School Enrollment Campaign

- a road less traveled ...

Both the Cambodian grade 12 national rescheduled examination and the school enrollment campaign took place during a two-week period in mid October 2014. 

The first week, volunteer officials nationally monitored the grade 12 students' exams.  Once the exams were done here in Mondolkiri, students hooted with joy that the rescheduled exam was finally over, and said commented they looked forward to a brand new school year.  One of them said that they will  ‘study’ harder.  Exam results are expected to be published within the next few months.

School attendance is not mandatory in Cambodia but encouraged! 

Children ages 6 and older can enroll.  Sometimes there are children as old as 15 that will enroll in grade 1. 

Every year, 15 days prior to the new school term, a School Enrollment Campaign takes place throughout Cambodia to encourage every child of school age enroll in school.  For the first time this school year, because of the grade 12 rescheduled national exams and an end to the rainy season, the school term started on November 1^st..   Therefore, during the weeks of October 14 – 23, 2014 we held a School Enrollment Campaign throughout Mondolkiri Province.  

The objective for a School Enrollment Campaign is to promote ‘Education for All’,  to inform parents and guardians to enroll their children in school, through information dissemination, parades, communication and persuasion.  This is to increase awareness among families and communities; to put into practice a plan to enroll all school-age children from their local area and, to reach every child from poor and marginalized groups, especially girls and children with disabilities.  Last but not least, it is to ensure that All children have equal access to school And, to enjoy the right to a quality of education. 

 

This year a team of us supported the Sre Y back to School Enrollment Campaign and braved the treacherous road.  Reaching Sre Y Village School was difficult to get to on a motorbike because the road was severely rutted, slippery and muddy.    At this time of the year, motorbikes are the only vehicles that will endure this stretch of track -this so-called stretch of highway.   Since last May, when roads were better to ride on, have now been destroyed by logging trucks and the rainy season.  It took over 2 hours to drive 25-kilometers to the school, that was both arduous and exhausting to say the least.   However, on our arrival, we were warmly greeted by smiling children, tea and the director of Sre Y Village School, who told us that ’10 years ago, when I first moved in the community, roads were far better to ride on then they are now’.                                                                                     

 

At the School Enrollment Campaign, at Sre Y Village School, the Commune Chief, officials, and VSO addressed approximately 100 community members, including elders, parents and children. They shared their own stories stating the many benefits of education, the Child Friendly School programme and more. Parents were reminded to enroll their children, and when and where to enroll.    Parents listened attentively to the pleas of the officials and they appeared to understand the link between school enrollment and reaping the rewards of education.

 

Once the presentation was over, a group of parents and children surrounded the director to enquire further about enrolment.  While we were there, 14 new children enrolled in grade 1 (2 girls and 12 boys) for the school year 2014 -2015.  

However, keeping children at school in this part of the country, in this indigenous community is a challenge.   In the last 2013 – 2014 school year, 35 children in grade 1 enrolled.  By grade 6 only 11 students enrolled, of which four Grade 6 students passed.  The school director told us that the mere handful of children who had passed ‘are now living and attending school in Sen Monorom town’.

This appears to be common practice at Sre Y Village.   Further, the community faces many challenges where I work, there is little to no food security.  What the family eats that day is in direct response to how much they have managed to produce on the farm.   Often many children are either pulled out of school, or kept at home, in order to contribute to the family income, to help the family in the (cassava, rice etc) field to harvest or plant crops, or anything else that pertains to chores at home, such as caring for their younger brothers and sisters.  Sometimes parents will send their older children to the market in bigger towns to sell their harvest.  Sometimes schools are too expensive for children, parents cannot afford the 500 riels bribe per day to give to teachers.   

Apart from economic barriers there are also cultural constraints.  These Bunong communities such as in Sre Y Village remain socially isolated from the larger Cambodian society.  They are animist and worship forest spirits.  They’re ancestors are buried on their land and as a result, the Bunong peoples will not leave their village.  They speak an indigenous language that until approximately eight years ago could not be written since it lacked its own alphabet.

14 children enrolled - 2 girls and 12 boys

There is good news, however.  Within this last school year, VSO worked very closely with CARE, developing a 20 module ‘Multilingual Education’ (MLE) Curriculum for Bunong Teachers, to deliver in all 5 districts State Schools of Mondolkiri Province. As I speak, they are presently conducting a one-week ‘Multilingual Education Training’ workshop (Modules 1 - 5) at the Education Resource Centre in Sen Monorom town.   The MLE Training was approved and fully supported by the Ministry of Education, for Bunong Teachers to teach their mother tongue to indigenous children in their community.   Consequently, as of November 1^st, 2014, grade 1 to grade 3 children will receive 100% Bunong instruction.  By grade 4, Bunong children will be introduced to the Khmer State Language Curriculum and by grade 5 they will fully be immersed in the Khmer Language Curriculum. 

Sadly, Sre Y Village School was exempted from the Multilingual Training, because the teachers were unable to attend the first one-week workshop, due to poor road conditions.

Two days later, after holding the school enrollment Campaign at Sre Y village School, we headed for home to Sen Monorom Town.   On our arrival, we had lunch with our landlord/landlady and his friends.  One of his friends was a doctor, who told us that malaria was a concern at Sre Y village. He added, that he and his nursing staff would only visit the community certain times of the year, to deliver malaria medication for the people, due to limited access to the village community.   Like VSO, the doctor and his team plan to return and support Sre Y village once the road is rebuilt.

More later …