 letters and 23 SMS messages from audience members who had heard the radio programs or audio exercises, or who had read a print material and completed a supplied form. The content of all of the SMS messages and part of the letters received by MEDIA One were featured during subsequent radio programs, when questions could be answered on air.

8% 6%

26% 54%

3% 3%

Letter Sending by Purpose To answer question

To practice Exercise

To answer audio exercise

To practice English exercise

Practice Saving Money

Figure 2.1: Special Areas of Interests Highlighted by Listeners in Au-dience Feedback Surveys


18

The feedback received from listeners indicated that the radio program was important and relevant to their lives. As reported in feedback forms from listening and dialogue club leaders and members for this quarter, the topics from which they felt they gained the most knowledge and understanding were: livelihood skills, safe migration and gender, learning about technology and other previous topics.


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2.3 COMPONENT 2: MORE EQUITABLE SCHOOL ACCESS

2.3.1 Subcomponent 1: Scholarships

General Overview: With the imminent of the school year, scholarship programming support began to wind down at all levels including in primary schools, secondary schools, and at the Provincial Teacher Training Colleges. At primary level, the LCSCs held meetings with parents to talk about keeping their children in school until the end of the year and to re-enroll them next year. Preliminary reports from the 170 schools receiving primary level scholarship support indicated that about 253 of those receiv-ing scholarships in Grades 4 to 6 dropped out this year, or about 6% of the total. There are still 3,918 students receiving support as of the end of the quarter. The primary reason for dropout appeared to be ‘working at home’ (45%) and ‘migration’ (22%). At secondary school level, the 39 schools receiving support were evaluated with regards to how well they administer the scholarship program (e.g., the frequency of Local Scholarship Management Committee meetings, meetings with students, etc). While most schools scored well, there were about 31% of schools whose performance was only aver-age, suggesting areas in need of improvement. The Commune Elections and examinations have been major distractions for several committees administering scholarship activities. Tutoring activities were also successfully administered in most schools during the quarter leading to very good examination results. In this respect, 98% of beneficiaries passed in Kampong Cham and 92% in Siem Reap. Re-porting has not yet been received from Kratie at the time of the writing of this report. In some cases, beneficiaries were in the top level of the examination results, indicating a very good result. In terms of dropout, schools reported a rate of about 5% of the 1,934 students receiving scholarship assistance at lower secondary school level this year. There are currently 1,843 beneficiaries remaining of the total number of supported students at the start of the year. Key reasons for dropout were working at home (29%) and migration to Thailand to seek work (22%). The final distributions of scholarship support were also distributed to 240 PTTC students. Provinces re-ported no dropout and are currently preparing posting plans to target schools to address teacher shortages.

Primary School Scholarship Support: As the school year drew to a close during the quarter, the final distributions of scholarship assistance took place. District-based Project Offic-ers worked with Local Cluster School Committees (LCSCs) to organize meetings with parents to discuss important events and trends during the year and future support. Schools also began reporting on dropout among those receiving scholarship sup-port. Based on preliminary reports, about 253 scholarship be-neficiaries at primary level left school or about 6% of the total (6% for females as well) (see Table 2.9). The incidence of dropout was greatest in Kratie with a rate of 10% dropout while it was 5% in Kampong Cham and Siem Reap. Tracer studies found that the vast majority of those leaving school did so due to the need to work at home (45%) or migration (22%) (see Table 2.10). Nevertheless, a large number of schools have still not reported the reason why scho-larship recipients have left school (33%). The component will follow up on this with these schools and include updated data in the Annual Report for Year 3. At the end of the school year, the project, therefore, expects to have 3,918 beneficiaries remaining in 177 supported schools.

Table 2.9: Dropout Levels at Primary Level (as of the end of 11th Quarter)

Province Scholarship Beneficiaries Beneficiaries Dropping out Beneficiaries Remaining

Total Female Total Female Total Female Kg Cham 2,626 1,501 139 80 2,487 1,421 Kratie 666 372 67 38 599 334 Siem Reap 879 498 47 26 832 472

Total 4,171 2,371 253 144 3,918 2,227 % 100% 6% 94%

Final Scholarship distribution for the year at primary level


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Secondary School Scholar-ship Support: During the quarter, the Component pro-vided technical assistance to schools in a number of areas including the organization of tutoring classes to help bene-ficiaries successfully com-plete the school year as well as an internal assessment of Local Scholarship Manage-ment Committees (LSMCs). Tutoring classes tended to focus on Grade 9, which is also the grade where students must take the Diplome Examination. Common subjects, where students were failing, included Mathematics, Chemi-stry, Physics, and Khmer. About 132 students or 66% of those in Grade 9 received tutoring support according to preliminary reports (reports received from Kampong Cham only at this time). Some schools (three in all) did not comply with the tutoring program because the students wanted to study with their own teachers. In addition, there were many complaints from teachers that payments were very low ($12/month for a class of 20 students). Preliminary reports from schools indicate that about 98% of students in Kampong Cham passed their second term exams while in Siem Reap the reported rate was 92%. Kratie has not yet reported. Happily, some provinces reported a very good result in-cluding the observation that 29% of beneficiaries in Kampong Cham were at top level (out of five official levels) while in Siem Reap the reported figure was 13%. Kratie has not yet reported.

Component personnel also undertook an internal assessment of the functioning of LSMCs using a standardized tool developed for the purpose. In this regard, about 23% of committees were found to be operating at a very high level of efficiency; 46% were found to be Very Good; and 31% were Av-erage or borderline. None were found to be operating at an unacceptably low level (see Table 2.11). Commonly observed problems in the more poorly functioning committees included late liquidations (due to exams and work with Commune Elections), irregular meetings to follow up problems (e.g., over two months before a meeting occurred), and frequent changes in committee staffing. Results of these assessments have been shared with committees and schools for reflection and follow up in the next academic year.

Table 2.11: Internal Assessment of LSMC Operation Based on Standardized Criteria, 11th Quarter

Province Number of Schools

Very Good Good Average Needs Im-provement

Kompong Cham 16 1 10 5 0

6% 63% 31% 0

Siem Reap 14 1 7 6 0 7% 50% 43% 0

Kratie 9 7 1 1 0 78% 11% 11% 0

Total 39 9 18 12 0 23% 46% 31% 0%

The number of secondary school scholarship beneficiaries dropping out continues to be low; it is nev-ertheless disappointing to see that 91 vulnerable students (63 girls) left school this year (see Table 2.12). Dropout rates among boys and girls were about comparable with no significant differences ob-served. Those dropping out comprise about 5% of the 1,934 students receiving scholarship assistance at lower secondary school level this year. There are currently 1,843 beneficiaries remaining of the to-tal number of supported students at the start of the year. Dropout tended to be the highest in Siem Reap (7%), followed by Kampong Cham (5%), and least of all in Kratie (2%). The two most com-monly cited reasons for leaving school in tracer study results is to ‘help parents work at home’ or ‘mi-gration to Thailand.’ Frequencies of these reasons were reported to be 29% and 22%, respectively (see

Table 2.10: Reason Cited for Dropout among Primary School Scholarship Beneficiaries (Year 3)

Reason Cited for Dropping Out of School

Dropout % Total Female Total Female

Help parents work at home 115 68 45% 47% Migrations 44 31 17% 22% Marriage 4 3 2% 2% Become a monk 7 0 3% 0% Others (No data) 83 42 33% 29%

Total 253 144 100% 100%


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Table 2.13). Reasons involving ‘marriage,’ ‘working in garment factories,’ and ‘construction labor’ were collectively reported by another 33% of respondents. Of some concern in this year’s tracer study results is the large propor-tion of youth who appear to be migrating to Thailand. Migration had been a significant reason for dropout in past years but such mi-gration was mainly to Phnom Penh or other urban centers in Cambodia. Now it would appear that migration to Thailand is a ma-jor reason for students to leave school.

Table 2.13: Reason Cited for Dropout among Secondary School Scholarship Beneficiaries

Reported Cause for Leaving School Dropout %

Total Female Total Female Help Parents’ work at home 26 22 29% 32%

Go to Thailand 20 13 22% 19%

Married 14 13 15% 19%

Garment factory worker at Phnom Penh 8 3 9% 4% Work as construction laborer 8 6 9% 9% As a laborer of selling electricity wire at PP 5 4 6% 6% Help Parents’ work at field far away from home 3 2 3% 3% Work as gardening workers 2 2 2% 3% Work as seasonal laborer 2 1 2% 2% Go to Poy Pet as a worker 1 1 1% 1% Move house (unclear reason) 1 0 1% 0% Move to live in the town, Siem Reap 1 1 1% 2% Total 91 68 100% 100%

Table 2.12: Dropout Levels at Secondary Level (as of end of 11th Quarter)

Province Scholarship Be-

neficiaries Beneficiaries Dropping out

Beneficiaries Remaining

T F T F T F

Kg Cham 937 653 48 33 889 620

Kratie 490 304 9 8 481 296 Siem Reap 507 372 34 22 473 350

Total 1,934 1,329 91 63 1,843 1,266

% 100% 5% 95%

Success Story: Scholarships Help a Girl to Overcome Many Obstacles

So thanks her mother for letting her stay in school

Thea So is a 14-year old girl studying in Grade 7 at Pheus Pi High School in Kampong Cham Province. There are four members in her family including her grand-mother, mother, and one younger brother. So’s father passed away when she was in Grade 4 due to a serious illness. Her mother was forced to sell her land to pay for his medical bills, putting the family in serious debt. So’s mother went to work in Malaysia, forcing her to put her children with their grandmother who sells cakes from door to door.

There was intense pressure from the family for So to quit school and help the family earn some income but So begged her mother with tears to stay in school.


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PTTC Scholarship Support: The Component provided the final installment of scholarship sup-port to the 240 students that IBEC is supporting at the three Provincial Teacher Training Centers in Kampong Cham, Siem Reap, and Kratie. At this time, there have been no reported dropouts among those receiving this support (see Table 2.14). The Component also worked with the directors of each of the centers to organize meetings with the candi-dates (and their parents where they could join) to update them about the next steps for their placements (for those that are graduating) and addi-tional support for those that will become Year 2 students next year. As the school year drew to a close, the Component also began negotiations with the Personnel Offices in each province to post the supported candidates in a way so that they return to

High Profile M

Strong Ownership of the PTTC Scholarship Pro-gram: The POE Director of Siem Reap joins a meeting with PTTC scholarship recipients and their parents to discuss the next steps in their study and placement.

So begged her mother with tears to stay in school. Seeing that she does so well in school, her mother finally relented and allowed her to stay in school. Thea So is very close to the school director and her teachers at her school and she explained her situation to them. They were able to advocate for her so that she could receive a scholarship to continue her studies from the US Government, which provided a bicycle, uniforms, and stationery. This support has made all the difference in the world for So to stay in school. The school also advocated with the other teachers there so that she could attend extra classes without having to pay any fees. So is really getting the most out of her education at Peus Pi. She is a member of the History Club at her school, participates in research, and is learning about business skills from her life skills class. The school also reported that So was first in her class this year and received a special award from H.E. Theng Chan Sang Veasna who was acting as a special representative of H.E. Hun Maneth. Mr. Chheav Leap, a teacher at Peus Pi and an LSMC member said, “Thea So is an industrious and dynamic student. From my observa-tion, she is curious and never hesitates to ask questions.” Thea So likes doing business and helps her grandmother to earn some money whenever she has free time and during vacation days. At her grandma’s house, the interview team saw some chickens that So has raised herself as a micro-enterprise. “I saved the stipend that I received from KAPE ($1 per month) to buy three hens and one rooster and now they are having some small chickens,” So said with a smile while she was throwing feed for her chickens. In the early morning, So still helps her grandmother to sell cakes but during the vacation period she earns money for the family by working at the tobacco or cornfield. “I wish to finish grade 12 and if I could I will go on to University,” So says hopefully.

Thea So (front, third from right) enjoying a moment with her friends from the Hisory Club while they do research at Sopor Kalie Mountain Temple.


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their communes of origin as originally agreed and particularly in a way so that they can replace Community Teachers who are helping to fill the teacher shortage gap in target schools. It is expected that all 120 candidates will be posted in this way.

Table 2.14: PTTC Scholarship Candidates by Year of Study and Province, 11th Quarter:

Province Year 1 Year 2

Total Female Male Dropouts Total Female Total Female

Kampong Cham 51 37 52 39 103 76 27 0

Kratie 21 14 33 21 54 35 19 0

Siem Reap 48 29 35 22 83 51 32 0

Total 120 80 120 82 240 162 78 0

Success Story: Development Means Giving Young People Opportunities to Help Them-selves

Mr. Muy Krem is 21 years old. He is a first year student at the Teacher Training Center in Siem Reap Province. Krem comes from a large family in which he is the 9th of 10 child-ren. His mother died some years ago so he lives with his father who is a farmer at Varin District in the poor northern part of the province. Due to the family’s poverty, Krem’s father had to ask eight of his ten children to stop studying. When it was Krem’s turn to stop after finishing Grade 9, he had almost given up hope until he heard that the province was introducing a 9+2 track at the Training Center for indi-viduals from poor districts like Varin. Krem also heard that the US Government through the IBEC Project would be pro-viding extra exam coaching classes in key subjects like Khmer, Mathematics, and General culture for interested candidates. So he grabbed this opportunity and with special help and advocacy from IBEC, passed his examination.

But even with this opportunity, Krem was very worried about how he would support himself at the Training Center since he could get very little support from his family. Luck-ily, he is now also receiving a scholarship of $60 each quar-ter from the IBEC project. “This support is enough for me to spend in my study because from when I was young until now I never got such a big amount of money like this be-fore. This amount of money is the first time for me to have in my hand; so I am very happy,” he said. Krem promised that “when I graduate from the PTTC, I will go back to my hometown and I try to teach children about the value of study and to become a good human being to develop my commune”. He hopes that USAID will continue to support him until he finishes his studies next year. “This was an amazing opportunity for me to become a teacher that I would never have expected,” says Krem.

