A full assignment paper for the subject 'Development and Public Policy' Master of Public Policy, University Malaya. The subject was taught by Dr Derrick L. Cogburn, a Visiting Associate Professor from the American University, Washington DC

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MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
PUBLIC POLICY AND MANAGEMENT (INPUMA)
UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
KUALA LUMPUR
ASSIGNMENT 3:
DISABILITY-INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN CAMBODIA
PREPARED BY:
MOHD HASIM UJANG (ZGA110011)
LUU THI HIEU (ZGA140003)
MOHAMMED SALA HASSAN (ZGA130013)
Submitted to: Dr. Derrick Cogburn
ZIGP 6115: DEVELOPMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
Date: 13/01/2015

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INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
ROYAL GOVERNMENT OF CAMBODIA
PART I – OVERVIEW OF CAMBODIA INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT
I. National Strategy and Framework for Social and Economic Development of
Cambodia
Cambodia outlined its achievements in ensuring an average annual economic growth of 7%
and reducing poverty rate of more than 1% point per annum over the past decade. In 2014, GDP
growth is 7.2, increasing per capita incomes to more than USD1,000. The combined impact of
this economic growth and reduced poverty has been the significant achievement in moving
towards many of the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals (CMDGs) and is shifting to a
Lower-Middle Income Country status. Nevertheless, Cambodia is facing some important
challenges including capacities and resilience to mitigate the impact of regional and global
economic shocks; issues of inequality – in particular the rural-urban divide – and social inclusion
and environmental sustainability; quality of public and legal services; limited public
infrastructure and high cost to support livelihoods and well-being; and development of human
recourses to promote economic competitiveness and to provide opportunities for Cambodian
youth.
The Royal Government of Cambodia’s (RGC) development vision is to have a socially
cohesive, educationally advanced and culturally vibrant Cambodia without poverty, illiteracy and
disease. Realizing the vision will require continued adherence to the values of social justice,
human welfare and empowerment of the people and the formulation and implementation of
policies to reduce poverty by promoting sustainable economic growth and better governance.
The Government therefore has been taking initiatives in leading the country with several
strategic development policies. Since Cambodia is a focus country for implementation of
disability-inclusive development strategy, it is important to situate an understanding of the lives
of people with disability (PWDs) within the broader political, economic, social and cultural
context within which decisions that affect them take place.
To ensure above-mentioned challenges are addressed as well as goals are achieved, the RGC
has developed the Rectangular Strategy – Phase III which outlined its development priorities that
include human recourse development; private sector development and employment; and
strengthening governance and public services. The Rectangular Strategy-Phase III (2014-2018)
is the “Socio-economic Policy Agenda” of the “Political Platform of the Royal Government of
Cambodia of the Fifth Legislature of the National Assembly”. It is a clear blueprint to guide the
activities of all stakeholders to further pursue and strengthen long-term sustainable development
aimed at promoting economic growth, creating jobs, equitable distribution of the fruits of
growth, and ensuring effectiveness of public institutions and management of resources. The
Royal Government has set out “Four Strategic Objectives” and “Four Priority Areas” to reaffirm
its commitment to continue implementing the “Rectangular Strategy” as following:
1. Ensuring an average annual economic growth of 7%. This growth should be sustainable,
inclusive, equitable and resilient to shocks through diversifying the economic base to achieve a
more broad-based and competitive structure with low and manageable inflation, stable exchange
rate and steady growth in international reserves.

