22 January 2008
National Institute of Education

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, it is a great honor and pleasure for me and my colleagues from MoEYS to attend the Launching Ceremony on ICT Textbook in Khmer for Teaching and Learning and the Inauguration of the Low Cost Computing Research Laboratory for Education under the Framework of ICT Master Plan Development in Education as part of the Open Schools Program, a joint initiative project between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Kingdom of Cambodia and The Open Institute.

On behalf of the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport I would like to express my gratitude the Open Institute, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, InWEnt, and UNESCO and other development partners for their cooperation and continued support the field of ICT in Education and human resources development's mission in line with the policy of the Royal Government.

Last July, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published the "Least Developed Countries Report 2007" The report's main conclusion was that "unless the Least Developed Countries adopt policies to stimulate technological catch-up with the rest of the world, they will continue to fall behind other countries technologically and face deepening marginalization in the global economy. In order for these countries to successfully alleviate poverty and close the technology gap, they must introduce policies that harbor the advancement of science, technology and knowledge."

In short, there is no economic development without widespread use of technology, nor without policies that do not promote this use, such as favoring and promoting technology in our own language, so that it can be used by everybody.

The acquisition of technology starts more and more at an early age. Our children know already many things that we will never learn. This is why we must ensure that this opportunity of adapting to the the knowledge and technology based society reaches all our students, and not only an elite who lives in urban areas. We do this by ensuring that everybody can understand the technology (by using technology in Khmer language), and by integrating ICT in the school curriculum by 2012, accompanied by the required infrastructure.

Back in 2005 the Ministry developed the document "Policy and Strategies on Information and Communication Technology in Education in Cambodia". This policy can be summed in its main goals:

1. To increase access to basic education for all, both formal and non-formal, using ICT as one of the major tools for learning, teaching, searching and sharing information.
2. To improve the quality of basic education.
3. To promote independent and lifelong learning, specifically for post-primary education.
4. To produce availability of workforce with the ICT skills needed for employment and use in a knowledge-based society; to ensure that Cambodia can compete and cooperate in an increasingly interconnected world.

In addition to the aforementioned policy, ICT is prominently highlighted as a tool of development in education in the second Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2006-2010 and Education Sector Support Programs (ESSP) 2006-2010 which specifies the need of providing ICT training for teachers and students, using ICT to improve the quality of teaching, and automation of school management and finance, using ICT to enhance school efficiency. The ADB "Enhancing Quality of Education Project" provides ICT measures including training of teachers, equipping one resource center per province to serve as a center of ICT in education.

As a first step to implement the mentioned policies, MoEYS and the Open Institute have started the Open Schools Program, a joint initiative to prepare a Master Plan for ICT in Education, identify needs, develop curricula, provide widespread ICT training to in-service and pre-service teachers, study possibilities for connectivity and development of educational content for school use and teacher training. The program also plans to do research on the technologies that will be best adapted for classroom use in Cambodia, especially considering the issue of sustainability. The Master Plan will be accompanied by the corresponding Action Plan.

In the Master Plan we will look at simple and attainable goals that we want to reach in 5 years:

1. All high school graduates have basic IT skills, a global view of how ICT is used in society and work situations.
2. All pre-service teachers are computer literate, and they know how to use ICT to improve the quality of the education they deliver.
3. All upper secondary school in-service teachers are computer literate, and they know how to use ICT to improve the quality of the education they deliver.
4. ICT is used to improve the quality of Education
5. Distance learning materials exist for Equivalency programs, and are used to upgrade the level of primary school teachers.
6. ICT-based self-study materials are available for upper secondary school students and 9th grade students, to supplement their classroom education and prepare them better for the comprehensive exams.
7. Universities have acquired distance education know-how, have have created distance education programs in Khmer.
8. All upper secondary schools have automated their student management and administration, and are able to periodically send electronic data to the Ministry, who is able to process it. Automation of lower secondary schools with electricity has started.
9. All upper secondary schools are equipped with one computer for every 20 students in 10th and 11th grade (each student can access the computer two hours every week). The computers are networked and connected to the Internet. Installations are sustainable.
10. All ICT functions are done using computer programs that are fully in Khmer language.

The Master Plan will be based on solid information and experience gathered by us, emanating from the research that will take place during the second phase of the Open Schools Program:

1. Preparation of an assessment of our present capabilities on ICT.
2. Drafting of curricula for teachers and students that will reach the above mentioned goals.
3. Development of E-learning know-how in Khmer.
4. Research on the available technology and its sustainability.

It is in the framework of this search for the best options to be implemented in the Master Plan that we inaugurate today the Low Cost Computing Research Laboratory for Education, which we hope will define sustainable solutions for the deployment of ICT to all our schools.

The Ministry is aware of its responsibility of delivering students that are well prepared to help our country develop, and we assume this task it with enthusiasm. We had already reached very positive results and we expect, through the Master Plan, to fulfill our obligation and deliver the professional that Cambodia needs.
We ask donors to:

1. Please support the change to use Khmer language applications, and not to start projects that require going back to English.
2. Please help equipping upper secondary schools with computers, and if possible with computers that use little electricity.

We appreciate the works of the Open Institute and ministry staff has achieved, and I would like to thank the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, InWEnt, and UNESCO for their support in the work and research leading to the Master Plan, and hope that other donors will help us meet this challenge in order to strengthen the roles of ICT in teaching and learning, and to narrow the digital gap in the region.

I would like also to wish Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, to always be blessed with the Five Buddha blessings.