Krem asks a question to visi-tors from IBEC during a monthly meeting for IBEC scholarship recipients at the Teacher Training Center in Siem Reap


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2.3.2 Subcomponent 2: Stakeholder-driven Discretionary School Grants

General Overview: As in other components, school grants for discretionary educational services started to wind down in the countdown to the end of the school year. Final renovations to libraries were completed along with a refresher course for 39 school librarians. Schools reported large end-of -quarter statistics that demonstrate widespread usage of the provided libraries including 95,000 users at primary school level and over 68,000 users at secondary level. There are a total of 228 schools with project-supported libraries. The project also distributed a new series of books entitled, Discoveries, Inventions, and Creativity, which were provided by the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Tech-nology. About 400 storybooks in this series were distributed. The Component also completed assess-ments of children’s and students’ councils during the quarter using standardized review tools. While 77% of councils at secondary level got satisfactory scores or better, only 53% of primary level coun-cils demonstrated a minimum standard of performance, suggesting the need for additional capacity building. An assessment of Girls’ Counseling Networks serving over 22,000 children found over 1,709 consultations provided during the quarter with over 95% of girls who had left school for over three days eventually returning to school. Reporting from schools with Child Help Networks indicated that 7,874 children benefited from classmate-mediated assistance including peer tutoring (947 child-ren), pen pals networks (3,405), homework clubs (3,395 children), and support for physically chal-lenged children 127 children. In addition, the project the provided health referrals to another 49 child-ren during the quarter for disabilities and chronic illnesses. Discussions are currently under way with the USS Mercy to use the project’s outreach network to identify additional children in need of ad-vanced medical services. Services from 14 bilingual classroom assistants working in schools with large Cham populations also concluded the year with reports of a 91% promo-tion rate in supported classrooms. A Reflection Workshop with BCAs indi-cated the continuing popularity of this intervention in the Cham community and a real incentive for Cham families to enroll their children in the state schools. Finally, the latest updated in-formation from the WASH Team de-monstrates the achievement of major scope in the assistance provided this year including nearly 200 toilets, 70 water tanks, and 60 upgraded class-rooms that were completed during the year.

Children’s and Students’ Councils: Component personnel completed the process of evaluating Children’s and Students’ Councils at both primary and secondary school level. A sample of about 30% of councils were assessed at both secondary and primary level. In all, the team reviewed the performance of 76 councils. A standardized tool was used that looked at (i) planning activities; (ii) meeting frequency and documentation; (iii) the use of budget; and (iv) monitoring/implementation activities (e.g., library management, life skills, etc). Overall, students at secondary school level seemed to be doing much better in terms of how active their council was and had a much better understanding of the council’s roles and duties in the school. In this respect, nearly 80% of councils were performing at a satisfactory level or better (see Table 2.15). This is no doubt due to the fact that students are older at secondary level. At primary level, however, only about 53% of observed councils performed at a satisfactory level or better. Key issues seemed to be poor leadership from school directors and teachers and a fail-ure to define a useful role for the council. These issues will define the direction of follow-up activities in Year 4 implementation.

Still Scope for Improvement: Council interview in Kampong Cham by Component and Government personnel


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Table 2.15: Performance of Children’s/Students’ Councils, 11th Quarter

Library Operation: As noted in earlier re-ports, the project continued to struggle with the continual shifting of personnel within and between schools. This requires a continuous stream of capacity building for new person-nel in libraries who replace departing per-sonnel. This quarter, the Component orga-nized a refresher training for librarians in Kampong Cham and Kratie where the most issues were observed in terms of library management. In all, 39 librarians were trained in a one-day refresher course at pri-mary level and eight individuals at lower secondary school level. Libraries in Siem Reap seem to have the highest performance and no trainings were planned there. The training focused on improvements in repair-ing books, using the children’s councils to help manage the library, and improving sto-ry-reading activities (at primary level). The project also distributed a new series of books entitled, Discoveries, Inventions, and Crea-tivity, which were provided by the ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology. About 400 story books in this series were distributed. In its continuing efforts to upgrade libraries, one new model li-brary was completed at Samdech Mae High School in Tbong Khmum District of Kampong Cham. This brings the total number of Model Libraries supported by IBEC to 20 libraries. The Component also completed the final compilation for library readership at all school libraries during the quarter. Data indicated nearly 95,000 recorded usages by stakeholders at primary school level and over 68,000 such recorded usages at secondary school level (see Tables 2.16 and 2.17). Actual usage is assumed to be much higher than this but not every student registers when using the library in any given day. Nev-ertheless, these figures indicate a relatively high rate of usage among the 143 primary school libraries and the 85 secondary school libraries supported by the project.

Table 2.16: Library Readership at Primary School Libraries Supported by IBEC (11th Qtr)

ProvinQce Lower

Primary Upper

Primary Teachers Community Total

T F T F T F T F Total F

Kg Cham 35,242 17.393 38,339 20,325 2,423 1,265 699 339 76,703 39,322 Kratie 4,509 2.146 4,296 2,190 313 171 391 233 9,509 4,740 Siem Reap 4,285 1.923 4,326 1,844 118 68 58 29 8,787 3,864 Total 44,036 21.462 46,961 24,359 2,854 1,504 1,148 601 94,999 47,926

Province

Primary Level Secondary Level

Councils Eva-

luated

Scoring Satisfactory

or Better

Scoring Poorly

Councils Eva-

luated

Scoring Sa-tisfactory or

Better Scoring Poorly

No % No % No % No % Kg Cham 13 8 60% 5 40% 25 17 68% 8 32% Kratie 11 3 32% 8 68% 11 8 73% 3 27% Siem Reap 11 7 66% 4 34% 17 16 94% 1 6% Total 35 19 53% 17 47% 53 41 77% 12 23%

Model Library Completed at Samdech Mae HS in Kam-pong Cham: This is one of the most advanced libraries completed by IBEC to date. The costs for the upgrading were shared with the Oak Tree Foundation


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Table 2.17: Library Readership at Secondary School Libraries Supported by IBEC (11th Quarter)

Province Lower

Secondary Upper

Secondary Teachers Community Total

T F T F T F T F Total F Kampong Cham 2,423 1,265 12,008 6,866 908 486 70 6 15,409 8,623 Kratie 313 171 2,348 1,594 211 108 10 4 2,882 1,877 Siem Reap 118 68 5,868 3,425 457 273 137 59 6,580 3,825 Total 46,626 28,143 20,224 11,885 1,576 867 217 69 68,643 40,964

Girls’ Counselor Networks: The Component continued to provide monitoring support to schools in the area of girls’ counseling. Monitoring visits to schools providing counseling services to vulnerable girls through a network of teacher and peer counselors indicated a very high activity level in most schools. Record keeping in schools indicated that 1,709 young girls who had been absent for more than three days had received counseling support and/or home visits. These visits were provided to a total female population of 7,825 girls at secondary school level and 15,450 girls at primary school level or a total population of over 22,000 children in high-risk areas (see Table 2.18). School reporting indicated that 1,623 counseled girls (or 95%) returned to school following counseling. Counseling services were provided by a network of 1,530 peer counselors at both primary and secondary school level.

Table 2.18: Girls’ Counseling Services Provided during the 11th Quarter

Child Help Networks: Monitoring visits indicated highly active service networks across the 182 primary schools that have opted to implement this activity. There are currently 88 schools in Kampong Cham, 42 in Kratie, and 52 in Siem Reap that are implementing some kind of child help net-work ranging from peer-tutoring to homework clubs to pen pal networks. Schools also reported that there are over 947 students in Grades 5 and 6 who are providing some sort of helping behavior to other classmates either through tutoring or through assistance to other physically challenged child-ren. The project provided material rewards to these students such as writing books, pens, and books during the quarter. Overall, the Component reported that there are 7,874 child-ren (3,862 girls) who are benefiting from child help network

Provinces Target Popu-lation

Peer Counse-lors

Total Girls Receiving Counseling Services

Girls Return-ing to School

Girls Drop-ping out

Secondary Level Counseling Services Kg Cham 3,112 331 479 452 27 Kratie 2,756 266 203 195 8 Siem Reap 1,957 141 149 113 36 Total 7,825 738 831 760 71

Primary Level Counseling Services Kg Cham 4,551 458 383 377 6 Kratie 1,639 198 318 313 5 Siem Reap 1,435 136 177 173 4 Total 7,625 792 878 863 15 Grand Total 15,450 1,530 1,709 1,623 86

Peer Tutoring at an IBEC school during break time


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services (see Table 2.19). Table 2.19: Students Benefiting from Child Help Networks at Primary Level, 11th Quar-ter

Health Referrals: At the beginning of the academic year, the Component reported a total caseload list of 559 students with various disabilities and chronic illnesses. During the quarter, the project was able to organize referrals for 49 children to service providers in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Kam-pong Cham Province (see Table 2.20). Combined with 37 students referred in previous quarters, the project has now referred 86 children (24 females) to resolve serious health issues that compromise their ability to attend school on a regular basis. A large number of these children suffered from audito-ry ailments (30) and hernias (28). The Component has also been in touch with the Pacific Partnership program of the US Navy to identify children with serious ailments that can be treated on the USS Mercy when it docks in Sihanoukville. A pre-screening is scheduled in July 2012. Table 2.20: Health Referrals during the Quarter and Since the Start of Year 3

Bi-lingual Classroom Assistant Services: The Access Component organized a reflection workshop for 14 Bilin-gual Classroom Assistants in Kampong Cham and Kratie Provinces where this intervention is being used. The work-shop aimed to review the roles and responsibilities of BCAs in the classes and also to share useful experiences. The workshop was also a good opportunity to raise prob-lems that need addressing. One such problem involved fre-quent absences among the state teachers. This problem has been referred to the LCSC for action. The BCAs indicated that the intervention continued to be very popular in their communities and was a major incentive for parents to enroll their children in the state schools. Schools have sub-mitted preliminary results of the internal examinations that

Province Peer-Tutoring Pen Pal Writ-

ing Networks Homework

Clubs Mutual Help

Networks

Total Child-ren Receiv-ing Service

Total Girls Total Girls Total Girls Total Girls Total Girls Kg Cham 465 189 1,675 840 1,675 840 61 10 3,876 1,879 Kratie 222 105 662 347 662 347 21 1 1,567 800 Siem Reap 260 97 1,068 538 1,058 538 45 10 2,431 1,183 Total 947 391 3,405 1,725 3,395 1,725 127 21 7,874 3,862

Province

Health Condition Addressed Visual Auditory Ambulatory Cleft

Palette Hernia Other All

T F T F T F T F T F T F T F Kg Cham 1 0 16 8 1 0 2 2 16 0 6 3 42 13 Siem Reap 0 0 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 5 Kratie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Qtr

11 1 0 23 13 1 0 2 2 16 0 6 3 49 18

Previous Quarters 0 0 7 4 1 0 0 0 22 0 7 2 37 6

Total for Year 3 1 0 30 17 2 0 2 2 28 0 13 5 86 24

BCAs in a Reflection Workshop in Kampong Cham Province


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were administered in BCA-mediated classes this year. The results are exceedingly positive with pro-motion rates of 91% (see Table 2.21). Table 2.21: Promotion, Repetition, and Dropout Results in BCA Classrooms, Year 3

Prov-ince Cluster

Promotion Repetition Dropout

T % F M T % F M T % F M

Kg Cham

Cheas 198 91% 100 93 16 7% 7 6 2 1% 1 2 Khnar 106 84% 61 106 2 2% 0 2 10 8% 6 10

Trapaing Rosey 57 90% 25 28 5 8% 4 2 1 2% 0 1

Kbal O 48 96% 26 38 2 4% 1 2 0 0% 0 0 Po Prok 256 93% 127 151 16 6% 3 8 3 1% 2 1

Wat Kandal 117 94% 59 117 7 6% 1 7 0 0% 0 0

Subtotal 782 92% 398 533 48 6% 16 27 16 2% 9 14

Kratie Pong Ror 55 71% 32 45 15 19% 1 15 7 10% 9 6

Subtotal 55 71% 32 45 15 19% 1 15 7 10% 9 6 Total 837 91% 430 578 63 6 % 17 42 24 3 % 18 20

Focus Group Discussions on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools: On May 24th, the IBEC Team Leader for Water, Sanitation & infrastructure attended a Focus Group Discussion on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene at MoEYS. The discussion was organized by the Southeast Asian Mi-nisters of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH). SEAMEO INNOTECH, in partnership with UNICEF-EAPRO (United Na-tions Children’s Fund-East Asia Pacific Regional Office) and the Ministries of Education, is undertak-ing a Regional Study of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Primary Schools In SEAMEO-Member Countries. The study aims to assess the current status of water and sanitation facilities and programs in primary schools and to identify critical areas for improvement. The findings will be shared during the next SEAMEO High Officials’ Meeting to inform policy decisions in the future development of effective policies for WASH in schools to enhance quality of educa-tion, particularly in poor and disadvantaged areas. IBEC has so far invested approximately $600,000 in water and sanitation facilities in primary and secondary schools during the last three years and has a great deal of experience to offer at the meeting. Progress on Infrastructure and WASH Em-placements: The Water & Sanitation Team completed final emplacements involving toilets, wells, and water systems during the quarter. No further funds were spent on infrastructure up-grading this quarter. The team completed re-pairs on 10 more toilet blocks and built two new ones. The project also made some addi-tional investments in the construction of wells (seven were dug during the quarter) and water source ponds (five were excavated). Some of these investments were made in some recently supported Temporary Classroom schools. These are schools that are not yet registered with the government but were set up by local communi-ties. IBEC is providing assistance to these Providing WASH Services for the Unreached: A new

toilet and well in Kiri Soksan School, a new com-munity school in a remote area of Kratie Province


29

schools because they serve very disadvantaged demographic groups; the project is also advocating for their registration with the Provincial Office of Education in Kratie Province. The latest updated in-formation from the WASH Team demonstrates major scope in assistance including nearly 200 toilets, 70 water tanks, and 60 upgraded classrooms among others (see Table 2.22).