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2. Creating more jobs for people especially the youth through further improvement in
Cambodia’s competitiveness to attract and encourage both domestic and foreign investments.
3. Achieving more than 1 percentage point reduction in poverty incidence annually, including the
realization of other Cambodian Millennium Development Goals (CMDG) targets, while placing
higher priority on the development of human resources and sustainable management and use of
environmental and natural resources.
4. Further strengthening institutional capacity and governance, at both national and sub-national
levels, and ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of public services to better serve people.
The National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP 2014 – 2018) is the second important
policy document of the RGC and is the roadmap for the implementation of the Political
Platforms of the Royal Government as well as the Rectangular Strategy-Phase III. It includes the
identification of the priorities, indicators and timeframe for the implementation and with the
identification of mechanism for the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Result Framework,
especially setting the responsibility of the line ministries and agencies within each angle in order
to gain high benefits from ASEAN Economic Integration in 2015 and to move out of the Least
Developed Countries and to be become an Upper-Middle-Income Country in 2030. For the
preparation of NSDP 2014-2018, the RGC has used the existing procedures and mechanism as
for the preparation of NSDP Update 2009-2013 and spent a longer time period improving this
national plan.
One of the most important strategies is the National Program for Sub-National
Democratic Government (SNDD, 2010–2019), which also highlights the vision of
decentralization reform. The National Program aims to ensure effective decision-making at local
levels, including through the participation of citizens in the development process and through the
creation of demand for services. It has five focus areas:
1. Sub-National Institutional Development;
2. The Development of Strong Human Resource Management Systems;
3. The Transfer of Functions and Resources;
4. Sub-National Budget, Financial and Property Systems; and,
5. Supporting Institutions for Decentralization and Deconcentration (D & D) Reform Processes
According to World Bank’s Report in 2014, Cambodia’s economic growth has held up
well despite domestic uncertainty and instability in neighboring countries. Real growth for 2014
is estimated to reach 7.2%, driven by the garment, construction, and services sectors. Bolstered
by a strengthening global economy and with the expectation of renewed confidence and the
return of political stability in July 2014 after a year-long political deadlock, Cambodia’s real
economic growth rate for 2015 is expected to reach 7.5%. Besides that, poverty in Cambodia has
fallen sharply. World Bank estimates suggest that Cambodia achieved the Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) of halving poverty in 2009. However, the vast majority of families
who escaped poverty were only able to do so by a small margin. The poverty rate was 18.6% in
2012, with almost 3 million poor people and over 8.1 million who are near-poor. About 90% of
them live in the countryside. Human development, particularly in the areas of health and

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education, remains an important development priority for Cambodia. About 40% of children
under five-years-old are malnourished and are short for their age. The nation has also made good
strides in improving maternal health, early child care, and primary education programs in rural
areas. The number of deaths per 100,000 live births decreased from 472 in 2005 to 206 in 2010,
the under-five child mortality rate decreased from 124 per 1,000 live births in 1998 to 54 per
1,000 in 2010, and the net primary school admission rate increased from 81% in 2001 to 94.3%
in 2012. Cambodia has also been successful in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS. As of 2011,
95% of people infected with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia have access to antiretroviral treatment.
This coverage rate is among the highest in the developing world.
Despite positive achievements, there are a number of significant challenges facing
Cambodia’s population of 13.4 million people. This includes growing inequality between urban
and rural settings, provinces, and social groups. Although the RGC has ratified several important
international treaties, reporting against the treaties is often delayed, as is implementation (as
demonstrated through submission of combined progress reports for multiple time periods and the
significant lists of issues raised by treaty bodies relating to reports).
II. Cambodia’s status with United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Person
with Disability (UN CRPD)
The RGC’s commitment to improving the lives of PWDs through recognition of their
rights was demonstrated through ratification of the UN CRPD in 2012. The RGC has been
working hard to promote the welfare of PWDs by following the Constitution of the Kingdom of
Cambodia, the policies and Rectangular Strategy of the Royal Government of Cambodia 4th
Mandate and the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals. The Ministry of Social Affairs,
Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY) has given priority to disability related work, as
stated in the work platform of MoSVY, through the development of policies and other
regulations to promote and extend the basic rights of PWDs. The Law on the Protection and the
Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (herein refered to as the ‘Disabilty Law’)
was declared by Royal Decree NS/RKM/0709/010 dated 3rd July 2009. The Law on is very
important in addressing the issues facing persons with disabilities in society together with the
implementation of other Royal Government Policies in promoting the welfare of PWDs. These
include the National Strategic Plan and policies of other ministries, institutions and authorities at
all levels. This law protects and promotes the basic rights of PWDs, reduces discrimination,
provides PWDs the equal opportunities for employment, income generation, accessibilities,
education, health, social services and the participation in political and social development
activities. This law also encourages and obligates the government and private sectors to use the
potential of PWDs through the inclusion of disabilities into their development activities.
However, there are some shortcomings of law. Firstly, certain provisions of the law emphasize
the impairment of persons with disabilities rather than the barriers that hinder their full and
effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. Secondly, many provisions of
CRPD were not integrated into this law. Only some rights have been stated in Cambodian
Disability Law namely livelihood, physical and mental rehabilitation, health care and prevention,
public accessibility, education, employment and vocational training, incentive, and election.
Moreover, the law does not address the right of vulnerable groups such as women and children
with disabilities and other important rights including access to justice, freedom from
exploitation, violence and abuse, freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information,

