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UNESCO Cambodia’s support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport to provide an immediate response to the impact of COVID-19 on learning

No matter where you are in the world, we are all dealing with unprecedented events at the moment due to COVID-19. Here in Cambodia, UNESCO office is making every effort, in collaboration with development partners, to support the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) to ensure continuous learning for all during school closures, as well as raise awareness about COVID-19 prevention.

Across Education programs, measures have been put in place in partnership with the Ministry, other development partners and NGOs. These include:

  • STEPCam: through our Strengthening Teacher Education Programmes in Cambodia (STEPCam), continuous learning of more than 1 million children in early grades (1-3) is being ensured during the initial school closure. Funds have been mobilized for MoEYS to develop online video lessons, with the contents focused on Mathematics and Khmer Literacy. These lessons will be live on Facebook from 30 March, as well as saved and posted again at a later date for reference. Visit the MoEYS Facebook page and the Komar Rien Komar Cheh Facebook page to access the lessons and for more information.
  • BEEP: approximately 610,000 students enrolled in lower secondary grades (7-9) can access supplementary learning resources through the Basic Education Equivalency Program (BEEP) platform and continue their learning, since online courses for all subjects have been made available to the public by MoEYS. Visit the platform or BEEP Facebook page for more information about enrolling.
  • Factory Literacy Program: through the Factory Literacy Program (FLP), nearly 300 women working across seven factories (with many other factories already closed due to the pandemic) will continue to access a broad-based curriculum, with a particular focus on family health and nutrition. Visit the FLP Facebook page for more information.

Using the above approaches, UNESCO Phnom Penh will also help to disseminate information about COVID-19 to raise awareness about what people can do to protect themselves and others. Educational and communication materials will be shared on the UNESCO Phnom Penh Facebook page, in partnership with MoEYS and produced by other development partners, such as UNICEF, USAID and WHO. UNESCO will also send these materials directly to the education programmes’ stakeholders, including teachers, teacher educators, mentors, government officials, facilitators, factory employers and other partners. Visit our Facebook page for more information.