A WASH assessment by USAID during the quarter went well but there were concerns expressed about the multi-use nature of some of the investments in which water is being diverted for gardens and agricultural life skills activities. Some modifications will likely be required in next year’s invest-ments based on the recommendations in the upcoming WASH Assessment Report. The WASH team has started to compile data on water and sanitation and infrastructure needs next year. Survey data should be compiled by the end of the next quarter. Table 2.22: Latest Update on WASH and Infrastructure Investments, Year 3

Provinc-es

Well Pond

Water Tanks

Pip-ing Net-work

Toilets IT Labs

Science

Labs

Class-room

Repair

Li-brary Repair

Temporary Classroom

New Re-pair New Re-

pair New Re-pair

Kg.Cham 2 0 1 2 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kratie 5 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 S. Reap 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qtr 9 2 0 0 29 32 40 42 6 7 36 14 0 9 Qtr 10 7 0 0 38 36 45 46 0 0 24 10 0 0 Qtr 11 7 0 5 3 1 2 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 14 0 5 70 69 87 98 6 7 60 24 0 0


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2.4 COMPONENT 3: IMPROVED SCHOOL MANAGEMENT & COM-MUNITY ENGAGEMENT

General Overview: With the completion of School Management and Leadership Training Workshop 4 last quarter, the most central activity subset for the Component has really been completed, i.e., the training of school directors to run their schools effectively. Nevertheless, the Component continued to implement a series of related activities such as a Reflection Workshop for District-based Project Of-ficers to provide assistance to schools in completing their task work, which was assigned during SMLTC 4. In all, 20 project personnel received guidance in how to conduct task work support visits, review school data, and monitor community outreach activities. Following the workshop, hundreds of support visits occurred during the quarter throughout supported schools to help school directors com-plete their task work. The Component was also involved in the organization of site exchange visits for school directors and teachers involving about 102 participants. This included a study tour to Lam-plaimat School in Thailand (paid for by the Oak Tree Foundation), visits to Beacon Schools, and par-ticipation to Project Work Fairs to exchange ideas on subject club and project work implementation. Component personnel also worked with LNGO partners to follow up life skills activities among vul-nerable families that also receive scholarship assistance. Out of 260 families receiving such assistance, the Component organized visits to 46 families to see if they are using the grant assistance for income generation activities linked to life skills effectively. Preliminary findings have so far been posi-tive with a full report being prepared for the next quarter. Reflection Workshop for SMLTC 4: Af-ter the completion of School Management and Leadership Training Course Workshop (SMLTC) 4, the final stage in the School Management and Leadership cycle for school administrators, Component staff or-ganized a reflection workshop with District Project Officers (DPOs) from the three prov-inces on April 20, 2012. A total of 20 DPOs and Provincial Coordinators attend this workshop (see Table 2.23). The workshop was intended to provide monitoring skills for DPOs to conduct effective support visits to school directors during the period when they are implementing the school-based task work agreed upon at the workshop. In this workshop, participants worked together to identify strengths and areas of improvement and reflect on effective monitoring support to school directors. This support includes: How to provide effective support visits to school directors in their implementation of task work. How to follow up on data management, student field trip, good deed activity, cluster meeting, quarterly

meeting with community, and on the dimension of 3 core activities of Beacon Schools. How to follow up community outreach activities such as the Schools Helping Families sub-program

Table 2.23: Number of Participants Attending SMLTC Reflection Workshop 4

Province Provincial Coordinators District-based Project Officers Grand Total Others

Total Female Total Female Total Female Kampong Cham 1 1 9 0 10 1 -- Siem Reap 1 0 5 1 6 1 -- Kratie 1 0 3 1 4 1 --

Total 3 1 17 2 20 3 --

Essential Follow-up Support: A DPO from Kratie Prov-ince presents his group work to workshop partici-pants at a Reflection Meeting to support school direc-tors in their task work


31

School Support Visits to School Directors: School support visits to assist school directors in com-pleting their agreed task work took place in the three provinces as soon as the Khmer New Year Vaca-tion was completed and all schools had re-opened. This activity was both to follow up on the progress of the task work the school administrators were assigned to accomplish after partici-pating in SMLTC Workshop 4 during the last quarter as well as to facilitate its com-pletion. The visits were not intended to be ‘check and control’ activities but rather more constructive in their focus. The school support visits also served as an op-portunity for school administrators to dis-cuss one-on-one with District Program Officers and Provincial Coordinators certain topics they may need more detailed expla-nations on after the workshop. In all, Com-ponent and Government personnel had the opportunity to visit 528 school administra-tors across the three provinces (see Table 2.24). Site Exchange Visits: During the quarter, the Component continued to organize a number of study visits to highlight best practices and provide Cambodian directors and teachers with opportunities for career path enhancement. For example, a group of 35 IBEC school educators from three schools visited one of the most advanced schools in Thailand called Lamplaimat School in Buriram Province, Thailand. This is a school that has received accolades from all across Thailand for its work in innovative education. It is a public-private school that caters to poor rural populatiions in Thailand’s Northeast and has among the highest test scores in the entire country. This particular study tour was funded by the Oak Tree Foundation. The team learned about practical applications of Problem-based Learning (PBL) and practical tech-niques that support such learning. Visiting and observing classrooms at the school were a key feature of the workshop to show con-crete examples of practice in the classroom. The participating Cambodians also visited a nearby school that specialized in ICT in-struction.

Table 2.24: Number of School Administrators Supported as Part of SMLTC 4, 11th Quarter

Province School Directors Total Female

Kampong Cham 289 21 Siem Reap 148 18 Kratie 91 10

Total 528 49

Learning by Observing Others: IBEC Teachers and School Directors learn about Problem-based Learning in Thailand (top pictures); the POE Director in Siem Reap asks a question about a Project Work Fair Exhibition (bottom)


32

Another such visit involved a site exchange visit to beacon schools in IBEC supported schools and other advanced educational institutions to learn how colleagues there had developed their schools. For example, during the ToT for Core Trainers before SMLTC Workshop 4, the Component team led all 32 core trainers, all of whom are officers from District and Provincial Offices of Education, on an ex-change visit to Ar Ranh Rangsey High School and Prey Chruok Junior High School in Siem Reap. During the visit, trainers learned how to improve water systems, lead students to grow vegetables, maintain the school environments, and make the library an attractive and accommodating environ-ment. Core Trainers also learned from the experience of the School Directors who have performed well in managing their schools.

In addition, another group of school managers comprising 36 school directors attended Project Work Fairs at the end of May in order to see what other schools are doing in terms of promoting constructiv-ist teaching methodologies and the organization of subject clubs in different subjects. Interactions be-tween schools were intense with many questions fielded by teachers, directors, and students (see Sec-tion 2.5.3 for more details).

In all, 102 individuals have participated in study visits and site exchanges during the last two quarters (see Table 2.25).

Table 2.25: Summary of Study Visits and Site Exchanges, 10th and 11th Quarters

Schools Helping Families: The Schools Helping Families Program has been developed as a sub-activity in IBEC to help school directors build rela-tionships with communities by demonstrating the relevance of education to the income situation of vulnerable families. The activity helps scholarship recipients receiving life skills education in their schools to link what they learn to income needs in the family. The project provides a small grant to the family of about $50 as part of the scholarship assis-tance provided. This activity is implemented by three local partners including Women and Children Rights Development (WCRD)(90 families), Eco-nomic Development Association (EDA)(100 fami-lies) and Buddhism for Social Development Action (BSDA)(40 families). KAPE is providing direct sup-port to an additional 30 families in Siem Reap, since there are no local partners there. The three organizations hold subcontracts from KAPE to provide life skills and livelihood training to 260 families whose children also receive scholarship support from the

Locaton Event Visit Dates Partici-pants

Total by sex Lessons Learned Male Female

Thailand Lamplaimat School Visit

14-17 Febru-ary 25 16 9

Student Counseling Services, Life Skills Education, Problem-based Learning

Siem Reap

Beacon School Visit 29 February 32 29 3 Seeing School Environment, Life

skills, Leadership, Computer Lab Kratie

Project Work Fair

25 May 8 6 2

History, Writing, Art, English, Science and Project work

Kampong Cham 28 May 21 19 2

Siem Reap 30 May 7 6 1

Thailand Lamplaimat School Visit 17-21 June 9 9 0

Problem-based Learning, Mind Map-ping, Effective Learning Environ-ments

Total 102 85 17

Helping vulnerable families to use life skills instruction in their daily lives to supplement family incomes


33

project. To ensure that the families who received grants to improve their livelihood in exchange for keeping their children at school, the project team and partner NGOs make regular visits to make sure that the grants are utilized properly, the livelihood activities set up by the families are progressing, and their children remain at school with regular attendance. During the quarter, the Component team and partner LNGOs conducted follow-up visits to 46 families (see Table 2.26). Preliminary findings indicate that income generation activities in assisted families is moving though more complete results will be reported during the next reporting period.

Table 2.26: Summary of Monitoring Visits to Families Receiving Assistance Linked with Life Skills Instruction, 11th Quarter

Action dates Provinces District Families

Visited

Life Skills Training Provided

Service Provider

Progress and Suc-cess Rate

Followed up by

23-05-12 Kratie

Sambo 8 Chicken- raising WCRD Good Team Chet Borey

5

1 Small busi-ness

7th to 8th of July, 2012

Kampong Cham

Kaung Meas 5 Chicken- raising BSDA Good Team

O Reang Ov 9 Chicken- raising BSDA Good Team

Kroch Chhmar 12 Chicken-

raising EDA Good Team Prey Chhor 6 Pig-raising

Total 46 3

Success Story: Poor but Hard Working Family Benefits from Schools Helping Families Interventions

The family of a school girl, Li Naraun, has been recognized by the School Support Committee and people in her vil-lage as a hard working family. Li Naraun is a 17-year-old school girl living in Thmor Krei Kandal village, Siem Reap Province. Her father is Mr. Li Nara, who is blind in his left eye; Phok Sophy is her mother. Her parents don’t have any rice fields, so each year they must lease fields from other villagers in order to work for their livelihood. This year Li Naraun is in Grade 8 at Thmor Krei High School. A scholarship from the IBEC project – which is funded by USAID – has allowed Li Naraun to continue her studies. Since receiving the scholarship, her studies have gradually improved, and she is never absent without permission. Her classmate, Thein Maly, said that even though Naraun is not the best student in class, she still is polite and stu-dies hard.

In addition to the scholarship that Li Naraun receives for school, her parents received $45 from IBEC in 2011 for chicken-raising. They made a cage for 12 hens, but after a few months the chickens got sick; Li Naraun’s father decided to take 6 chickens for food and brought some to sell at the market for 72,000 Riels. In 2012, after having more experience with raising and feeding chickens, her parents used the funds they received from IBEC to buy chickens again. This year they succeeded: They kept some chickens for food and brought some to sell at the market: They earned 335,000Riels and still kept 38 chickens to continue raising. Accord-ing to Mr. Li Nara, the entire family cares for and feeds the chickens; however, Naraun is the main one who brings the chickens to sell at market. Sometimes she even buys chickens from her neighbors to sell for prof-it. Li Naraun is very thankful for the support she and her family have received from the IBEC project. The bike allows her to get to school easily and punctually, and it also helps her transport the chickens to the market. She and her parents are determined to obey the scholarship policies and continue raising chickens. She hopes that next year her studies and chicken raising will be even better than this year.

Naraun and her family at home, raising chickens


34

2.5 COMPONENT 4: IMPROVED EDUCATIONAL RELEVANCE

2.5.1 Subcomponent 1: Life Skills Education

General Overview: Throughout this quarter, the Life Skills Team has been evaluating the Life Skills Pilot, assessing implementation processes at the school-level, distributing textbooks and other class-room materials, and refining teacher manuals and materials. In this respect, the project distributed 117,000 different learning and teaching materials among target schools across the three provinces. To evaluate the Life Skills Pilot program, the evaluation team undertook assessments across five parame-ters including: (i) Teacher Methodology; (ii) Curriculum Clarity; (iii) Student Competency; (iv) Atti-tudinal Changes among Parents and Students; and (v) Institutional Framework Effectiveness. The as-sessment was completed during the quarter with significant MoEYS input. An Evaluation Report summarizing the findings is currently being prepared and will be presented in draft form at National Workshop being organized by the Department of Curriculum Development. Summary findings are generally positive but highlight several areas in need of improvement including a need for revisions in the life skills manuals, changes in the way that teachers are trained, and policy level guidelines relat-ing to overtime payments. The MoEYS has shown excellent responsiveness to these findings so far and is in the process of issuing additional guidelines regarding overtime payments for life skills edu-cation.

At the same time as the Life Skills Evaluation was in progress, the Component also worked with the Vocational Orientation Department (VOD) to assess a Career Counseling Framework that links close-ly with the Life Skills Pilot, particularly a life skills module entitled, The World of Work. The assess-ment was carried out jointly with VOD, looking at 22 schools where it was being implemented. The assessment found that thee was a high compliance with some key guidelines including the completion of student assessment career forms (94% of schools); one-to-one interviews with selected students for career counseling (69% of schools); and mapping career opportunities in the local area (84% of schools). Nevertheless, there were reports that schools struggled with the guidelines due to lack of staffing and leadership, which highlight significant challenges for future expansion.

In addition to these major clusters of activity, the Component also organized Market Simulations in 22 schools as well as provided on-going support for Life Skills Innovation Grants that are emerging as a key strategy to support income generation in schools so that life skills activities can be sustained in the future. This year, ten new schools started Life Skills Innovation Grants involving mushroom growing, poultry, and vegetable cultivation in addition to seven last year for a total of 17 schools. Ap-proximately $4,000 in grants was provided to schools for this purpose. General Findings from the Life Skills Education Assessment: IBEC’s life skills education assess-ment process was completed during the quarter. Results are now being compiled into a report that will be disseminated in a workshop at the end of August 2012 by MoEYS. Many findings are now emerging as a result of this com-pilation of data. Some of the key highlights include the following points:

• Teacher Methodology: A com-bination of teacher training and conferencing using video tools resulted in a higher average ob-servation score on 11 out of 15 behavioral elements in teaching such as increasing student par-ticipation, use of visual aids, etc (see Figure 2.2). The video con-

Figure 2.2: Change in Teacher Observation Scores


35

ference tools used for this purpose are an important best practice for MoEYS to consider in teacher follow-up activities to maximize effectiveness.

• Curriculum Clarity: While there was considerable positive feedback from teachers in a workshop to review the manuals and posters/learning slides used in the pilot, numerous points for increased clari-ty were noted (see subsection below). Nevertheless, teachers commented that the availability of ma-nuals made teaching life skills education much easier because the manual provides a time structure, learning objectives, handouts, and an assessment framework for students. All of these elements re-ceived great praise from teachers and will be maintained in the revised documents.

• Student Competency: Student mastery of the curriculum was assessed both in terms of attitudes about particular topics and knowledge/skills. A structured assessment framework for evaluating stu-dents’ understanding was provided in each life skills manual. Changes in student understanding were assessed based on pre- and post-test scores in topical areas studied by students. The total sam-ple size was 879 stu-dents selected from case study schools. Large changes were observed among students in their post-test scores. In this respect, 61% of students improved their attitudin-al scores on the post-test while 89% improved their knowledge/skill scores. The overall aver-age of change in both at-titude and know-ledge/skill was 77% (see Figure 2.3).

Attitudinal Changes among Parents and Students: Assessments of student and parental attitudes to-wards the life skills education programming provided in state schools was generally positive. For ex-ample, a large number of students thought the introduction of learning slides was effective (67%); many students reported a high incidence of active teaching techniques when studying (e.g., group work, case studies, role plays, etc) (55%); and a large number of students saw a change in the role of teachers in learning (80%). On the other hand, students reported a low incidence of field trips (only 20% in rural areas reported that field trips occurred and 50% in urban areas). Parental involvement was also seen as great by only about 20% of students interviewed, a rather low occurrence. It is clear that a major challenge for life skills education continues to be the use of community resources. School directors do not appear in many cases to advocate strongly for greater community engagement. There-fore, a more concrete discussion on how school directors can be more advocates for community en-gagement in life skills education needs to be included in revised Implementation Framework docu-ments.