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protection of persons with disabilities during situation of risk and humanitarian emergencies etc.
enshrined in the CRPD. Many enforcement mechanisms and implementation processes were not
outlined in the Law, which has also resulted in uncomprehensive implementation.
On July 03, 2014, Samdach Decho Hun Sen, the Prime Ministry of Cambodia Royal
Government and the honor president of Disability Action Council came for the presidency of the
event of launching on the “National Disability Strategic Plan 2014-2018” is a continuous
implementation tool to respond to national policy, a framework to respond to problems of
Persons with Disabilities, and a guiding to promote the disability sector. This national strategy is
a road map to direct and obligate on Persons with Disabilities to a response to the benefits of
PWDs in Cambodian through political programmes and Rectangular Strategy, phase III of the
Royal Government of Cambodia. In additional, this strategic plan responds to international duties
that the Royal Government of Cambodia has adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and Incheon Strategy “make the right real” Asia-Pacific Disabled Decade 2013-
2022, and the implementation on the Law on the Protection and the Promotion of the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities
1. Poverty reduction of Persons with Disabilities through the promotion of job placement
and work accommodation for Persons with Disabilities, for they can improve their
livelihood and strengthening their ownership.
2. Provide to the disabled for the health services with quality and equity and also the
services of physical and mental rehabilitation.
3. Increase the intervention on the juridical service to reduce and then eliminate the
discrimination abuse, threat, and exploitation on the disabled.
4. Strengthening and enhancing the freedom, personal security, and the management on the
financial risk of charity at the rescued situation and disaster of Persons with Disabilities.
5. Ensure that Persons with Disabilities have ability to get education services and vocational
training with quality and equity.
6. Promote the participation of Persons with Disabilities, advocacy, available information
for the disabled, and involve in political regimes.
7. Ensure the evolvement of the disabled in social activities such as culture, religions, sport,
arts, entertainment, and other activities.
8. Develop and improve the accessibility in use the physical environment, means of public
transportation, information technology, and communication with the disabled.
9. Ensure the gender equality and promote equality of women and children with disabilities.
10. Strengthening and enhancing the cooperation among international level, inter-regional
level, regional level, sub regional level, national level, sub-national level.
Following the adoption of the Law on the Promotion and the Protection of the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities in 2009, Disability Action Council (DAC) became an RGC entity. This

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change emphasized DAC’s role as the national coordination and advisory mechanism on
disability.
The Department of Welfare for Persons with Disabilities (DWPWD), within MoSVY, is the
responsible entity for development of national policies and laws relating to disability and
rehabilitation (i.e., the DAC Secretariat and other RGC bodies can provide input, but are not
authorized to lead on policy and legislative development).
Article 46 of the Disability Law established the Persons with Disabilities Fund (a public
administration institution). The Fund is now known as the Persons with Disabilities Foundation
(PWDF). The PWDF is responsible for:
1. Funding services for people with disability such as health, rehabilitation, and education.
2. Promoting and enhancing the welfare of people with disability, including in particular those
who are poor and who do not receive services and support; and
3. Providing loans and credits for reasonable accommodation of disability.
Cambodia has a relatively large civil society community focused on people with
disability. The Cambodian Disabled People’s Organization (CDPO) is the peak body
representing people with disability in Cambodia. There are a large number of DPOs, self-help
groups (SHGs) and NGOs working in disability. There is, however, an absence of one informed
and strategic ‘voice’ representing PWDs. There is a lack of dialogue between organizations
(including INGOs, local NGOs and DPOs) as to who is doing what, where, why and how, and on
opportunities to collaborate and reduce duplication. This includes areas such as rehabilitation.
The low level of meaningful collaboration results in missed opportunities for civil society to
advocate effectively as one voice.
The RGC has been striving to bring its national legal framework on disability into compliance
with international level. There are, however, several key challenges facing the RGC in
implementing the CRPD:
- The lack of clear division of roles and responsibilities for the multiple government units
with disability responsibilities;
- Low levels of knowledge and experience within these Government units;
- Limited commitment to ensure the meaningful participation of disabled people’s
organizations (DPOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs);
- Challenges facing Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation
(MoSVY) in facilitating coordination with other Ministries (MoSVY has less resources
than other Ministries); and,
- Relatively low levels of RGC funding for government units with disability
responsibilities
- a lack of reliable data on disability.
III. REGIONAL STRATEGIES IMPACTING CAMBODIA’s INCLUSIVE
DEVELOPMENT

