Due to the impact of Covid-19 on Cambodian education, all school activities are ordered to suspend temporarily, resulting in the learning loss with the number of 3.2 million student. According to the national exam results on Grade 6 between 2013 and 2021, it was showed that the mark of Khmer literacy subject in year 2013, 2016, and 2021 was obtained in average of 493.20, 504.40, and down to 461.30, respectively, while the mark of mathematics in year 2013, 2016, and 2021 was 484.60, 494.40, and down to 437.00 (average: 500, SD ±100).
Owing to the above result, the ministry of education, youth and sport issued on a directive with seven key points coping with the learning loss of students in order to improve the result of learning performance. The school can use one or more key points according to the actual local context, financial resources, teacher resources, and teaching material resources of the school in order to curb the education recovery during the Covid-19 spreading.
- Student Test
- Board director has to lead and manage on the work of student test
- Teacher and lead teacher need to prepare the test on Khmer Literacy and Mathematics for primary school and core subjects (Khmer Literacy, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and History) for secondary school.
- Teacher and lead teacher can extract the testing instrument, which developed by the ministry, for student learning diagnosis.
- Teacher and lead teacher need to lead the student test according to the fundamental principles of test (Law, Justice, Transparency, and Acceptable result)
- Teacher corrects the test and entry the mark into computer or result list
- Teacher needs to prepare the student list according to the level of student learning ability (slow, average, and high) with an agreement of the board director
- Teacher needs to prepare a monthly or semester plan for minimizing the number of slow learners with an agreement of the board director
- Additional time
- The school must ensure that students do not lose their school hours, such as closing schools without the permission of the ministry or the relevant authority in charge, incomplete teaching, arriving late and leaving early, and wasting time during the teaching process.
- The Provincial Office of Education and Department of Education, Municipality, District and Khan Administration shall inspect the school directly or online to ensure that the school uses time and additional time effectively and communicates regularly with the school management committee, community, and parents or guardians to monitor student progress
- Schools need to monitor additional time and school days until the weekend, creating valuable time teaching and learning to meet the needs of students, parents or guardians and the community.
- Schools must continue to pay close attention to the presence of students during additional time to ensure that students are fully enrolled in the scheduled extra hours.
- Promote the implementation of the curriculum by:
- The school management must review in detail the expected results set in the curriculum according to each subject, subject and grade level to facilitate the identification of students’ learning loss.
- Fully identify students’ learning loss, teachers at each grade level must work closely with teachers in the previous school year to discuss the amount of learning loss and adjust to expected learning outcomes Defined in the curriculum. Teachers need to develop a coping plan to effectively restore student learning loss based on the level of learning loss.
- Schools must establish “Friends Help Friends” clubs to facilitate the use of teacher resources, especially the “Friends Help Friends” movement in the ranks of children’s councils or youth councils in public educational institutions.
- Schools need to plan for individual student’s study: Three principles that schools can develop in their personal study plans and weekly schedules and ensure continued communication with students’ families include:
- Focus on students by building relationships, keeping in touch and helping students feel safe and valued: 1) Develop a student learning plan 2) Make a weekly schedule to implement the plan 3) Communicate with students’ families
- Prepare equitable learning arrangements: Schools must ensure that all students have the same access to education and value, including access to learning materials and teaching materials, communication and attention, as well as love inclusively.
- Assessment of students’ learning: 1) Examine students’ participation in learning activities 2) Self-reflect on teaching methods to seek evidence in regular teaching adjustments 3) Disseminate assessment results to students, families and communities to participate, support and improve in a timely manner.
- Self-study programs: Guide and motivate students to do self-study every day at home after school by borrowing books, strengthening the studying in library, reading at the library regularly and encouraging students to research sources through information communication technology system.
- Additional Instructional Programs
- After-School Programs: are the mechanism for responding to the learning loss to be prepared to build the capacity of the subjects mentioned above all grades after the completion of daily hours.
