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Enrolling Poor Girls and Minority Children in Secondary Education in Cambodia

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (27 November 2002) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US$3 million grant to enroll more poor girls and children of ethnic minorities in lower secondary education in Cambodia. The grant will come from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), financed by the Government of Japan.

Cambodia has significantly expanded primary education in the past decade, with overall enrollment rates at 84% for boys and 81% for girls. However, for secondary education (grades 7-12), the enrollment rates are only 17% for boys and 14% for girls, and are even worse in lower secondary education (grades 7-9), the last three years in Cambodia's basic education.

Lower secondary enrollment rates of poor girls and children of ethnic minorities are especially low as their education relies heavily on parental contributions. Once they reach adolescence, girls are traditionally expected to undertake household tasks. The shortage of school transportation and lodging facilities, long traveling distances, and the lack of secondary schools in rural areas pose additional constraints.

The ADB grant will finance a project to increase awareness - in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports; in the private sector; and among communities - of the economic, social and cultural inequalities and biases against girls and indigenous children.

The project will pilot test community-managed scholarship programs at selected lower secondary schools. Special scholarships will be offered to ethnic minority children to cover the extra costs for board and lodging. "The program will reach about 15,000 beneficiaries, of whom about 95% will be girls," says ADB project officer Paul Chang.

The project will build the capacity of central, provincial, district and community level institutions to set up mechanisms to administer and monitor scholarship programs.

Lessons learned will be disseminated widely and used to promote educational policy dialogue between the Government and civil society.

The total project cost of about US$3.5 million will be largely borne by ADB, with the balance from the Government, nongovernment organizations, and international aid agencies.

The JFPR was set up in 2000 with an initial contribution of Y10 billion (about US$90 million). This has been followed by additional contributions of US$155 million and a commitment of US$50 million. The fund supports projects that target poor people and prioritizes innovative approaches.

More at adb.org/media

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