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1. ASEAN’s strategies
In 1997 the ASEAN Leaders agreed to transform ASEAN into a stable, prosperous, and
highly competitive region with equitable economic development, and reduced poverty and socio-
economic disparities. Ten years later, at the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the leaders affirmed
their strong commitment by signing the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the
Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015. This community will enable free movement
of goods, services, capital investment, and skilled labor within the region.
ASEAN integration presents both opportunities and challenges for Cambodia, one of the
least developed members in the region. Cambodia’s relatively low wages are likely to attract
more foreign investment. However, the free movement of labor poses tough challenges for the
Cambodian workforce as they will have to compete for jobs with their foreign counterparts.
With support from Asian Development Bank (ADB), Cambodia is trying its best strategic
plans implementation. The country partnership strategy (CPS), 2014-2018 for Cambodia aligns
with the country’s strategic planning cycle and the new priorities of the government’s
Rectangular Strategy for Growth, Employment, Equity and Efficiency, Phase III and the
National Strategic Development Plan for 2014-2018 and the recommendations from the
Independent Evaluation Department at Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ADB’s Midterm
Review of Strategy 2020.
Consistent with the government’s economic reform priorities, the impact of the CPS will be
reduction in poverty and vulnerability. To achieve this, the CPS will embed the three strategic
agendas of the Midterm Review of Strategy 2020 into all ADB operations:
inclusive economic growth, through sustained high growth and the creation of more
diversified economic opportunities, broader access to these opportunities, and targeted social
safety nets to protect the chronically poor;
environmentally sustainable growth, through the use of environment and climate-friendly
technologies, implementation of environmental safeguard measures, and strengthened
institutional capacities; and
regional cooperation and integration, through closer policy coordination in support of
regional and global public goods, and larger regional markets for goods, services, and capital.
Responding to the recommendations of the Midterm Review of Strategy 2020, the CPS
for 2014-2018 will emphasize catalyzing resource flows and providing knowledge solutions.
Public-private partnerships will be a key activity, as will strategies to enhance partnerships with
financiers and implement knowledge activities.
Narrowing the Development Gap (NDG) is ASEAN’s framework for addressing various
forms of disparities among and within Member States where pockets of underdevelopment exist.
Under NDG, ASEAN has continued coordinating closely with other sub-regional cooperation
frameworks in the region (e.g., BIMP-EAGA, IMT-GT, GMS, Mekong programs), viewing them
as “equal partners in the development of regional production and distribution networks” in the
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and as a platform to “mainstream social development
issues in developing and implementing projects,” in the context of the Asian Control Conference
(ASCC).