Institutional Framework Effectiveness: This area of investigation looked closely at organization and access to life skills educational materials, budgetary choices regarding the use of PB funds, and use of overtime payments for life skills teachers. In a survey of all 93 participating schools, all schools re-ported having received all necessary manuals, posters, and learning slides. Most schools (69%) had stored their materials in the library or the school office. Only 5% of schools had a special life skills classroom where they put all materials. Many school personnel expressed their fears that materials would be lost if it were not stored in a locked room like the library or office. In terms of scheduling, about 69% of schools had developed explicit timetables that included life skills courses that had been chosen by faculty before the beginning of the academic term. One important implementation guide-line related to the request that all schools appoint a Technical Group Leader to help organize and

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Attitude change to Positive

Knowledge change to Positive

Attitude and Knowledge change to Positive

61%

89% 77%

Figure 2.3: Students Improving Their Scores on Post-test Administration

Post Test

N=879


36

oversee life skills education classes. A review of compliance with this guideline found that while 74% of schools had appointed a TGL for life skills, they were only ‘active’ in about 36 schools (39%) of the participating schools. The remaining schools indicated that they did not have enough staff to fulfill this guideline. As noted earlier, community involvement is low and only 13 schools (14%) of schools were receiving assistance from the community for materials or maintenance. A central approach in the life skills pilot refers to the use of learning slides and handouts to facilitate student learning. These can take the place of student books, which would be a very expensive way to implement life skills and would greatly complicate replication. Learning slides are laminated and can be re-used many, many times while handouts only cost about 1 cent to make. However, many schools still said they did not have the money to make photocopies, even at 1 cent per copy. When visiting schools, only 10% indi-cated that they had used PB funds for photocopying student handouts; the rest had asked students to pay by themselves. As noted in earlier reports by IBEC, the use of overtime funds to facilitate life skills instruction was mainly a problem in Siem Reap where officials did not show adequate flexibility in interpreting current policy to access life skills funds. This issue is now being addressed by MoEYS.

In spite of some of the prob-lems recounted above, this part of the assessment still found that only 11% of partic-ipating schools had not ade-quately complied with the institutional requirements to make life skills instruction effective (see Table 2.27) while 89% had done so.

Life Skills Teacher Manual Review Workshop: During the quarter, a consultative workshop to re-view the quality of curriculum materials used in the pilot was held with over 82 participants includ-ing teachers from target schools. The workshop took place in April in all participating provinces. These meetings focused on areas in need of revi-sion in the 30 life skills manuals on various topics that were developed by IBEC for piloting this year. The workshop focused on various aspects of the manuals including those outlined in Box 1) Market Simulations: In observance of Interna-tional Children’s Day, IBEC supported market simulations in 22 primary and secondary schools in Kratie, Siem Reap, and Kampong Cham Provinces during the last week of May (see Table 2.28). Market Simulations are special events that are the culmination of life skills training during the year. Students have an opportunity to act as sellers and buyers of the fruits of the things they pro-duced during the year (e.g., desserts and other assorted foods, sewing products, etc) or particular services that they have learned to provide (e.g., hair cutting). The students use play money that they receive based on their attendance during the year in order model the idea of working for a living and saving money. Students use token play money and have to actually make calculations about transactions as they sell/buy things and determine if they made a profit for the wares that they sold. The simulations

Table 2.27: School Compliance with Institutional Frame-work Guidelines Province Poor Satisfactory Good Total Siem Reap 1 19 10 30 Kratie 2 15 1 18 Kampong Cham 7 33 5 45

Total 10 67 16 93 % 11% 72% 17% 100%

Table 2.28: Market Simulations in Year 3

Province Participating Primary Schools

Participating Sec-ondary Schools

Total

Kg.Cham 3 8 9 Kratie 1 7 8 Siem Rap 1 4 5 Total 5 19 22

Box 1: Areas Reviewed as Part of Manual Revi-sion Workshops

• Appropriateness and relevance of content of the manuals.

• Correct spelling and grammar • Clear guidelines and instructions in the lessons. • Appropriateness of content of the posters • User friendliness and quality of the slides. • Student motivation for the different topics • Appropriateness of topics in the menu. • Appropriateness of active learning strategies. • Proposed additions to the lessons or curriculum • Links to the state curriculum regarding life skills

integration. • Qualitative linkages to community resources


37

provide a very enjoyable occasion for children, community members, and parents to use the skills that students have learned in during the school year in a practical but fun way.

Summary findings of the Career counseling survey: During this quarter, a mixed team com-posed of VOD representatives and IBEC staff completed the Career Counseling evaluation process. Of the total 22 schools implementing Career Advice at this stage of the project, the evaluation covered 16 schools, of which 10 were directly monitored and evaluated by VOD staff. IBEC is now working to finalize the anal-ysis of the data, which, at this stage, seems to provide evidence of a positive impact on stu-dents (see Box 2). There were two aims of the evaluation. The first was to check the imple-mentation status of the activity and the second to measure the impact of the activity in the schools. The impact questionnaires focused on three main groups: Grade 8 students, Student Council members, and the Career Resource Per-sons (CRP) in order to gain their perception of the overall activity. The questionnaires and monitoring visits were conducted in two rounds. The first round took place in the second half of March 2012, with the main focus on seeing im-plementation progress and the second round took place between the 21 and 25 of May 2012 and looked at both the implementation status and also administered the impact question-naires. Of the total of 385 Grade 8 students (non student council members) completing the questionnaire, 96% declared they spend time thinking about their future, 74% of them declared they are clearer about their future following the Career Advice imple-mentation. The preliminary analysis shows that 91% of the students ranked the training as “useful”, of which 68% declared it was “very useful”.

Student Councils members were directly involved in the implementation of the ac-tivities. In this respect, 79% of the 116 stu-dent council members declared that they found all the activities related to dissemina-tion easy, whilst 52% found the creating of a chart of jobs in the local area, Province and Cambodia; creating a map of local job opportunities; and completing case studies on local people’s work a difficult task to accomplish.

From the questionnaires submitted to the career resource person in schools, one-to-one counseling was seen to be the most difficult activity to implement, due to the complexity and requirements of basic expertise, as well as time constraints. On the other hand, they felt that orientation to student councils on how to create a chart of jobs in the local area, Province and Cambodia; create a map of

Instances of Excellent Student Participation: Student Coun-cil members create career dissemination tools

Box 2: Summary of Outcomes for Career Counsel-ing Implementation on Key Indicators

Key Indicator: At least 60% of sample schools regis-ter effective Career Counseling Services through par-ticipation in two or more of the following channels:

1. Completion of student career assessment forms: • 94% of the 16 schools sampled completed this

task

2. One to one interviews conducted with students for career counseling: • 69% of the 16 schools had started this activity (but

only 25% completed the interviews for priority students)

3. World of work life skills module implemented in the school: • Career counseling was conducted in all 22 schools

in which World of Work was also chosen to be im-plemented – status of implementation of this was not checked as part of the assessment of the sep-arate career advice module

4. Mapping of local career opportunities: • 84% of the 16 schools sampled had completed this

task


38

local job opportunities; and completing case stu-dies as well as how to disseminate these activities was the easiest. This shows confidence and under-standing over the topics and that they perceived students to be extremely engaged in the activity, and evaluating the initiative very useful for them.

Despite finding these challenging tasks, 84% of student councils completed a map of local job op-portunities, showing that whilst it was challeng-ing, they were able to complete the task and 69% of Career resource persons started to carry out one to one interviews with priority students. SC mem-bers suggested that the training should be contin-ued and a number requested that additional ma-terial to support the activities be provided in schools.

Life Skill Innovation Grants Orientation: Dur-ing the first week of May, Component personnel provided orientations to 10 new schools (in addi-tion to 7 schools from last year) that are receiving Life Skills Innovation Grants (see Table 2.29). These are experimental grants that are intended to help schools translate life skills education activi-ties with students at their schools into income pro-ducing activities that will sustain project activities in the future. About $4,000 in grants was disbursed for this purpose during the quarter. Essentially, the funds are intended to set up small Social Enterpris-es in each school linked to life skills programming. Life skills topics being used to this end include chicken and duck raising, vegetable cultivation, mu-shroom growing, and sta-tionery stores using economic life skills topics learned by students. The orientation helped schools to develop business plans, financial ledgers, and marketing plans. At the same time, a review of activi-ties established last year in seven schools indicates that the activities are continuing and generating additional funds that can be invested in the project. The Component is currently compiling data to determine how much additional funding has been generated by this activity and to what degree it is facilitating the sustained implementation of life skills activities.

Table 2.29: Life Skills Innovation Grants by location and Activities Type, Years 2 and 3

Schools Name Province Type of activity Link with Life Skills Programming Grants

1. Pers II LSS Kg. Cham • Stationery & Snack Store in School • Business Studies $ 413.00 2. Samdech Mé HSS Kg. Cham • Set up small scale poultry farm

Chicken and duck raising and other • Prevocational: Chicken-

raising $ 400.00

3. Cham Bok HSS Kratie • Stationery & Snack Store in School • Business Studies $ 400.00 4. Bakong HSS Siem Reap • Set up small scale poultry farm • Prevocational: Chicken- $ 402.00

Remarkable Product: Map of job opportunities in the local area, produced during a training workshop at Lvea School, Kampong Cham

Progress in Sustained Life Skills Education: Students buy stationery and refreshments from their Social Enterprise (left); Student Council members help to maintain financial ledgers for their Social Enterprise (right)


39

Schools Name Province Type of activity Link with Life Skills Programming Grants

Chicken and duck raising raising 5. Sret LSS Siem Reap • Set up small scale poultry farm

Chicken and duck raising • Prevocational: Chicken-

raising $ 412.00

6. Aranh Raisey LSS Siem Reap • Set up vegetable garden with mixed crops

• Prevocational: Vegeta-ble Cultivation

$ 412.00

7. Tbeng LSS Siem Reap • Set up small scale poultry farm Chicken and duck raising

• Prevocational: Chicken-raising

$ 400.00

Total Year 2 7 $2839.00 1. Ampor Wan HSS Kg. Cham • Stationery Store in School • Business Studies $ 345.00

2. Khaov HSS Kg. Cham • Set up small scale poultry farm chicken

• Prevocational: Chicken-raising $ 398.00

3. Sro Mor LSS Kg. Cham • Set up vegetable garden with mix crops

• Prevocational: Vegeta-ble Cultivation $ 263.00

4. Prek Prosab HSS Kratie • Set up small scale poultry farm chicken


5. Sambok LSS Kratie • Set up oyster mushroom • Prevocational: Mu-shroom Cultivation $ 402.00

6. Kosh Knher LSS Kratie • Set up small scale poultry farm ducks

• Prevocational: Ducks-raising $ 398.00

7. Phum Koru LSS Siem Reap • Stationery Store in School • Business Studies $ 413.00

8. Sorso Sdom HSS Siem Reap • Set up small scale poultry farm chicken


9. Kouk Kandal LSS Siem Reap • Set up small scale poultry farm chicken


10. Knar Sandey LSS Siem Reap • Stationery Store in School • Business Studies $ 400.00 Total Year 3 10 $ 3,844.00 Grand Total 17 $6,683.00


40

2.5.2 Subcomponent 2: Teacher Education General Overview: The Teacher Education Sub-component carried out a huge number of assessment activities to determine the effectiveness of various interventions to improve learning environments. This included the assessment of Child Friendly School Teachers at both primary and secondary level as well as Community Teachers. CFS teacher observations determined that 76% of teachers at sec-ondary school level were compliant with minimum expectations for performance while about 85% of primary school teachers were found to be compliant. Observation results were based on a randomized sample of the teacher population comprising 10% of all teachers. In this respect, Component and gov-ernment personnel carried out 67 classroom observations at secondary school level and 68 more at primary level. With respect to Community Teachers, an assessment of a sample of teachers found 86% meeting basic standards of instruction.

The Component also organized another major assessment of the use of Science Labs. Since project start-up, about 20 science labs have been built, mostly in Tier 1 schools. There had been major con-cerns, however, about underutilization. After considerable intervention and reflection meetings with teachers to teach theory and practice in the same lesson, there seemed to be a major improvement in the utilization of Science Labs. For example, 52% of teachers reported that they use the labs three or four times a week or more and two-thirds indicated that their school now has an explicit time table for the use of the labs and a tracking record of when teachers use the lab. Among students, 61% of stu-dents reported using the lab multiple times during the year and 87% reported engaging directly in doing experiments (as opposed to just watching). While far from perfect, these outputs are much, much better than what was observed last year and earlier in the present year. During this quarter, the Teacher Education Team also interviewed students in 22 subject clubs, or 23% out of the 92 total clubs that are being supported. These assessments found that about 80% of clubs appear to be func-tioning well since they were established.

Another important area of activity undertaken by the Component refers to the establishment of meas-ures in 71 schools to enhance reading and writing. These measures include storybook reading, sup-plementary reading materials, and literacy corners in classrooms. An assessment indicted that most schools had complied with the establishment of these measures but that utilization rates were still rela-tively low, due in large part to the lateness of their establishment in the school year. An Early Grade Reading Assessment administered to over 127 randomly selected students in Grade 1 at the end of the quarter indicated that about 70% of students had acquired basic reading and writing skills, indicating a need for fur-ther inputs.

Assessment of Child Friendly Secondary School Teachers: Using a standardized assessment tool developed by MoEYS to observe classroom practices, program staff and MoEYS staff cooperated to assess 684 (308 females) CFSS trained teachers. The assessment primarily focused on classroom environment (e.g. classroom decorations, materials display, seating arrangement, ad-ministrative work) and teaching and learn-ing practices (e.g. lesson plans, arranging learning activities, asking questions, using materials, extension activities, support to students, general classroom management). Using a statisti-cally randomized sample, the assessment evaluated a sample size of 67 teachers, or 10% of the total number of CFSS teacher trained, in all three provinces from 10-14 June. Fifty-one of the 67 teachers assessed, or 76%, achieved a score of “Satisfactory” or better (see Table 2.30).

Continuing Improvements in Child Friendly School Teaching: A CFSS teacher facilitates students’ answers in Siem Reap


41

Table 2.30: Assessment Results of Child Friendly Secondary School Teachers

Province

Number of

Schools

Number of CFSS Teachers

Teachers Assessed

Assessed

Teachers Scoring Satisfactory or

Better

% Of Those Ob-

served Total Female Total Female Total Female Kg Cham 12 350 143 34 15 26 10 76% Kratie 15 102 45 10 4 7 3 70% Siem Reap 6 232 120 23 13 18 11 78% Total 33 684 308 67 32 51 24 76%

Assessment of Child Friendly School Teachers (Primary Level): Using a similar approach to the CFSS teacher assessment discussed above, 668 trained CFS teachers across the three provinces were assessed using a statistically randomized sample in June 2012. The assessment evaluated a sample size of 68 teachers, or 10% of 668 trained teachers. Fifty-eight teachers of the 68 teachers assessed, or 85%, achieved a score of “Satisfactory” or better (see Table 2.31).

