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Note: references in this document
are specified in the short bibliography at the end. Modern education progressed very slowly in Cambodia. The French colonial rulers did not pay attention to educating Khmer. It was not until the late
1930s that the first high school opened. However, after gaining independence from France, the government of Prince Norodom Sihanouk made substantial progress in the field of education in the 1950s and 1960s.
Elementary and secondary education was expanded to various parts of the country, while higher learning institutions such as vocational institutions, teacher-training centers and universities were established.
Unfortunately, the progress of these decades was obstructed by the civil war following the overthrow of Prince Sihanouk in the 1970 and then destroyed by the Khmer Rouge regime.
In an attempt to rebuild a new
Cambodia with new revolutionary men and women, the Khmer Rouge set out to eradicate the old elements of Cambodia’s society, including the old education system. Like their Maoist counterparts in China, the Khmer
Rouge leaders emphasized manual labor and political correctness over knowledge. They claimed "rice fields were books, and hoes were pencils." As such, Cambodia did not need an educational system. The Khmer
Rouge leaders deliberately destroyed the foundations of a modern education. People with higher education such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, professors, and former college students were killed or forced to work in
labor camps. The Khmer Rouge also engaged in the physical destruction of institutional infrastructure for higher education such as books, buildings, and other educational resources. It is estimated that by the end
of the Khmer Rouge time, between 75 and 80 percent of Cambodian educators either were killed, died of overwork, or left the country. At least half of the written material available in the Khmer language was
destroyed. After coming to power with Vietnamese help in 1979, the government of the PRK attempted to redevelop the education system. Although significant progress was made, the process of educational redevelopment
was hampered by war and lack of resources, human as well as material. The PRK government undertook a massive rehabilitation program aimed at enrolling as many students as possible. The slogan of the time was
"those who know more teach those who know less." Those with almost any level of education were encouraged to work as teachers, and efforts were made to identify and encourage formers teachers, professors,
and bureaucrats in the field of education to participate in this difficult endeavor. Potential teachers were given short-term training for one month, three weeks or even two weeks and then assigned teaching jobs.
With many buildings destroyed, classes were taught in shacks made of leaves with dirt floors or in some places instruction was given outside under the trees. Given the enormity of destruction caused by the Khmer
Rouge regime, one could see significant progress in the field of education during 1980s. From an empty handed position, the PRK government was able to reestablish a semblance of an educational system from pre-school
to university. A number of students were offered scholarships by host countries in the former Soviet block to pursue higher education
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ucation: 33 pre-schools with 1,670 children, 52 primary schools with 34,863
students, 5 colleges with 4,794 students; 2 high schools with 1,449 students; 10 vocational training with 961 students and 13,728 private schools.