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The six-year Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plans have been developed to
assist the CLMV countries as well as ASEAN's other sub-regions to ensure that the economic
wheels of their economies move at an accelerated pace. IAI Work Plan I was implemented from
2002 to 2008, prior to the development of the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015).
IAI Work Plan II (2009-2015) supports the goals of the ASEAN Community and is composed of
182 prescribed actions, which includes studies, training programmes and policy implementation
support conducted through projects supported by ASEAN-6 countries, and ASEAN’s Dialogue
partners and external parties. The IAI Work Plan is patterned after and supports the key
programme areas in the three ASEAN Community Blueprints: ASEAN Political-Security
Community Blueprint, ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint and ASEAN Socio-Cultural
Community Blueprint.
The IAI Task Force, composed of representatives of the Committee of Permanent
Representatives and its working group from all ten ASEAN member states, is in charge of
providing general advice and policy guidelines and directions in the design and implementation
of the IAI Work Plan. All 10 ASEAN Member States are represented in the IAI Task Force, with
the Task Force chaired by representatives of the four CLMV countries. Chairmanship is rotated
annually in alphabetical order. The chair for 2014 is Cambodia.
2. Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and
the Pacific.
The development of the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for persons with
disabilities in Asia and the Pacific which Cambodia is a member, was derived from the
experiences in the implementation of two consecutive Asian and Pacific Decades of Disabled
Persons, 1993–2002 and 2003–2012, as well as the historic adoption by the General Assembly,
in 2006, of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Incheon Strategy is
composed of 10 interrelated goals, 27 targets and 62 indicators. Time frame for achieving the
goals and targets is the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013 to 2022.
Goal 5 of the strategy will be discussed as following for our aim of the study.
On 29 May 2013, Cambodia made an official declaration of its commitment to implement the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Incheon Strategy to Make the
Right Real for Persons with Disabilities. Developed over two years in consultation with
governments and civil society stakeholders, the Incheon Strategy provides the Asian and Pacific
region, and the world, with the first set of regionally agreed disability-inclusive development
goals – comprising 10 goals, 27 targets and 62 indicators. Prior to the launch, the Government of
Cambodia took significant steps. It ratified the Convention in December 2012. The Incheon
Strategy was translated into Khmer and made available to a broader public. In addition, an
extension was given to the National Disability Strategy Plan which was expired in December
2013. The new Strategy spans the period from 2014 to 2018 and include a national action plan to
implement the Strategy.
3. Some critical issues in Cambodia’s disability-inclusive education
In 2008, the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports (MoEYS) adopted a “Policy on
Education for Children with Disabilities” but this policy focuses only on children with physical

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disabilities. It excludes children with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities. The roles and
responsibilities of relevant stakeholders in implementing the policy are not clearly specified.
Moreover, the policy does not mention a clear monitoring and evaluation mechanism and the
budget allocated to implement this policy. Although the inclusive education-training module has
been developed and approved by the MoEYS, few teachers have so far been trained on how to
assist children with disabilities. The result of a survey on “current situation of education for
children with disabilities” conducted by CDPO with support from Handicap International in
2010 shows that only a small percentage of MoEYS employees surveyed have received training
or have resources for teaching children with disabilities. There is a need for teachers who are
trained to teach all children with disabilities including children with intellectual and physical
disabilities.
At present, there is little support available for children with disabilities in mainstream
public schools. Special schools for children with hearing and visual impairments do exist in
Cambodia. The inclusion of children with visual, hearing, and other disabilities like intellectual
disability and Autism in the mainstream schools has not been generally recognized. Special
schools are not part of the public schools system under the management of the MoEYS. The non-
governmental schools only have the capacity to provide education services to a small population
of children with disabilities in Cambodia. Only a very small number of children with disabilities
have access to Braille or Sign Language education services. Few schools were viewed by
students as being “child friendly”. Many students with disabilities cannot attend public schools
because only a few schools have ramps, accessible toilets, and handrails. Vocational training
options for persons with disabilities, especially for the blind and those with intellectual
disabilities such as autism are limited. While all the vocational training centers are situated in
Phnom Penh and other cities but the majority of disabled people in Cambodia live in the rural
area. Because of poor infrastructure compounded by limited and expensive transportation
service, many people with disabilities, especially women with disabilities in rural areas do not
have access to this training opportunity.
Cambodian children with disabilities are facing enormous challenges to attain full
participation into formal schooling at primary, secondary and tertiary level. The country still
requires huge amounts of foreign assistance to rebuild its education system from massive
destruction that have occurred as a result from decades of civil war and atrocities during the rule
of the Khmer Rouge regime (1975 – 1992). Until today Cambodia is still struggling to provide
quality education from kindergarten right until tertiary level. Hence, participation into the
mainstream education is a very big issue in Cambodia, not only for children with disabilities but
for normal children as well.
According to the latest UNICEF Report on Education in Cambodia, the 2010/2011
enrolment rate for children into the first year of primary schooling is 95.2 percent (95.8 and 94.6
percent for boys and girls respectively). These figures cover all children including those with
disabilities. Despite the high enrolment rate however, less than half of these children are not
expected to complete primary education, and even less of them are able to continue until lower
secondary school. The very high dropout rates are contributed by the multiple factors that
include poverty, geographical and ethno-linguistic challenges.
Poverty pushes many students out of school as many parents, especially in rural areas, cannot
afford the direct and indirect costs related to education. Moreover, families often require children
to help at home with chores and field work to supplement income which are mainly supported by