Table 2.31: Assessment Results of Child Friendly School Teachers (Primary Level)

Province

Number of CFS Teachers

Number of Teachers Assessed

Teachers ScoringSa-tisfactory or Better

% Of Those Observed

Total Female Total Female Total Female Kg Cham 336 156 28 13 24 12 86% Kratie 85 44 10 6 7 4 70% Siem Reap 247 150 30 18 27 15 90% Total 668 350 68 37 58 31 85%

Assessment of Community Teachers: Like the CFSS and CFS teacher assessments described above, the Community Teachers also underwent a similar assess-ment; however, the assessment in this case focused more on basic classroom techniques and teaching prin-ciples rather than the more intensive understanding of classroom methodology that CFS teachers were eva-luated on. This is because Community Teachers are interim teachers and not officially certified by govern-ment. Using a statistically randomized sample of the population of 129 Community Teachers in three prov-inces, 14 teachers, or 10% of the total 129 teachers, were evaluated using a standardized assessment tool developed under ESCUP, a previous program that fo-cused on classroom practice. 12 teachers, or 86%, scored “Satisfactory” or better (see Table 2.32). These results indicate that a majority of the trained Community Teachers understand the importance of keep-ing proper records, preparing lesson plans, improving their questioning skills, and managing their classroom effectively.

Table 2.32: Assessment Results for Community Teachers

Province

Number of Community Teachers Teachers Observed Teachers Scor-

ing Satisfactory or Better

% of Those Ob-

served Total Female Total Female Total Female

Siem Reap 10 5 2 2 1 1 50% Kg Cham 77 50 8 6 8 6 100% Kratie 42 28 4 2 3 2 75% Total 129 83 14 10 12 9 86%

A Community Teacher uses math materials in Siem Reap


42

Assessment Results for Science Education: The first science lab was piloted under the Schools for Life project in 2008 in Kampong Cham. Since then, science labs have expanded to 24: There are 14 labs in Kampong Cham, four labs in Kratie, and six labs in Siem Reap. Using a standardized tool, 20 labs – including 27 teachers and 154 students – were assessed during the quarter. On average, five students in Grades 7 to 9 [JD1]were selected to an-swer questions in the assessment tool. The results indicate that science lab utilization is improving compared to the previous year’s assessment as well as another monitoring survey done in Quarter 9 and reported in Quarter 10. For example, 52% of teach-ers report that they use the labs three or four times a week or more; 78% of teachers reported that they use the materials provided 40-60% of the time, and two-thirds indicated that their school now has an explicit time table for the use of the labs and a tracking record of when teachers use the lab. Among students, 61% of students reported using the lab multiple times during the year and 87% reported en-gaging directly in doing experiments (as opposed to just watching). While far from perfect, these out-puts are much, much better than what was observed last year and earlier in the present year (see Tables 2.33 and 2.34 below).

Table 2.33: Summary of Assessment Results for Science Lab Usage (Teachers)

Questions Responses

Do you have a timetable for the science lab? Yes No 67% 33%

How frequently do you use the labs for practical science instruction each week?

Once or twice

Three or four days Five or six days Not open at all

52% 26% 22% 0% How frequently do you use science mate-rials with your students?

Never Use 10%-30% use 40%-60% use More than 60% use

0% 11% 78% 11%

How do you split your instructional time between theory and actual practice?

All theory and no practice

Mostly theory and some prac-

tice

About 50-50

0% 56% 44% To what degree have you been able to ap-ply what you have learned in the practical science workshops that you have attended?

Never apply Apply 10%-30%

Apply 40%-60%

Apply more than 60%

0% 15% 59% 26% How satisfied are you with the quality of science instruction provided to your stu-dents?

Not very satisfied

Moderately satisfied Very satisfied

0% 56% 44%

Table 2.34: Summary of Assessment Results for Science Lab Usage (Students) Questions Responses

How frequently did you study science in the lab this year?

Never Once or twice 3-6 times More than 6 times 3% 14% 22% 61%

When you used the lab, did you do experiments directly or just watch the teacher?

Never did any Sometimes I did, sometimes I watched Did myself

1% 12% 87% How important is practicing science to you?

Not important Important Very important 0 % 9% 91%

How satisfied are you with the quality of science instruction pro-vided to you?

Not very satisfied Moderately satisfied Very satisfied

0% 29% 71%

Improvements in Science Education: Students conduct an experiment in Sam Dach Hun Sen Peus Pi High School in Kampong Cham


43

Subject Club Establishment and Assessment Results: IBEC continued supporting Subject Clubs, which are groupings of students and an assigned teacher who have the opportunity to focus on a par-ticular subject or set of topics that interest them. This year, Subject Clubs have expanded to 44 schools compared to 24 schools (62 clubs) last year. The various clubs cover a wide number of topics and subject areas, includ-ing history, creative writing, art, English, and science (see Table 2.36 below). Additional-ly, some schools have ex-pressed an interest in setting up more clubs in the next school year. During the quarter, the Teacher Education Team inter-viewed students in 22 subject clubs, or 23% out of the 92 total clubs (nine in Kampong Cham, seven in Kratie, and six in Siem Reap). The team interviewed three to four students in each club using a standardized instrument. Key informants included the chairperson of the club, deputies, and a few members. Overall, the evalua-tors found that 80% of clubs appear to be functioning since their establishment though some appear to be more active than others. The results of these assessments are summarized in Table 2.35.

Table 2.36: Subject Club Activities in Secondary School, 2011-2012

Province No. of Schools

No. of students History Clubs

Writing Clubs

Science Clubs

Art Clubs

English Clubs

Total Clubs Total Female

Kg.Cham 22 853 516 12 11 5 8 9 45 Kratie 10 531 306 4 7 5 5 4 25 Siem Reap 12 511 304 4 6 2 8 2 22 Total 44 1,895 1,126 20 24 12 21 15 92

Subject Club Fairs: Every year, schools organize a subject club fair in each province with support from IBEC. Since each club has 15 to 20 members, only a few members are invited to present their own work at the event. It is an excellent chance for clubs from dif-ferent schools to meet together and share ideas through PowerPoint presentations, cultural performances (e.g. traditional dancing), and drama. After attending the fairs, the POE Director from Siem Reap [JD2]stated that he was very proud of IBEC because it does a great deal to promote CFS policy, child rights, and a demo-cratic ideology among youth. The project has done much to improve the quality of secondary education through life skills, IT education, and impressive inter-ventions such as learning clubs and project work. In addition, he said that subject clubs promote real learn-ing – the learning that teaches students how to learn, how to evaluate themselves, and how to create a product by themselves in response to any lesson. He noted that through such activities, the students develop critical thinking, creative thinking, logical thinking, and problem solving skills, which are all very useful skills for developing countries in order to respond to food security, climate change, and economic issues.

Table 2.35: Results of Subject Club Implementation in School Year 2011-2012

Activities in Summary % 1. Prepare structure of club 100% 2. Clubs that are functioning after set-up 80% 3. Clubs that have planned beforehand 60% 4. Schools that have prepared a room for club activities 50% 5. Clubs that have displayed their work (in library, on post-

er) 40%

6. Clubs that have posted the work on the school informa-tion board

40%

Public Recognition of the Work IBEC has Doing in Subject Clubs: POE Director and USAID Representative attend a Subject Club Fair in Siem Reap


44

All 92 subject clubs presented their work during the fairs, and four new clubs came as observers so that they could fully participate during the next school year. A key feature of all presentations done by the clubs was the extent of ownership that they had of their work, clearly demonstrating that, in most cases, the clubs are led by students and not by their teachers. At the end of the fair, prizes were given out for outstanding presentations (see Table 2.37).

Table 2.37: Outstanding Subject Clubs Receiving Awards during Project Work Fairs, 11th Quarter

Province Date Venue of Event No. Of Clubs Outstanding Clubs

Kampong Cham

28 May 2012

• Hun Sen Anuk Wat Lower Sec-ondary School

52 • First Prize: History Club from Hun Sen Kchao High School

• Second Prize: Writing Club from Lvea High School • Second Prize: Science Club from Hun Sen Peus Pi High

School • Third Prize: English Club from Bun Rany Hen Sen Rom

Po Von • Third Prize: English Club from Hen Sen O’rang Ov

Kratie 25 May 2012

• Hun Sen Roka Kandal Lower Secondary School

23 • First Prize: Science Club from Svay Chhras Lower Sec-ondary School

• Second Prize: Science Club from Sandan High School • Third Prize: Science Club from Cham Bork High School

Siem Reap 30 May 2012

• Pouk High School 22 • First Prize: Writing Club from Hun Sen Brasat Bakorng High School

• Second Prize: English Club from Sam Dach Ov High School

• Second Prize: English Club from Sammki Lower Sec-ondary School

• Third Prize: Science Club from Sammki Lower Second-ary School

• Third Prize: Writing Club from Preah In Kor Sa Lower Secondary School

Total 96 Enhancing Reading and Writing for Lower Primary School Children: In order to promote im-proved instruction of reading and writing, the project has set up the following pilot measures by pro-viding a one-day orientation to 96 participants composed of cluster school directors, technical support groups (TSG) and classroom teachers in Kam-pong Cham and Kratie in late April 2012. At total of 41 schools involving 71 Grade 1 teach-ers and a number of support staff from Gov-ernment are participating in this pilot (See Ta-ble 2.38 below). The interventions that were piloted during the quarter included the follow-ing activities: • Develop 3 or 4 key teaching aid materials with

broad applications, as well as other supplemen-tary literacy learning materials with a variety of pedagogical activities including an alphabet chart; blank plastic card to practice writing vo-wels, consonants, and words; matching pictures and words; writing words according to pictures; making words using vowels and consonants; matching consonants and subscript; ordering words into sen-tences; playing games in alphabet chart; filling the missing words; etc.

• Make sure schools are reading stories in libraries and in classes led by teachers and that there is documenta-ry evidence to validate survey checks

• Organize child-to-child tutoring activities in schools. • Set up reading and writing corner in classrooms. • Provide remediation in village

Promoting Innovation in a New Technical Area: Reading learning aids never available before are now being made available in target schools by IBEC


45

• Use bilingual classroom assistant for classes that have minority children who find it hard to speak Khmer language.

• Test students on reading and writing In the training, participants showed a strong interest in the literacy materials, as well as other meas-ures, which demonstrated how practice and theory are linked together. Participants also raised some challenges they face, including too many children in class, absenteeism of children due to their par-ents being busy with working, and lack of learning materials (e.g. textbooks). Table 2.38: Schools and Teachers Participating in Enhanced Reading & Writing Activi-ties

Province No. Of Schools

Cluster School Director/DTMT

No. Of TSG Member

No. Of Grade 1 Teachers/Classes

Total No. Of Par-ticipant

Total Female Total Female Total Female Total Female Kg Cham 32 11 0 12 5 58 38 81 43 Kratie 9 2 0 0 0 13 9 15 9

Total 41 13 0 12 5 71 47 96 52

In late June, the Teacher Education team evaluated a sample of 16 (20%) out of 71 Grade 1 classes to see how effectively the measures put in place are being implemented. The measures evaluated in-cluded (1) story reading, (2) utilization of supplementary materials for reading in libraries, (3) estab-lishment of literacy corners, (4) establishment of tutoring services, and (5) establishment of remedial classes. The survey indicated that while many measures have actually been put in place, utilization rates are still quite low (see Table 2.39). A major reason for these findings refers to the lateness with which the project was able to provide capacity building support for the use of these measures in eve-ryday instruction.

Table 2.39: Assessment of the Effectiveness of Measures Put in Place to Enhance Reading and Writing

Questions Responses

Do you do story reading to students in class and library?

Yes No 100% 0%

How frequently do you do story reading in class and library?

Once per week Every two weeks

Every three week Not at all

62% 38% 22% 0% What kinds of stories do your students read in library as supplementary?

Wanting to Lose Weight, Wind and Thunder, Rabbit wants to Eat Bana-na (most read), Orphanage Children, Aki and Ako, Silly King, Two Ot-ters Earn a Living Together (most read), A Flying Pig, Horse Made from Stem of Banana Leaf, Magic Mill, and Ghost Inviting Monk for a Bless-ing Preach Do you set up literacy learning corners?

Yes No

100% 0%

How frequently do your students practice at literacy learning corner?

Not at all 10%-30% prac-tice

40%-60% practice

More than 60% practice[JD3]

0% 25% 62% 13%

Do you have a tutoring program (higher grade students help lower grade students)?

Yes No

20% 80%

Do you have a remedial class? Yes No 38% 62%

Student Testing in Reading and Writing: Using a statistically randomized sample of 20% of all 70 Grade 1 classes in the 41 Cycle 1 schools participating in this pilot, the project administered a reading test using the EGRA tool developed by MoEYS to 127 students. The test focused on competencies in the following areas: (1) vowels & consonants, (2) words, and (3) phrases. In each class, 20% of stu-dents were randomly chosen using the year-end scoring list of the students enrolled to make sure that the tested students were mixed in ability (and not selected in a biased manner by the teacher). The


46

administration of the test was conducted in selected schools with the support of Technical Support Groups (TSG) and DTMTs at cluster level. Based on a review of the testing, it was found that:

• 79% of children are able to read vowels and consonants. • 70% of children are able to read words. • 65% of children are able to read phrases/sentences. • 82% of children are able to write vowels and consonants • 57% of children are able to write words • 57% of children are able to write phrases/sentence

Hun Sen Khnar Primary School is very poor in all tested areas: 40% of children were able to read words and phrases/sentences, 15% were able to write words, and 30% were able to write phras-es/sentences. The school director has reported that this problem is due to (1) lack of textbooks, (2) not having yet changed to the new grade 1 textbook that just come in late April, (3) poor teaching quality among grade 1 teachers in the school (many are not careful with teaching and just care about selling eating things to children, (4) some teachers teaching double shifts, and (5) too many students in one class. At Hun Sen Cheas Primary School, the children were found to be poor in writing words (38%) and writing phrases/sentences (31%) since this school has many Cham children and many of them are not proficient in Khmer language yet. Another primary school in Kratie Province, Phoum Thom, also demonstrated poor performance in reading and writing words and phrases/sentences because their teacher was frequently absent from teaching due to health issues. Test results for all schools can be found in Table 2.40. In general, the results of this sample show that approximately 30% of children cannot read and write at a standard level of competence, indicating the need for more intensive follow-up.

