The aim of the Education Sector Support Programme (ESSP) 2006-2010 is to outline how the policies and strategies laid out in the Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2006-2010 will be put into practice. The ESSP identifies the necessary program activities and priorities in reaching the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals and the goals set out in the National EFA Plan.

The basic principle adopted in the ESSP is that the programs will be planned and implemented through Government and Ministry systems rather than through parallel modalities. The management framework for ESSP places the focus on strengthening appropriate MoEYS directorates and departments at central and provincial levels, including delegation of responsibilities to districts, clusters/communes and schools.

The priority recurrent program plan sets out clear priorities, objectives, targets and measurable outcomes and outputs, alongside proposed management and monitoring mechanisms. In other words, the principle behind the recurrent priority programs is achieving concrete and verifiable results. These recurrent programs are detailed in Section 2.

MoEYS is determined that the education facilities capital investment program is also designed to ensure policy implementation and achievement of education access and quality improvement targets. This revised ESSP features accelerated provision of lower and upper secondary education facilities in currently under-served or un-served districts and communes. The facilities program therefore sets out the overall requirements, costs and medium term priorities. The education facilities program is presented in Section3.

MoEYS recognises that an effective sector wide management and monitoring approach will necessitate collaborative planning with other key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF), Ministry of Interior (MoI), Ministry of Planning (MoP) and the Council for Administrative Reform (CAR). The ESP and ESSP also emphasise the need for strategic negotiation and consultation with other development partners, including donors, NGOs and civil society. Proposals for building up the capacities and partnerships for strengthened sector wide management and monitoring, alongside the capacity building required for improved planning and management of the priority programs is set out in Section3.2.

Previous ESSP Reviews reaffirmed the importance of a well-defined sector monitoring and reporting system, which is critical for implementing a rolling program of reforms. The monitoring framework and guidelines are summarised in Section4. It is also recognised that joint agreement with donors and NGOs on key policy actions and performance indicators will facilitate both on-going sector performance monitoring and the annual ESSP Review process. The agreed sector performance indicators are set out in Annex A and an indicative common policy action matrix in Annex B.

It should be noted that the programs detailed in Section 2, 3 and 3.2 are intended to provide outlines of program activity rather than detailed implementation plans and budgets. These detailed implementation plans for priority action programs, facilities development and capacity development will be prepared by designated MoEYS departments or taskforces.

INTRODUCTION: EDUCATION SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES

1.1. Responding to Broader National Development Policies and Priorities

The formulation of the Education Strategic Plan 2006-10 (ESP 2006-10) reflects the high degree of responsibility the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport (MoEYS) takes in Cambodia's development through capacity building and human resources development. This ESP 2006-2010 has been drawn up based on the lessons learnt from the implementation of ESP 2001-05 as well as the recently revised results of ESP 2004-08 in order to build realism and applicability.

 
Capacity building and human resource development is one of the main strategies of the Rectangular Strategy of the Royal Government of Cambodia in the third mandate of the National Assembly. MoEYS continues to put emphasis on education quality improvement at all levels, Basic, Post Basic and Higher Education. The policies and strategies presented in the ESP 2006-10 are notable in order to accelerate the speed of education reform towards achieving all defined targets in the National Development Strategic Plan 2006-10, Cambodia Millennium Development Goals, and the Education for All National Plan 2003-2015. Emphasis is also put on strengthening the partnership between the public and private sectors for more effective resource mobilization and utilization.

1.2. Overarching Policies of the Education Sector

The MoEYS vision is to establish and develop human resources of the very highest quality and ethics in order to develop a knowledge-based society within Cambodia.

The MoEYS mission: In order to achieve the above vision, MoEYS has the mission of leading, managing and developing the Education, Youth and Sport sector in Cambodia in responding to the socio-economic and cultural development needs and the reality of globalization.

 
The Ministry's long-term mission is to ensure that all Cambodian children and youth have equal opportunity to access quality education consistent with the Constitution and the Royal Government's commitment to the U.N convention on the Rights of the Child, regardless of social status, geography, ethnicity, religion, language, gender and physical form. The Ministry envisages a time when graduates from all its institutions will meet international and regional standards and will be competitive in the job markets worldwide and act as engines for social and economic development in Cambodia.

An overarching objective of the MoEYS is to achieve the holistic development of Cambodia's young people for all sectors. In addition, the Ministry intends to engender a sense of national and civic pride, high standards of morals and ethics and a strong belief in being responsible for the country and its citizens.

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has defined three main policies as follows:

- Equitable Access to Education Services.
- Quality and Efficiency of Education Services.
- Institutional Development and Capacity Building for Decentralisation.

1.3. ESP 2006-10 Formulation and Consultation Process

Experiences from the implementation of education reform through Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) have provided good results in the process of consultation between the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), donors, NGOs and other stakeholders in the ESP formulation. The shift from donorship to partnership and towards government ownership demonstrates good collaboration from all stakeholders. The Ministry has been successful in establishing partnerships in the context of harmonization of external assistance.

A clear and scheduled consultation mechanism has been established through the Joint Technical Working Group (JTWG) in Education, which consists of MoEYS officials, inter-ministerial officials and staff as well as Donors and NGOs represented in the Education Sector Working Group.

In order to establish and achieve the education policies and strategies for the future, MOEYS has initiated consultation processes:

- Within MoEYS itself and with its provincial offices to ensure that this ESP is formulated with the intention of achieving targets mentioned in the Education for All national plan 2003-2015.

- With line ministries, especially with the Ministry of Planning, to ensure that this ESP responds to the Rectangular Strategy of the Royal Government of Cambodia;, contributes to the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2006-2010; and corresponds to the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS) as well as the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals (CMDGs).

- With the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to ensure that the budget envisaged in this ESP 2006-2010 will be realistic, sufficient and supported.

- With the Council for Administrative Reform (CAR), to ensure that the process of the education sector reform will actually respond to the public administrative reform objectives, both regarding educational staff employment and salary scale arrangements.

- With stakeholder ministries, to ensure that all related inter-ministerial issues will be strongly taken into account, especially HIV/AIDS, disability and Gender issues.

- With JTWG, to ensure that the views of donors and NGOs active in the field of education are heard.

Four regional meetings were conducted on the ESP (in combination with the ESSP) formulation to enable all levels to be informed of the key priority policies as well as to provide input to the programmes.

The ESP 2006-2010 will be officially approved and distributed nationally, produced as a CD in both Khmer and English and published on the MoEYS website.

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