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subsistence farming. In addition, lack of quality of education in schools, leading to high rates of
repetition, also contributes to high dropout rates, particularly at the primary and lower secondary
level. Repeating grades results in a significant proportion of overage children in primary schools,
preventing children from reaching the transition to secondary school at an age where it still
makes sense to continue in education.
In addition, schools are mainly concentrated in urban areas and thus, become
significantly prohibitive for children from rural and remote regions. These children especially
those from ethnic minorities, lack access to consistent, quality education and many of them could
only begin primary education well beyond six years of age. In the 2008/2009 school year, nearly
half of children in remote areas admitted to grade one were over the age of six, compared to 29
per cent in urban areas. Late enrolment magnifies the problem by decreasing a child’s chances of
staying in school. Across the country, more than half of 12 to 14 year olds are in primary school
and struggle to keep up with their younger peers.
Furthermore, a lot of children from remote areas are only able to speak in their native
tribal languages whereas school teachers and textbooks are using Khmer, the Cambodian
national language as the primary medium of instruction. There are no less than 20 ethnic
minorities from rural areas who are not well-exposed to the Khmer language. This situation
presents significant communication barrier that largely hinders effective knowledge absorption
and cognitive development amongst children from a disadvantaged background. As a result,
learning by rote, in which children are taught to merely repeat after their teachers without
understanding the context still continues to be practiced in many schools.
Portions of rural community are also still live based on subsistence farming typically
characterized by repetitive cycle of slash, burn, plant and moving away in search for new plot of
arable land. Thus, children in these communities continuously follow their parents to move from
one place to another in search of arable lands, adversely affecting their schooling.
PART 2: POLICY RECOMMENDATION ON A DISABILITY-INCLUSIVE ISSUE IN
CAMBODIA – PROPOSAL TO ENHANCE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION FOR DISABLED
CHILDREN VIA RURAL OUTREACH AND IN-SERVICE TEACHER TRAINING ON
DISABILITY AND SPECIAL NEEDS ISSUES
I. Introduction
This paper seeks to propose to the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MEYS)
to initiate two (2) important policy implementations at national level in order to enhance
inclusive education for disabled children in Cambodia. The recommended policies are urgent and
necessary to address the daunting situation that has largely hindered optimum participation
amongst Cambodian children into the mainstream education, especially children with disabilities.
The proposals are:
1. To implement a rural outreach program that encourages early learning and schooling for
children in remote areas with special attention to children with disabilities; and
2. To fully adopt the In-Service Teacher Training On Disability and Special Needs Issues for
Primary School Teachers.

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II. Recommended Policy Implementation
Rural outreach program
The rural outreach program should make use of various instruments to maximize opportunity and
access to knowledge and education amongst rural children especially those who are disabled.
Among the instruments that should be included are:
Establishing makeshift libraries and mobile learning centres in clusters of three (3) villages
throughout the interior of Cambodia. This effort should be carried out in a cost-conscious
manner to minimize impediments due to financial constraints. Cost-effective materials such
as old and recycled construction materials, wood and bamboos from nearby forests and even
old buses and trailers can be converted into makeshift libraries and learning centres with the
aid of Labour-Based Appropriate Technology (LBAT) to minimize costs.
Provide free classes to teach Khmer and English to rural communities with support from
local and international volunteers plus social workers. The makeshift and permanent
learning centres can be used for this purpose. In this respect, the Bridgebook Foundation has
already created very good examples in Cambodia and Mongolia with a total of eleven (11)
learning centres that teach English to children and young persons. Their model of
community-based education service is replicable throughout rural areas in Cambodia
especially with close collaboration from existing government institutions.
Teaching materials for schools and learning centres can be procured with minimum cost via
donations of books and other teaching materials. Assistances in the form of grants from
foreign governments such as Cambodia Disability Inclusive Development Funds (CDIDF)
under UNICEF and Australian Government are also useful.
It is highly recommended to get the involvement of multinational corporations in CSR
programs that aim to assist rural education and community service. For instance, the
Bookbridge Foundation has invited multinational corporations to participate in leadership
and internship programs in the management of Cambodian community services that are
operated by the Foundation. Thus, efforts to generate more of such initiatives should be
carried out to maximize contributions from multinational corporations in the restoration of
Cambodian education system.
Creating awareness amongst the rural community regarding the hazards of slash-and-burn
farming to their environment and livelihood while simultaneously assisting them to settle
permanently in well-established communities. This measure requires education, training plus
some material and technical support
To build at least one school in every radius of 3 to 10km depending on route and population
density. The school should provide kindergarten and primary education for rural population
with maximum inclusion of children with disabilities. The cost-effective approach and
LBAT approach can be used to implement this scheme cost-efficiently.
In addition, cheap mode of rural transportations that are custom-built for children can be
provided using cost-efficient and LBAT approach to assist children with disabilities to
attend schools. Normal children can co-benefit from this instrument with disabled children,
which also develops shared needs and mutual friendship across ethnic and physical barriers.