Activities Highlighting New Emphasis on Early Grade Reading in IBEC

Literacy Learning Corner in Kampong Cham

Playing games by getting students to identify letters in Kampong Cham

Teacher orientation to promote reading and writing in Kampong Cham

A child completing the writing test in Kratie

Technical Support Group testing a child in reading in Kampong Cham

A child using learning materials to write words and match them with pictures during break time in Kratie


47

Table 2.40: Assessment Results of Reading and Writing in Selected Schools (N=127) Pr

ovin

ce

District Primary School

Students in the List

Students Tested Reading Test Results Writing Test Results

T F T F Vowel & Con-

sonant Words Phrase/ sentence

Vowel & Consonant Word Phrase/

sentence T % T % T % T % T % T %

Kg

Cha

m

Ponhea Krek

ChiMorn 101 47 20 8 19 95% 20 100% 20 100% 19 95% 19 95% 16 95%

HS 45 70 31 14 11 14 100% 12 86% 12 86% 12 86% 10 71% 9 64%

Tbong Khmum

Sar Khen Khnar 111 67 20 12 12 60% 8 40% 8 40% 11 55% 3 15% 6 30% HS Cheas 80 35 16 9 12 75% 11 69% 9 56% 12 75% 6 38% 5 31%

Krouch Chhmar

Peus Pi 86 53 18 8 13 72% 12 67% 11 61% 17 94% 10 56% 10 56% Rokar Knor 62 28 13 3 11 85% 11 85% 11 85% 12 92% 9 69% 10 77%

Kra

tie

Chhloung Han Chey Leu 63 38 12 7 8 67% 6 50% 6 50% 8 67% 7 58% 6 50%

Sambo

Phoum Thom 43 23 8 3 5 63% 4 50% 3 38% 7 88% 4 50% 2 25%

Sandan Pi 35 19 6 1 6 100% 5 83% 2 33% 6 100% 4 67% 5 83%

Total 9 651 341 127 62 100 79% 89 70% 82 65% 104 82% 72 57% 72 57%


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Case Study: The Dedication of an Outstanding Teacher

Located near the rubber plantation in Ponhea Krek district is Hun Sen Sae Pram (45), which is recognized by other schools, the District Office of Education, and supporting NGOs as a school to emulate due to its at-tractive school environment, high quality of student learning, and professionalism of its teachers and their ability to impart knowledge and skills to children. Due to the good quality of teachers, this school has low repetition (2%) and dropout (1%) rates: Many children are passed to the next grade.

Among the many good teachers, Vong Neng, 51 years old, stands out as an exemplary first grade teacher. She started teaching in this school in 1982. While using a teacher-centered methodology was common when she began teaching, she has changed her teaching methods over time. She now teaches using the new pedagogy and instruction techniques of active learn-ing, behavioral learning, and teaching aids. She also has a strong understanding of children’s needs.

Neng takes her teaching roles and duties very seriously: Not only is she punctual, but she has never been absent for her class. She always prepares a teaching plan for each lesson that incorporates dif-ferent teaching techniques that promote child-centered learning, and she continuously produces new teaching aids to adapt to new units and content. She develops meaningful relationships with the child-ren in her class, enabling her to approach and help children with different learning needs.

Though she uses simple teaching methods, she is well-respected and liked by all children because she combines learning and playing. While teaching lower grade students is challenging due to different issues children face with their personal hygiene, low attentiveness, and newness to the school envi-ronment, Vong Neng has ever complained about her job. This contributes to the high attendance rates among students in her class. Furthermore, in every technical meeting, she is a model teacher who does microteaching for other teachers about pedagogical methods and using new teaching and learn-ing materials. She has also been involved in setting up a tutoring network by getting grade 6 children to help her Grade 1 children who are struggling with literacy during the second break time every day.

Vong Neng is valued and appreciated by her school as an outstanding teacher for the quality of her teaching and the responsibility she takes for other jobs at the school. Because of her dedication, the school, District, and Provincial Office of Education honored her as an outstanding teacher with a gold medal and appreciation certificate from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS). She said she would not stop spending her heartfelt energy and strength to continue improving the quality of teaching and learning for her school and students.

Vong Neng prepares her teaching aids for the day’s teaching at her school. Cambodia needs more teach-ers like her


49

2.5.3 Subcomponent 3: Improved Access to IT Education General Overview: The ICT Team reported that all lab emplacement activities and teacher training had been completed since the last quarter. In this regard, eight labs were installed in Year 3 for a total of 23 labs since project start-up. During the quarter, the ICT Team focused on organizing Project Work Fairs in the three provinces to provide a forum for students doing project work to make presen-tations and share ideas. This is the fourth year that project work fairs have been organized with USA-ID funding and these events seem to be greatly anticipated by students each year. The fairs include prizes for Best of Show and have dance and dramatic performances by Subject Club members in at-tendance. The fairs this year were the largest on record with 638 student participants making 105 Po-werPoint presentations on various topics such as the hazards of smoking, local history, and Khmer poetry. The team also carried out attitudinal surveys among 350 students in 20 schools to determine the degree to which students have access to lab facilities. Survey results were generally positive with about 64% of students reporting that they had had at least two hours of ICT instruction per week, no one had been charged access fees, and that access to computer lab facilities had played some role in the decision of most students to stay in school.

Lab Emplacement and Teacher Training: The ICT Team completed all lab emplacements and teacher training during the last quarter. In all, eight labs were established this year (two with cost share contributions). A total of 23 labs have now been established by IBEC since the start of the project. In addition to 11 labs established earlier with USAID funds under other projects, there are now 34 labs in operation. Lab surveys indicated that all labs are in use and are providing daily access to ICT facilities for students

Project Work Fairs: As noted above, the project organized Project Work Fairs in all three provinces including Siem Reap (25 May), Kampong Cham (25 May), and Kratie (30 May). This is the fourth year that such fairs have been organized and they are becoming an event that schools and students seem to eagerly antic-ipate (the first fair was held in 2009 under the Schools for Life Project). These events are a forum for project work and exhibitions completed by students in 43 target secondary schools that have re-ceived computer labs and/or science labs. The presentations reflected in-depth projects under-taken by students on various topics of relev-ance in their local com-munities. Some of the topics presented included an expose on the dangers of smoking, local history, interesting experiments in science, and Khmer poetry composed by students. The students used their computer labs to re-search topics and develop their presentations on PowerPoint, as part of the project’s efforts to develop computer literacy among both students and teachers. Based on Component reports, 105 presentations were prepared and presented at the fairs this year. These project work demonstrations also exemplify IBEC’s strong focus on ‘constructivist’ learning in which students create or ‘construct’ their own knowledge through research and then share this with other students. Such learning greatly supports the project’s efforts to promote higher order thinking skills such as Synthesis and Analysis. The fairs this year were the biggest ever supported by the project. In all, there were 618 students and 165 teach-ers/school directors participating in this exercise across the three provinces (see Table 2.41).

Another Successful Year of Project Work Fairs: Students make their pres-entations on PowerPoint in Kampong Cham Province


50

Table 2.41: Scope of Participation and Presentations at Project Work Fairs

Province Number of Participants No. of Topics

Presented Participating

Schools Teachers & School Directors Student

Kampong Cham 81 307 53 22 Kratie 40 163 26 12 Siem Reap 44 148 26 9 Total 165 618 105 43

Student Attitudinal Surveys: The ICT Team also undertook annual surveys to assess access to com-puter lab facilities and overall attitudes about digital literacy instruction among students during the quarter. In this respect, the team surveyed 350 students across 20 of the 23 schools with ICT labs (see Table 2.42). Surveys were administered directly by project staff and comprised self-administered questionnaires. Most students reported high access with 64% reporting that they had studied ICT at least 2 hours per day. About three-fourths reported that this was the first time that they had ever had the opportunity to study ICT, suggesting that the investments made by the project in these schools was very much worthwhile. Similarly, nearly all the students surveyed (97%) indicated that the availability of ICT facilities in their school had played some role in their decision not to dropout. Nevertheless, 38% of students indicated that the depth of their understanding in ICT was highly limited while about 60% indicated moderate understanding. These results suggest reasonably high levels of efficiency thus far in the administration of ICT access activities.

Table 2.42: Results of Student Attitudinal survey on IT Access, Impact, & Efficiency

Question Response % 1. On average, how many hours per week were you able to study

computer with your teachers? Not at all 0 % 1 hour 32 % 2 hours 64 % 3 hours or more 4 %

2. Is this the first time in your life that you have ever had the op-portunity to study computer?

Yes 75 % No 25 %

3. How satisfied were you with the quality of computer instruc-tion that you received during the year?

Very satisfied 45 % Moderately satisfied 53 % Not very satisfied 2 %

4. How would you describe your understanding of what you sere taught in your computer class?

Very high Understanding 3 % Moderately high understanding 59 % Low understanding 38 %

5. To what extent did the opportunity to study computer help to influence your decision to stay in school?

A great deal 97 % To some degree 3 % Not at all 0 %

6. Were you asked to pay for using the computer center during the last term?

Yes 0 % No 100 %

N=350

Assessment of General Lab Performance: During the quarter, the ICT Team also conducted general reviews of lab performance along 4 performance parameters including General Administration, Curri-culum and Teaching (i.e., ICT Integration), Student Learning, and Lab Maintenance. A minimum score for compliance was 50% on the standardized tool used for each section. No lab scored below an average of 50% indicating that all were in compliance with minimum expectations for performance (see Table 2.43). Nevertheless, there was a wide range of scores in different performance parameters with some schools scoring as low as 29% in Curriculum and Teaching and 42% in Student Learning. In general, however, most schools are doing very well in terms of the maintenance of the labs, general access and administration, and even with regards to integration into the teaching and learning process, which has always been an area of weakness in the past. The introduction of Project Work activities and Newsletters are seen as having a strong impact on helping the project to make improvements in these areas.


51

Table 2.43: Average Scores for IBEC-supported Labs on a Standardized Assessment Tool, Year 3 Parameter General

Administration Curriculum &

Teaching Student

Learning Lab

Maintenance 20 School Assessments 72% 73% 68% 73% Lowest Scoring School 48% 29% 42% 42% Highest Scoring School 100% 100% 92% 92%


52

3. PROGRESS TOWARDS STATED TARGETS

3.1 Progress against Performance Monitoring Plan Indicators

General Overview: The Work Plan approved by USAID in September 2011 includes 66 key bench-marks or results to be achieved within Year 3 implementation. Each result is associated with an In-termediate Result (IR) specified by USAID as part of the RFA announcement. A total of 70 outcomes have been identified during the life of the project including ten standard (i.e., Opera-tional Plan) indicators. At the end of 11th Quar-ter, field offices have been able report on the status of 48 indicators, up from 35 indicators in the last quarter or about 73% of the total (see Table 3.1). In all, 44 indicators have so far been achieved (67% of the total) while 18 others or about 27% more are pending end of year data but are still on track to be achieved. A total of four indicators or 6% will likely not be achieved. A summary of the status of all PMP indi-cators in provided in Table 3.2 below

Table 3.2: Status of PMP and OP Indicators Intermediate

Results Operational Indicator Current Status

COMPONENT 1: Local NGO and Government Capacity Building & Advocacy for Sustainability 1. 2 Agencies or more accredited by CCC Not Achieved: One agency so far accredited; BSDA is

pending a review within 6 months by CCC 2. All other agencies achieve at least 65% of

agreed benchmarks Pending end of year data

3. 4 LNGO partners are able to successfully complete self-assessments each year (KAPE, WCRD, BSDA, EDA)

Achieved

4. 25 districts have identified at least 1 Bea-con School at secondary level to stand as a model of good practice in Kampong Cham, Kratie and Siem Reap

Achieved: 25 districts identified Beacon schools at secondary level to stand as a model of good practice.

5. At least 75% of selected CEFACs meet minimum performance standards by the end of Yr 3

Pending end of year data

6. Multiple channels for dissemination of programming activities and in place:

o 1 updated website, o 2 national workshops, o 4 newsletters, o 3 CG Meetings, o 10 radio programs, o 4 audio guides and o 4 comic books, o 30 Listening- Dialogue Groups, o 1 research article, o 10 success stories in reading & other areas)

Pending end of year data: The following outputs have been complete:

o 1 updated website (on-going) o National Workshops (4th Quarter) o 3 newsletters printed/disseminated o 3 CG meetings o 10 radio programs broadcast o 10 audio guides produced o 4 comic books printed o 30 listening-Dialogue Groups in 20 schools o Life Skills Research Report in preparation o 7 success stories compiled

7. 3 PWGs meet minimum performance stan-dards


COMPONENT 2: More Equitable School Access Subcomponent 1: Scholarships Sub-Objective 1: In- creased Access to Ba-

8. 1,125 new primary school children receive scholarships (5,418 scholarship recipients since start-up)

Achieved: 1,374 new children received scholarship (724 female)

Table 3.1: Progress Summary for Performance Standards, 11th Quarter

Component Achieved Not Achieved

Later Report-ing/Pending

Total

1. Capacity Build-ing

2 1 4 7

2. Access 16 0 6 22 3. School Mgt 7 1 3 11 4. Educ. Relevant 19 2 5 26 Total 44 4 18 66 % 67% 6% 27% 100%


53

Intermediate Results

Operational Indicator Current Status

sic Education Increased enrollment, retention, pro-motion, and completion rates of youth from under- served popula-tions (includ-ing margina-lized girls/boys, poor, ethnic and religious minorities, & handicapped children – (USAID-supported) (IR 1.1)

9. 780 new lower secondary school children receive scholarships (2,245 recipients since start-up)

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 766 new children received scholarship (509 females)

10. 120 new PTTC scholarship recipients recruited (355 since start-up)

Achieved: 120 new scholarship recipients (86 female) currently receiving assistance

11. At least 70% of scholarship recipients at secondary level are girls, minority, and/or disabled

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 67% of scholar-ship recipients at secondary schools level are girls, minority, and/or physical challenged

12. At least 60% of scholarship recipients at primary level are girls, minority, and/or physically challenged

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 54% of scholar-ship recipients at primary schools level are girls, mi-nority, and/or physical challenged

13. 65% of Cycle 1 primary schools report a decrease in dropout/ 55% of Cycle 2 schools report a decrease in dropout


14. 60% of Cycle 1 secondary schools report a decrease in dropout/ 55% of Cycle 2 schools report a decrease in dropout


15. 55% of Cohort 1 scholarship recipients complete grade 9


16. 70% of target schools with scholarship pro-gramming demonstrate increased GPI

Achieved: 27 schools out of 35 receiving scholarship assistance (or 77%) demonstrate increased GPI in 3 provinces. (Note: includes only USAID supported schools)

17. Tracer studies completed and submitted Achieved: • Tracer studies completed for 253 (6%) dropouts

among primary school students • Tracer studies completed for 91 (5%) dropouts at

secondary school level 18. At least 85% of primary and secondary

school scholarship beneficiaries stay in school each year

Achieved: • 94% retention

of primary school scholarship beneficiaries • 95% retention of secondary school scholarship bene-

ficiaries Subcomponent 2: Stakeholder-driven Discretionary School Grants Same as Sub-component 1

19. 90,879 learners enrolled in primary schools or equivalent non-school based settings (OP Indicator)

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 83,943 students currently enrolled, (40,273 girls). Note: 9 primary schools were phased out in Year 3

20. 50,478 learners enrolled in secondary school or equivalent non-school settings (OP Indicator)

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 45,430 students currently enrolled, (23,276 girls) Note: Four secondary schools were phased out but 3 new schools with co-funding from other donors have joined IBEC.

