Child-friendly approach delivers soaring exam pass rates

A school enrolment campaign tractor featuring a Plan placard takes the message directly into rural villages

31 March 2008: School exam pass rates have leapt from 5% to 97% over the last 2 years in Dambae district, Cambodia, thanks to Plan’s child-friendly education programmes.

Before Plan’s work, children in Dambae were forced to walk 3 kilometres to school each day. Poor teacher training and learning environments also contributed to low student motivation and high drop out rates.

Plan worked closely with children, families and communities to identify needs and solutions, and supported the construction of 8 primary schools and 2 libraries in the district.

The new buildings benefit more than 2,000 children and provide access to safe drinking water, latrines and areas in which to play.

Child-friendly classrooms

In collaboration with KAPE (Kampuchean Action for Primary Education), Plan trained 40 primary school teachers to improve teaching quality, motivation and morale.

Teachers learned new ways to make their classrooms child-friendly – such as abandoning corporal punishment and allowing children to sit in groups, instead of the traditional row formation.

Teachers were also introduced to a ‘student centered’ teaching approach, which encourages children to do more study and explore on their own through small surveys, group discussion and group presentations – helping them to socialise and build a team spirit.

School enrolment campaign

Attendance at the new schools is being boosted thanks to Plan-facilitated school enrolment campaign groups which travel directly into villages and urge families to send their children to school.

The groups – comprising students, parents, teachers, Buddhist monks and commune councillors – have posted child-friendly billboards at numerous village gathering areas to promote the school term.

“I have 10 brothers and sisters, but only my elder sister and I can go to school because before we didn’t have a school here. Plan built it. I want all children to come to school like me so that they can learn to read too,” said 11-year-old Samnang, one of the education campaigners.

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