12. 12
The rural outreach program shall require extensive involvement from foreign donor countries,
national and international bodies of persons with disabilities that possess significant capability to
contribute financially and in terms of other resources. Social advocacies and community support
group from foreign countries can also take part to make the proposal work effectively. The
Cambodian Government via the National Disability Action Council (NDAC) and should lead the
way to ensure the success of the rural outreach program.
In-Service Teacher Training On Disability and Special Needs Issues for Primary School
Teachers
The In-Service Teacher Training On Disability and Special Needs Issues for Primary School
Teachers is a handbook specially developed to train teachers to correctly recognize and respond
to the educational needs of children with disabilities. The adoption of this handbook into
mainstream education is particularly important because there is no concrete approach or program
currently exist to equip Cambodian teachers with skills that are necessary for educating children
with disabilities.
The CRPD Universal Periodic Review Number 18 (UPR 18) for Cambodia states that in 2008,
the MEYS adopted a “Policy on Education for Children with Disabilities” to guide national
education program for children with disabilities. However, this policy focuses only on children
with physical disabilities. It excludes children with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities.
Furthermore, it does not contain specific guidlines for teachers to accurately assess and respond
to the needs of children with disabilities as defined by the CRPD.
Thus, the adoption of the In-Service Teacher Training On Disability and Special Needs Issues
for Primary School Teachers can appropriately address this void. The special education toolkit
was written by Philippa Thomas, a UK-based education researcher in collaboration with
Cambodian NDAC, MEYS, representatives from special schools plus local and international
NGOs. The toolkit was specifically developed in Cambodian context with specific references to
similar experience in UK, India and Laos. However, despite close collaboration and specific
relation to the Cambodian context, the Cambodian government has only formally recognized the
toolkit but has yet to incorporate it into the national education policy.
Thus, a huge number of Cambodian teachers are not yet exposed to the toolkit and a great deal
of effort is needed to familiarize them with the special methods and techniques to teach children
with disabilities which has been structurally presented in the toolkit. The 157-page toolkit
consists of 6 modules which can be described by the following salient features:
Modules 1 – 2: Defining special needs & Disability awareness. These modules expose
teachers to case studies involving different types of special needs among children that are
largely defined by their physical, cognitive and/or psychological impairments. These
modules educate teachers to differentiate between learning difficulties caused by a
disadvantaged background and those that are caused by impairments that contribute to
‘disability’ as defined by WHO and the CRPD. The modules also guides teachers on how to
lend appropriate assistance based on the type of learning disabilities that children face in
school. Most importantly, the modules educate teachers to understand and embrace the
concept of social model of disability in lieu of the medical model and consequently to tailor
the appropriate assistance along this line of thought.

