THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN CAMBODIA
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Compulsory education lasts nine years (6 to 15 years) and includes primary and lower secondary education.
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Primary education lasts six years.
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Secondary education is divided into two three-year periods (lower secondary and upper secondary).
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At the end of lower secondary education, students can choose to pursue technical and vocational training, the duration of which varies from one to three years. This sector is still underdeveloped.
Entry into upper secondary education is conditional on passing a national examination, leading to the obtaining of the “basic education” diploma.
The subjects taught in primary and lower secondary are Khmer, mathematics, national identity, morals and civic responsibilities, daily knowledge to participate in the life of the local and national community, nature and scientific principles and a foreign language.
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Upper secondary: the subjects taught in upper secondary are the same disciplines as those mentioned above, with the mention “advanced” or “in-depth”; to this are added disciplines to choose from:
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Sciences (physics, chemistry, biology, or earth and environmental sciences),
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Social sciences (ethics / civics, history, geography, or economics);
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Professional and technical training (new technologies, accounting / commerce, management sciences, tourism, or the arts).
Higher education: entry into higher education is conditional on passing the national examination at the end of upper secondary (the baccalaureate). The number of establishments is increasing rapidly. The current higher education system is largely based on the private sector.
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At the end of lower secondary education, students can choose to pursue technical and vocational training, the duration of which varies from one to three years. This sector is still underdeveloped. State vocational training is the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training. NGOs and private companies, with their professional training structures, also play an important role.
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Access to higher education is reserved for students with a baccalaureate. Once the diploma is in hand, students wishing to continue their studies must face very high registration fees.
By way of example, these amount per year to:
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$ 450 to the Cambodia Institute of Technology,
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$ 370 to the Royal University of Agricultural Sciences,
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$ 440 at the Royal University of Law and Economics,
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between $ 800 and $ 1,500 at the University of Health Sciences.
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