Abstract:
The project implemented the Grade 7 curriculum by distance education (DE) mode to out-ofschool
youth in a fishing village in Damnark Chang Eur District, Kep Province, Cambodia. In
the first phase of the project, teachers of the Pong Teuk Lower Secondary School and
multimedia designers from the iREACH (Informatics for Rural Empowerment and
Community Health) centre at Kep developed multimedia courseware to deliver the learning
content for 10 subjects in the Grade 7 curriculum. In the second phase of the project, 20 outof-
school youth studied the courseware at an iREACH hub in Angkaol with the assistance of
a learning facilitator and with occasional visits from the Grade 7 teachers to monitor the class
and administer examinations. Sixteen of the 20 learners enrolled completed the program with
satisfactory examination scores, and they were awarded certificates of completion at a closing
ceremony presided over by the Director of the Kep Provincial Office of Education and the
Governor of Damnark Chang Eur District. The Pong Teuk Lower Secondary School and Kep
Provincial Office of Education are ready to integrate these successful DE students into
conventional lower secondary schooling. In addition, the students, parents, and local
authorities have expressed interest in continuing the DE program to include the next grade
level.
The sub-project contributed to capacity-building in DE and use of ICTs for teaching and
learning among the teachers, school administrators, and project team members. One of its
indirect outcomes is possible adoption of a formal DE policy by the Cambodian Ministry of
Education, Youth and Sport (MOEYS).