21. 30,879 people in new target areas plus 63,948 in earlier target areas = 94,827 people with improved access to water sup-plies (OP Indicator)

Achieved: 40,145 people in new target areas with im-proved access to water supplies.

22. 30,879 people in new target areas plus 64,527 in earlier target areas = 95,406 people with access to improved sanitation facilities (OP Indicator)

Achieved: 32,682 people in new target areas with access to improved sanitation facilities.

23. 87 classrooms repaired Achieved: 84 Classrooms repaired including 24 school library rooms.

24. 65% of Cycle 1 schools report a decrease in repetition/ 55% of Cycle 2 schools re-port a decrease in repetition


25. 65% of Cycle 1 schools report a decrease in repetition/ 55% of Cycle 2 schools re-port a decrease in repetition


26. At least 73 new schools with improved water and sanitation facilities

Achieved: 77 new schools with improved water and sanitation facilities including 45 primary schools and 32 secondary schools. (24 in Kg.Cham, 13 in Kratie, and 40 in Siem Reap)

27. All schools & clusters liquidate grants by the end of the year



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28. 75 physically challenged children assisted by the end of year

Achieved: 86 children have so far been referred (24 female)

29. 125 Community Teachers trained in re-fresher courses

Achieved: 129 Community Teachers trained in refresh-er course including 86 females

COMPONENT 3: Improved School Management and Community Engagement Increased ca-pacity of schools to deliver a quali-ty education (USAID-supported) (IR 2.2)

30. 183 School Administrators continue training from Yr 1; plus 418 School Administrators in second cycle schools = 602 administrators (OP Indicator)

Achieved: within a margin of 10%: Done totally 553 school administrators • In Kampong Cham 293 school administrators (269

males and 24 females) • In Siem Reap 154 school administrators (133 males

and 21 females) • In Kratie 106 school administrators

(95 males and 11 females)

31. 301 PTAs supported (OP Indicator) Achieved: (within a margin of 10%): 292 schools re-ceived support visits by 31 core trainers and 6 District-based Project Officers.

32. 301 institutions with improved manage-ment information system (OP Indicator)

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 281 schools have been checked and supported with regards to manage-ment information system. Excellent: 108 schools Good : 153 schools Needs Improvement: 20 schools

33. 101 secondary schools and 61 clusters com-plete improvement plans that meet standard requirements

Achieved: All 100 secondary schools and 61 clusters completed SIPs

34. 7 secondary schools improve their tier status, 60 primary schools improve their tier status

Achieved: 32 Secondary Schools and 55 Primary Schools improved their tier status.

35. At least 85% school directors and other TSG members received satisfactory certifi-cate upon course completion


36. At least 100 school directors, teachers and community members visit a different school

Achieved: 102 school directors, teachers and community members visited a different school

37. At least 90% of school directors achieve a passing grade on completed course work in management by the end of Year 3 (Modules 3 and 4)


38. At least 80% of School Support Commit-tees meet minimum performance standards by the end of each cycle

Achieved: 88% SSCs meet minimum performance standards

1- Kampong Cham 136 committees improved 2- Siem Reap 72 committees improved 3- Kratie 44 committees improved

39. At least 321 vulnerable families in target schools adopt practical livelihoods activities as a result of school community outreach

Not Achieved: 260 vulnerable families currently sup-ported • In Kampong Cham 115families • In Kratie 115 families • In Siem Reap 30 families.

40. At least 60% of assisted SSCs in Cycle 1 primary schools and 55% in Cycle 2 schools are exercising accountability for reading proficiency by the end if Year 3 (based on a standardized set of criteria)


COMPONENT 4: Improved Educational Relevance Subcomponent 1: Life Skills Education 41. Number of text books and other teaching

and learning materials provided to schools (OP Indicator)

⇒ 10,000 life skills modules distributed to schools participating in life skills pilot

⇒ 10,000 primary readers ⇒ 90,000 laminated learning slides distri-

buted ⇒ 8,800 Life Skills and science education

Achieved: The following outputs have been com-pleted:

⇒ 13,800 life skills modules printed ⇒ 10,000 primary readers printed ⇒ 92,000 slides printed ⇒ 11,200 posters printed ⇒ 900 Life Skills and Activity Menus printed


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posters distributed ⇒ 500 Life Skills Menus distributed at the

beginning of Year 3 42. 30 LS modules completed for general

distribution at the beginning of Year 3 Achieved: All 30 LS modules completed

43. At least 75% of students and parents ex-press satisfaction with learning environ-ment/curriculum at LSS in comparison to the baseline

Achieved: 77% of a sample of tested students changed their attitudes with respect to learning environments

44. 60% of school demonstrate more relevant education according to tool designed for the purpose


45. 10 audio guides (6 from Yr 1/2 and 4 new) developed and distributed to target schools

Achieved: 10 audio guides developed and distributed to target schools

46. 10 audio exercises (6 from Yr 1/2 and 4 new) developed and distributed to target schools

Achieved: 10 audio exercises developed and distri-buted to target schools

47. At least 60% of sampled schools register effective Careers Counseling Services through participation in two or more of the following channels:

⇒ Completion of student career assessment forms

⇒ One-to-one interviews conducted with stu-dents for career counseling

⇒ World of work life skills module imple-mented in the school

⇒ Mapping of local career opportunities


Subcomponent 2: Teacher Education Increased ca-pacity of schools to deliver a quali-ty education (USAID-supported) (IR 2.2)

48. 7 new IT labs constructed Achieved: 6 labs have been completed with IBEC funds and 2 labs have been completed with private funds for a total of 8 labs as follows:

o Kg.Cham = 5 Labs o Siem Reap = 3 Labs

49. 7 new science labs constructed Achieved: 7 new science labs were constructed (Kg.Cham = 4 and Siem Reap =3)

50. At least 90% of schools register satisfac-tory performance in the operation of IT labs according to a standardized instru-ment

Achieved: An assessment of 20 schools with labs found that all met minimum performance requirements. The average scores for specific performance parame-ters are as follows: • General Administration: 72% • ICT Integration into Teaching: 73% • Student Learning: 68% • Lab Maintenance: 73%

51. At least 90% of students in schools with computer labs indicate that they study IT 1 hour or more each week

Achieved: All students surveyed indicated that they studied computer at least 1 hour per week as follows: • 1 hour: 32% • 2 hours: 64% • 3 hours: 4%

52. At least 70% of schools register satisfac-tory performance in the operation of Science Labs according to a standardized instrument

Achieved: 71% of surveyed schools registered satisfac-tory performance in the operation of science labs ac-cording to a standardized instrument.

53. At least 80% of schools with IT facilities demonstrate IT integration in the teach-ing-learning process through one or more of the following channel: ⇒ Development of news letters ⇒ A majority of trained teacher have devel-

oped Power Point Presentation for some selected lessons

⇒ Subject Clubs use the IT labs for their projects

⇒ Project work activities in progress



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⇒ Participation in project club fairs 54. Technology and Science Themes Schools

meet standardized criteria for effective functioning each year (Pending Ministry approval)

Not Achieved: Cancelled due to inability to get ap-proval from ICT Office

55. 700 old and 300 new secondary schools teachers trained in existing life skills modules but within emerging life skill outline (OP Indicator)

Achieved: 1,131 secondary school teachers trained, 507 females (173/70 in Yr.1, 730/318 in Yr.2, and 228/119 in Yr.3)

56. At least 70% of teachers are able to use LS Curriculum Menu effectively in Cycle 1 and 2 schools

Not Achieved: 62% of teachers are able to use LS curriculum menu effectively in Cycle 1 & 2 schools.

57. At least 75% of students using the new lower secondary life skills curriculum demonstrate satisfactory mastery of com-petencies in Cycle 1 and 2 schools

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 69% of students sampled who are using the new life skills curriculum demonstrate satisfactory mastery of competencies in Cycle 1 and 2 schools

58. 600 old and 100 new primary level teach-ers trained to promoted retention and transition, with focus on reading skills (e.g., community teachers, BCAs, life skill teachers, etc.)

Achieved: 902 primary school teachers trained as fol-lows: • 484 females (273/135 in Yr.1 • 428/228 in Yr.2 • 201/121 in Yr.3

59. 75% of assisted classrooms meet criteria defining child friendly physical environ-ments during Year 3

Achieved: 76% of assisted classrooms meet criteria defining child friendly physical learning environments in Year 3

60. Classroom practice among 80% of a sam-ple of all Community Teachers trained in Year 3 meet an absolute standard for per-formance

Achieved: 86% classroom practice among a sample of Community Teachers trained in Year 3 meet an abso-lute standard of performance

61. Classroom practice among 65% of a sam-ple of CFS Experimental Classroom Teachers trained in Year 3 becomes more child-centered by the end of the academic yr

Achieved: Classroom practice in a sample of 85% of CFS Experimental Classroom Teachers trained in Year 3 becomes more child-centered by the end of the aca-demic year.

62. Classroom practice among 65% of a sam-ple of CFSS Classroom Teachers trained in Year 3 becomes more child-centered by the end of the academic year

Achieved: Classroom practice among 76% of a sample of CFSS Classroom Teachers trained in Year 3 be-comes more child-centered by the end of the academic year

63. At least 55% of sampled schools register enhanced reading environments through one or more of the following channels: ⇒ Story book hours in library ⇒ Reading corners in classrooms ⇒ Use of special readers and other materials

developed by BETT in classrooms ⇒ Administration of formative reading test


64. At least 55% of sampled schools achieve a minimum standard of reading on a competency test designed for the purpose (by the end of Year 3)

Achieved: 65% of sampled schools achieve a minimum standard of reading on a competency test designed for the purpose

65. At least 80% of children with reading problems who are remediated in Year 3 are promoted


66. Peer support/TSG networks established in all Cycle 1 Schools and 60% of Cycle 2 schools

Achieved: Peer support/TSG networks established in all Cycle 1 schools and 95% of Cycle 2 secondary schools.


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3.2 Progress Against Operational Plan (OP) Indicators As part of the Performance Monitoring Plan, there are 10 indicators that are classified as Operational Plan Indicators (OP) and require reporting to USAID/Washington. Based on data collection in this quarter’s report, all 10 OP indicators have so far been achieved though in some cases, targets have exceeded the 10% margin requiring further investigation. See Table 3.3 below. Table 3.3: Status of OP Indicators

Operational Indicator Current Status 1. 90,879 learners enrolled in primary schools or equivalent non-

school based settings (OP Indicator) Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 83,943 stu-dents currently enrolled, (40,273 girls). Note: there were 9 primary schools had phased-out

2. 50,478 learners enrolled in secondary school or equivalent non-school settings (OP Indicator)

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 45,430 stu-dents currently enrolled, (23,276 girls)

3. 30,879 people in new target areas [for Year 3] plus 63,948 in earli-er target areas = 94,827 people with improved access to water sup-plies (OP Indicator)

Achieved: 40,145 people in new target areas with improved access to water supplies (Year 3 target only)

4. 30,879 people in new target areas [for Year 3] plus 64,527 in earli-er target areas = 95,406 people with improved access to improved sanitation facilities (OP Indicator)

Achieved: 32,682 people in new target areas with access to improved sanitation facilities.

5. 87 classrooms repaired (OP Indicator) Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 84 Class-rooms repaired including 24 school library rooms.

6. 183 School Administrator continue training from Yr 1/2; plus 418 School Administrator in second cycle schools = 602 administrators (OP Indicator)

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%): 553 school administrators have completed their training as follows: • In Kampong Cham 293 school administrators trained

(269 males and 24 females) • In Siem Reap 154 school administrators (133 males and

21 females) • In Kratie 106 school administrators (95 males and 11 females)

7. 301 PTAs supported Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 292 schools received support visits by 31 core trainers and 6 District-based Project Officers

8. 301 institutions with improved management information systems (OP Indicator)

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) 281 schools have been checked and supported with regards to management information systems as follows: Excellent: 108 schools Good: 153 schools Needs Improvement: 20 schools

9. Number of textbooks and other teaching and learning materials provided to schools (OP Indicator) including: • 10,000 Life Skills modules distributed to schools participating in

Life Skills pilot • 10,000 primary school readers distributed to Grad1 • 90,000 revised laminated learning slides distributed • 8,800 LS and science education posters distributed • 500 LS Menus distributed at the beginning of Year 3 • Total Items: 119,300

Achieved: (within a margin of 10%) The follow-ing outputs have been completed:

⇒ 13,800 life skills modules printed and distributed ⇒ 10,000 primary readers printed and distri-

buted ⇒ 92,000 slides printed and distributed ⇒ 11,200 posters printed distributed ⇒ 900 Life Skills and Activity Menus printed

and distributed ⇒ Total Items: 127,900

10. 700 old and 300 new secondary school teachers trained in existing life skills modules but within emerging life skills outline (OP In-dicator)

Achieved: 1,131 secondary school teachers trained, 507 females (173/70 in Yr.1, 730/318 in Yr.2, and 228/119 in Yr.3)


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4. OVERALL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION 4.1 Status of Grant Disbursements to Schools

General Overview: In general, fund utilization rates have been very slow with about 85% of funds left remaining at primary level and 36% remaining at secondary school level. Out of a total grant budget of $290,851, only about $215,452 has so far been liquidated or about 74% of the total allo-cated budget. The primary reason given for the slow rate of fund utilization reflects numerous distrac-tions among school directors and teachers that relate to the commune elections in March 2012. On top of this, schools were asked to close early this year due to a dangerous virus that has further constricted the time for the implementation of activities. Field offices have reported, however, that once many outstanding advances are liquidated, fund utilization rates will jump to a much higher level, especially at secondary school level where many funds are still unspent. Disbursements at Primary School Level: Although the project tried to close accounts at the end of the quarter, field offices still reported that $19,805 or about 15% of the approved budget was still re-maining (see Table 4.1). Kratie and Siem Reap have been the slowest to liquidate and spend allocated funds with 18% of funds still remaining for Kratie and 24% remaining for Siem Reap. In part, this reflects the distractions caused by the commune elections in which many directors were working as campaigners and election officials. Similarly, the early closure of schools due to reports of sickness has also slowed the utilization of grant funds. Thus, field offices reported that 14% of the approved budget is still remaining. The project hopes to be able to liquidate all funds early in the next quarter. Table 4.1: Approved Budgets and Expenditure for All Target Clusters by Province in Academic Year 2011/12, 11th Quarter

