PHNOM PENH, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Tuesday launched two national campaigns to keep every child in school as the kingdom prepares to open its classrooms for the 2025-2026 academic year this November.
The campaigns, Caring Parents, Smart Kids and Your Choice, Your Future, were designed to ensure that every child, from early childhood to adolescence, has access to inclusive and quality education.
"Improving learning outcomes and reducing dropouts remain central priorities of our Education Strategic Plan," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron said.
"While Cambodia has made significant progress in expanding access to education, we must ensure that every child not only enters school but also completes it with the skills needed for life and work," he added.
Naron said these campaigns were to strengthen early childhood care and development, promote inclusive learning, and address the factors that lead children to leave school prematurely.
"Together, we are working to build an education system that is equitable, resilient, and responsive to the needs of every learner across Cambodia," he said.
In 2023, there were approximately 3 million school-age children in Cambodia, with around 300,000 of them out of school, according to official data.
By 2024, dropout rates remained stubbornly high, with 15.5 percent of students leaving school at the lower secondary level.
"Quality education is not a dream, it is a duty. And the future of our children cannot wait," said Will Parks, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative in Cambodia, at the launch event in Kampong Cham province.
"We must act now to ensure that every child is seen, supported, and given a fair chance," he added.
Parks said the two public campaigns aim to raise awareness, mobilize communities, and strengthen support systems to keep children in school and improve learning outcomes.
It will focus on early childhood education, inclusive learning environments, and targeted interventions for the most vulnerable children, he added.
