Gender and Development

Cambodia: Residential Facilities Provide Opportunities for Girls

Glimpse of the computer room at a residential facility in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Photo is courtesy of Barbara Lochmann

On 30 March 2007, a new residential facility for secondary school girls was inaugurated in Siem Reap. The ceremony was attended by the Governor of Siem Reap, the Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS), the Secretary of State, Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA), two ADB Board Directors, the Country Director and two local television stations. The new residential facility was constructed under an ADB technical assistance, Dormitories and Learning Centers for Secondary Schoolgirls.

In the absence of residential facilities in secondary schools, poor schoolgirls in Cambodia are unable to continue their education. Schools are far away from their homes and transport is not existent in many areas. ADB is supporting the Government to pilot a model for residential facilities for secondary schoolgirls in three upper secondary schools. Live-in female teachers have been selected among the staff and trained on dormitory management to supervise the girls in day to day tasks in the residential facilities. A total of three residential facilities providing accommodation for 270 girls have been constructed in upper secondary schools in Kampong Thom, Kratie and Siem Reap province. To date 234 girls are living in these residential facilities which opened end of March 2007.

The TA provides scholarships to the best performing students living in these residential facilities. A total of 144 schoolgirls received scholarships under the program in 2006/2007 and an additional 96 girls will receive scholarships for school year 2007/2008. The Project also provides IT training opportunities for the girls outside the formal school curriculum. Pilot schools are receiving more applications than can be accommodated due to the intensive public information campaigns about the residential facility program since last year.

The TA is also financing the provision of computers, training of teachers and provincial education staff on computer literacy, and the development of ICT modules for life skill training with special regard to women's health, women's rights and other related topics. Support for special studies is also included such as an assessment of income generation opportunities through learning centers.

The pilot is a joint initiative between MOEYS and MOWA. MOEYS is the executing agency as the boarding facilities are an integral part of the secondary schools while MOWA has complementary interventions in the area of gender mainstreaming providing training to teachers and provincial education staff and developing the content of ICT modules for life skill education.  For more information, please contact Barbara Lochmann, SESS.