Province Number of Clusters

Budget Approved

Funds Disbursed to

Date

Liquidated to Date

Liquidated as a % Budget

Remaining

Remaining as % of

Approved Budget

Kg Cham 22 $78,277.50 $79,995.82 $70,825.74 89% $7,451.76 9.52% Kratie 15 $22,192.25 $21,166.00 $18,209.14 86% $3,983.11 17.95% S. Reap 23 $34,872.00 $31,018.75 $26,501.50 85% $8,370.50 24.00%

Total 60 $135,341.75 $132,180.57 $115,536.38 87% $19,805.37 14.63%

Secondary School Level Grants: As was the case at primary level, fund utilization rates this year have been very slow. In this regard, field offices reported that all provinces had one-third of grant funds or more remaining at the end of the quarter. In all, $55,593 or 36% of allocated grant budgets were reported to be remaining with only 69% of outstanding advances cleared (see Table 4.2). Field offices have indicated that utilization rates will jump once many of these outstanding advances are liquidated. The reasons for slow utilization rates are much the same as at primary level: school direc-tors were distracted by competing obligations to work as electoral workers during the commune elec-tions and the early closure of schools due to a dangerous virus. Table 4.2: Approved Budgets for All Target Lower Secondary Schools by Province in Academic year 2011/12, 11th Quarter

Province Secondary Schools

Budget Approved

Funds Disbursed to

date

Liquidated to Date

Liqui-dated as

a %

Budget Remaining

Remaining as a% of Ap-

proved Budget

Kg Cham 47 $73,224.00 $59,978.89 $52,491.17 88% $20,732.83 28.31%

Kratie 21 $34,511.00 $30,561.25 $22,528.70 74% $11,982.30 34.72% S. Reap 31 $47,774.50 $53,958.15 $24,896.79 46% $22,877.71 47.89% Total 99 $155,509.50 $144,498.29 $99,916.66 69% $55,592.84 35.75%


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4.2 Timeline of Activities

Activity Completion during the 11th Quarter: All components reported that there were 145 activi-ties to be implemented during the quarter. Activity completion rates were excellent this quarter with nearly all of the identified activities (99%) completed (see Table 4.3). Component 2 reported a some-what lower rate of completion for a number of activities but even they completed nearly 95% of their approved activities. Only three activities were not completed during the quarter (see Table 4.5). With regards to activities outstanding from last quarter, Components reported that all such activities have now been completed except two (see Table 4.4).

Table 4.3: Summary of Progress on Work Plan Implementation during the 11th Quarter

Component Total Activities for the Quarter

Completed or In Progress

Completed as a %

Delayed Partially Completed

Local NGO & Gov’t Capacity Building 34 34 100 % 0 0 %

More Equitable School Access 36 34 94 % 2 6 % Improved School Management 19 19 100 % 0 0 % Improved Educational Relevance 56 56 100 % 0 0 % Total 145 143 99 % 2 1 Table 4.4: Explanation of Delayed Work Plan Activities during the 10th Quarter

Component Subcategory Activity

Reference No.

Activity Present status

Local NGO and Gov-

ernment Ca-pacity Build-ing & Advo-cacy for Sus-

tainability

LNGO Capacity –building activities (KAPE specific)

05 Identify training topics that can reasonably be achieved within Year 3 Done

06 Develop training sessions based on criteria and needs Done

LNGO Capacity –building activities (Ge-

neric) 05 Develop training program for partners based on

assessment Done

01 Orientation program to build capacity of Beacon Schools with respect to their function as resource centers (7 new beacon school director).

Done

Beacon School Devel-opment

03

Preparations and implementation of site ex-change visits

Done

04 Annual assessment and review of Beacon School activities

In process

More Equit-able School

Access

School Sustainability Planning-All Provinces 01 Review of training module to facilitate school

sustainability planning Done

Library Grant 04 Review and Refresher training for old libraries Done

Improved School Man-agement and community engagement

School Management & Leadership Training

Course (Work- shop 4)

05 Conduct school support visits (coaching) to help school directors at least once per school direc-tor/administrator after Leadership Workshop 4

Done

07 Update the achievement that school directors/ administrators attained in the previous leadership workshops.

Done

09 Update transcripts/ Transcript Reflection work-shop Done

Schools Helping Fami-lies 05

Conduct outreach activities to targeted families (regular visits, problem solving to keep children in school, etc.)

Done


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Improved Educational Relevance

Measures to Ensure Sustainability in Life Skills Implementation

02

Review meeting to ensure linkages between Sustainable life skills and School Planning for Sustainability Activities (see Component 2)

Done

05 Orientation to schools in understanding how to use life skills activities in a way that fosters sus-tainability (Life skills innovation grant)

Done

Theme School Devel-opment in Science &

Technology 1-6

Approval of Concept Note

Cancel

Bilingual Class- room Assistant (BCA) Train-

ing 02

BCA follow up workshop Done

Table 4.5: Status of Delayed Work Plan Activities during the 11th Quarter

Component Subcategory Activity

Reference No.

Activity Explanation

Local NGO and Government Capacity Build-ing & Advocacy for Sustaina-bility

All activities completed

More Equita-ble School Access

School Sustaina-bility Planning-All Provinces

02 Training in Cycle 1 schools for sustai-nability in Year 3 These activities have been postponed to

the next quarter in order to complete ma-nual revisions and also final decisions on any other schools that will be phased out in the next year 03

All Cycle 1 schools review and revise sustainability plans developed in Year 2

Improved School Man-agement and community engagement

Accountability for Reading Proficiency

07

Formal assessment of SSCs and schools for reading proficiency

In progress: • 102 SSCs (77%) have already been

assessed • 23 SSCs that are remaining in Kratie

will be completed in August, 2012

Improved Educational Relevance

All activities completed


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5. LESSONS LEARNED AND ISSUES IN IMPLEMENTATION

5.1 Exceptionally Strong Engagement with MoEYS Departments as Quarter Ends

A number of factors appear to be having a very positive effect on the engagement of Ministry depart-ments in key IBEC activities. The change in leadership of the Consultative Group with the appoint-ment of H.E. Sam Sereirath has brought about much greater interest in the project and has resulted in much greater advocacy from within the Ministry itself for greater departmental engagement. In addi-tion, the project itself has made many overtures to the various departments by redoubling efforts to demonstrate the amount of technical support that can be provided in many technical areas including career counseling, life skills education, and teacher education at Child Friendly Secondary Schools. The life skills pilot, for example, has made a deliberate effort to involve as many Ministry staff mem-bers as possible in the evaluation along with salary supplements from private sources. Over the course of the quarter, the project has, therefore, seen very positive engagement in the following areas:

• Life Skills Education: The Department of Curriculum Development has made vigorous ef-forts to work with the project to revise Ministry policy with regards to overtime payments for teachers engaged in life skills instruction. A prakas will soon be issued by the Ministry to clarify guidelines that will make the use of overtime pay for this purpose much easier for schools. In addition, the department has agreed to take on full responsibility for organizing a national workshop to discuss the results of the life skills education pilot. This workshop will be crucial for mapping out next steps in replicating the pilot in a way that builds on the les-sons learned during the current pilot. High DCD engagement bodes well for building on the lessons in IBEC

• Career Counseling: The Vocational Orientation Department has been greatly engaged in the evaluation of pilot activities to organize career counseling activities in secondary schools using materials developed by the project. The VOD Director would like to see a training manual developed in draft form by the department combined with the IBEC materials, which could add a great deal of good substance on how to train and organize teach-ers/students to provide this service. Prospects look very promising for the joint development of a single manual for Career Counseling.

• Teacher Education in Child Friendly Secondary Schools: The Teacher Training Depart-ment has reached out to IBEC to assist in the development of a number of modules that can be used to train teachers in child friendly school methodologies at secondary school level, where the Ministry will soon be officially extending the CFS Policy to this sector. IBEC has a wealth of existing material and experience to share with TTD counterparts and a series of joint workshops with the department are currently planned for August 2012.

5.2 Not the Right Time for Technology Theme Schools As noted in an earlier section of this report, the project has not met with success in its efforts to set up Technology Theme Schools in collaboration with Microsoft Corporation. The ICT Office has seemed to stonewall proposals for over a year now with continuous requests for more revisions to a Concept Note submitted in June 2011. As the submission of work plans and budgets for Year 4 implementation has approached at the end of the quarter, the project has had to recognize that time has run out and that it would be wise to abandon this proposal and move on to other things. This is definitely a lost opportunity for the Cambodian education system but the time does not seem to be right for such a venture.

5.3 Early Closure of Schools Due to the outbreak of a potentially deadly virus called EV71 that can be fatal to children, the MoEYS announced the early closure of schools at the end of the quarter. Primary schools are usually required to stay open until the end of July but the MoEYS has announced the closure of schools starting from 18 July with many schools closing even faster. This has affected the liquidation of school grants and payments for Community Teachers, which had to be recalculated based on the number of days that schools were actually in session.


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6. SCHOOL GOVERNANCE ISSUES 6.1 Change in Tier Status Every year IBEC staff conducts spot check assessments to evaluate the progress of each target school supported by the project. This assessment looks at school governance criteria relating to financial go-vernance (as it concerns the administration of school grants) and activity completion. This quarter, the spot check was completed in May 2012. Spot check results are the primary criterion used to assign schools to their development tier. Assignment to a high tier (Tier 1) indicates increased capacity to utilize development assistance efficiently. The project expects schools to move up in their tier as-signments as a result of capacity building inputs. Based on a review of spot check results and discus-sions with Provincial Working Groups, the project upgraded 31% of secondary schools and down-graded 2% (see Table 6.1). With respect to primary schools, 24% were upgraded while 9% were downgraded (see Table 6.2). Overall, 27% of schools were upgraded this year so that 61% of schools now occupy the highest tier (see Table 6.3). This represents a considerable increase from last year’s classifications (Year 2) where only 32% of secondary schools occupied the highest tier and 21% of primary schools did. In contrast, 72% of secondary schools now occupy the highest tier while 55% of primary schools do. It will now be incumbent upon the project to validate these classifications to make sure that they have real meaning both in terms of the efficiency with which activities are ma-naged and administered.

Table 6.1: Tier Change for Secondary Schools, Year 3

No Province District Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Total UpTier DownTier Same Tier

1 Kg Cham 16 33 11 2 46 14 0 32

2 Kratie 6 14 6 1 21 5 0 16

3 Siem Reap 10 23 5 2 30 11 2 17

Total (Year 3) 32 70 22 5 97 30 2 65

% (Year 3) 72% 23% 5% 100% 31% 2% 67%

Year 2 -- 32% 43% 25% 100% -- -- -- Table 6.2: Tier Change for Primary Schools, Year 3

No Province District Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Total UpTier DownTier Same Tier

1 Kg Cham 7 58 28 17 103 26 4 73

2 Kratie 6 15 7 8 30 5 5 20

3 Siem Reap 7 29 11 11 51 14 7 30

Total 20 102 46 36 184 45 16 123

% -- 55% 25% 20% 100% 24% 9% 67%

Year 2 -- 21% 42% 37% 100% -- -- --

Table 6.3: Tier Change for All Schools, Year 3

No Province District Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Total UpTier DownTier SameTier

1 Kg Cham 16 91 39 19 149 40 4 105

2 Kratie 6 29 13 9 51 10 5 36

3 Siem Reap 10 52 16 13 81 25 9 47 Total 32 172 68 41 281 75 18 188

% 61% 24% 15% 100% 27% 6% 67% 6.2 Anecdotal Reports on Improvements in School Governance In spite of the general worries in school development where large investments do not result in change due to poor leadership, there are many anecdotal reports of significant change in a large number of


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supported schools. Sometimes, these changes do not show up in the statistics. For instance, the school director in Prek Prasop High School in Kratie has done an amazing job in changing the physical envi-ronment at his school and access to many educa-tional services. At Peus Pi High School in Kampong Cham, the school director now has designated stu-dents who basically help to run the school from the library to the ICT lab. Student groups keep the ICT lab open and take care of it, even in the absence of a teacher. At Krouch Chma High School, the Student Council has also been allowed to take an incredibly active role in school management. But perhaps one of the most amazing examples of improved en-gagement occurred at Amphoe Wan High School in Krouch Chma where a member of the Student Council was brave enough to ask the Prime Minis-ter’s wife for a building for her school that had al-ready been rejected by some higher officials. His Excellency was so surprised to see a student that was so earnest about supporting her school, that he could not help but overturn the previous decision and allocate funds for a new building that her school desperately needed (see Case Study below). Such things do not come through the statistics but are an important part of the IBEC capacity-building story.

Case Study: An Amazing Story of Bravery and Leadership

Ly Na (far right) receives a prize for best club presentation at the recent Project Work Fair

Ly Na is a student in Grade 7 at Amphoe Wan High School in Krouch Chma District, Kampong Cham Province. She is a very active student at her school and is a member of the Student Council as well as the English Club. She feels very proud of her school and is so happy with all of the new developments to help students at her school such as the support for the Coun-cil and clubs in various subjects. But her school is falling down due to shoddy construction of its buildings. One of these buildings has a sink-ing foundation and is unsafe, requiring its de-molition and reconstruction. Her school direc-tor has asked many high officials for assistance but each request was rejected.

One day in June 2012, there was a ceremony in which Samdech Hun Sen and his wife came to Krouch Chma District in a fish releasing ceremony. After the ceremony, Ly Na approached the Prime Minister’s wife about her school and she was so impressed with her earnest pleas that she asked the Prime Minis-ter to review the case. After getting the facts, Samdech Hun Sen asked H.E. Chea Sophara to organize funds for the construction of a three-storey building for Ly Na’s school. Everyone was very impressed with a little Grade 7 student who has such ownership of her school and so enthusiastic about the efforts of her Student Council that they could not refuse such a request. Here is a very special story about a fan-tastic Student Council and the capacity-building that is helping to create the young leaders of tomorrow.

From Brown Fields to Green Gardens: Prek Prashop High School in Kratie transforms its outside envi-ronment to one of gardens and green lawns


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ANNEX 1: Quarterly Newsletter (Volume 10)


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Documents

Eleventh Quarterly Report IMPROVED BASIC EDUCATION IN ...ibec.worlded.org/publications/IBEC_Quart_Report 11.pdf · Improved Basic Education in Cambodia: Eleventh Quarterly Report