13. 13
Modules 3 – 4: Education for children with special needs & Responding to diversity. These
modules give detailed understanding to teachers about the social model of disability as
defined under international conventions. The modules educate teachers about the
responsibility to align existing education policies, infrastructure and educators’ mindset
towards an inclusive education that gives equal treatment and priority for all children
regardless of their disability or state of fitness. Most importantly, these modules teach
educators to follow eight (8) golden rules in managing and adapting to different learning
needs of children in their classrooms:
o Communication
o Classroom management
o Individual plans
o Assistive aids
o Lesson planning
o Individual help
o Managing behaviour
o Including all pupils.
Modules 5 – 6: Teaching basic skills to children with special needs & Advice for teaching
children with disabilities in the classroom. These modules guide educators on how to teach
essential skills & subjects such as talking, reading, writing and mathematics to children with
special needs, what are the expected challenges and how to deal with the challenges. The
last module include further case studies that demonstrate how teachers and pupils can
cooperate to generate warm acceptance, friendship and solidarity with children with special
needs. The use of games, group activities and stimulating environment are heavily
emphasized for such purpose.
The heuristic approach employed in the special education toolkit that are based on real life
examples further strengthens its potential to address the existing shortcomings in the Cambodian
education system in dealing with special children. The toolkit is also applicable in other
countries with similar context due to its comprehensive and flexible content that can be adjusted
to meet local circumstances.
III. Challenges in implementing the Recommended Policies
The extensive destruction of Cambodian education system during the Khmer Rouge era
requires huge amount of financial and technical resource to rebuild and restore the system.
Compounded by the constraints in the Cambodian economic growth, it is very difficult to
implement the above suggestions without extensive involvement and assistance from foreign
governing bodies, international NGOs and multinational corporations via CSR programs. Thus,
concerted effort needs to be carried out continuously to attract the highest participation from the
respective parties in order to expedite the remedies for the Cambodian education problems. The
authors of this paper noted that the level of CSR contributions to Cambodia from multinational
companies are still sorely lacking. Thus, more effort should be directed towards drawing in CSR-
based projects to assist in the restoration and enhancement of the Cambodian education system
with special attention to disability-inclusive learning.

14. 14
Furthermore, the adoption of special training toolkit for teachers requires extensive
contribution from experts in special education who have vast experience in conducting training
for teachers. Significant language barrier is expected to be present since most of the trainers are
not fluent in Khmer. Thus, significant effort is needed to overcome the language barrier. Since
Cambodia cannot rely forever on foreign expertise to train its teachers in special education, it is
highly likely that the toolkit needs to be translated from English into Khmer to enable the
concept of ‘train the trainers’. Thus, careful implementation and adoption of this toolkit is
necessary to maintain the effectiveness of the teachers’ education program in special education.
Due to the financial constraints face by the Cambodian government and the parties involved,
the recommended policies should be implemented in a gradual and phased manner to amortize
the costs across a long term period. Meanwhile, the gradual improvement in the Cambodian
education system should mark a shift away from providing basic knowledge and vocational
training tailored for blue collar jobs towards building intellectual and professional capacity of the
Cambodian population to generate higher level of economic growth. Only by this measure can
the country move up towards middle and eventually higher income economy with more desirable
standard of living.
IV. Conclusion
The recommended policies underscore the importance of education as the key to attain higher
standard of living that ensures sustainable wellbeing of Cambodian future generations.
Considering that the Cambodian civil war has only ended in 1992, the progress achieved within
the space of 22 years is truly remarkable. However the state of Cambodian education system still
leaves much to be desired which necessitates prompt adoption of the recommended policies. The
Cambodian experience should serve as a very good lesson for current and future post-conflict
rebuilding efforts in any countries. Most importantly, multilateral participation from
governments, IGOs, INGOs, academia and multinational corporations can greatly assist
restoration efforts in post-conflict development.

15. 15
References
1. The UNICEF report on the current state of Cambodian education system
(www.unicef.org/cambodia/3.Education.pdf) retrieved on 15th
December 2014.
2. The Cambodian Universal Periodic Review on the state of CRPD compliance and disability-
inclusive development issues (www.dpi.org/documents/dpo_upr_report_cambodia_final.doc)
retrieved on 15th
December 2014.
3. The Bookbridge Foundation efforts for community service and education in Cambodia
(http://www.bookbridge.org/who-we-are/story/) accessed on16th
December 2014.
4. The Bookbridge Foundation’s information on current syllabus taught in Cambodian
education system (http://www.bookbridge.org/2012/03/the-education-system-in-cambodia/)
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December 2014.
5. The toolkit for teachers’ training in special education published by Education Enabling
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13. Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the
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real%E2%80%9D-persons-disabilities-asia-and-pacific) accessed on 18th
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14. Cambodian Disabled People’s Organization, A Stakeholders report prepared by Disabled
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