- Before Processing the Program: 1) The Department of Education, Youth and Sports and the Office of Education, Youth and Sports of the Municipal Administration, District, Village/Khan, Teachers, Community, Student Parents Representative, Organizations Partnership, Children’s councils and authorities determines the problem and prepare action plans, objectives and expected the outcomes. 2) The school management committee seeks financial support or material resources for teaching and learning over time. 3) The school management selects trainers or teachers who are highly willing and committed, have a caring attitude in teaching, motivate and advise students on education, determine the roles and responsibilities of teachers or trainers, and the benefits and capacity building will be received.
- During Processing the Program: Teachers must prepare a self-paced curriculum to ensure that the content of the lesson is linked with the student’s abilities, attractive and creative teaching activities, and also to evaluate the students’ during the learning hours (Pre-test and post-test before and after lesson implementation)
- After Completing the Program: self-reflect on the outcome of assessing students’ ability to develop and set goals to further develop their abilities, as well as disseminate the results of the study to relevant partners, communities, teachers, authorities and parents.
- Accelerated Classroom Programs: Schools need to strengthen their support for Accelerated Classroom programs to respond to the learning loss due to using the information technology to support the learning process in the direction and remote distance learning;
- Teachers selected according to their additional qualifications
- Determine the teacher’s responsibilities regarding the use of support technology
- The number of students per class is classified along with safety and health protection
- Evaluation of the student’s abilities and academic accomplishments based on the student’s age in relation to the grade level they were studying
- Assign students to their grade levels for the upcoming school year
- Accelerated books should be used for subjects where students are particularly challenged.
- Additional Learning during Summer
- Touring Teacher Recruitment Strategies: Teacher training institute or university required to transform its curriculum by including teaching practicum at every public-school during summer vocation which take place for one and a half month. This program has an obligation to provide credit to students. School and community grantee to provide homestay or other benefits. Homeroom teacher has a role to monitor and evaluate during the practicum.
- Pre-Program Execution: 1) Determine to recruit students based on school principal and homeroom teacher’s evaluation on their needs related to knowledge and ability on mathematic and Khmer subject, and 2) Create evaluate test to analyses their existing knowledge and ability and prepare training program and analyses students’ need.
- During Program Execution: 1) Determine the number of students in class according to actual possibilities. 2) Develop curriculum and lesson plans in a creative way as well as daily, monthly, and the end of program evaluation. And 3) Teachers provide counseling to the students on study plan, reading strategies, and improve their learning skills and initiate study clubs.
- Post program execution: 1) Post program evaluation is to determine the outcome of the program from the start to the end. Report on the results of the implementation of summer learning program by teachers, school management team, relevant stakeholders. Determining the success and improvement points or may determine the plan for implementation of the program.
- Improving Teacher Capacity
- Improve teachers’ capacity on implementing reading and early grade mathematics packages.
- Develop teachers’ professions to use ICT to be able to monitor information and download lessons that the Ministry has produced and disseminated in the past.
- Develop teachers’ profession with focusing on digital skills to develop teaching and learning lesson plans to support student’s distance learning and develop teaching contents or summarize lesson-based student’s ability.
- Continue strengthening technology and information infrastructures in schools
- Improve teachers’ capacity in developing standardized tests to evaluate students’ learning
- Stakeholder Involvement
- The professional department shall prepare action plans and budgets according to roles and responsibilities to assist the technical work of the school in implementing measures to respond to the loss of students’ education.
- The Department of Education, Youth, and Sports and the Office of Education, Youth and Sports of the Municipal administration and district shall take measures to encourage, support, and promote the participation of parents or guardians of students and the community through:
- Strengthen the participation of parents or guardians: 1) Participate in decision-making on school practice 2) Establish cooperation and communication between parents or guardians and the school, primarily to support student learning, and 3) Strengthen children’s growth and learning process by providing a safe and peaceful learning environment.
- Provision of support resources: 1) Analyze resource needs and develop a plan for the implementation of self-study activities, 2) Develop a resource package for teaching and learning at home, and 3) Monitor the use and management of resources to ensure accountability.
- The School Process Fund Management Committee shall consult with the community and local authorities to establish a budget package to support the loss of students’ education as part of the School Process Fund.
- School management committee needs to participate in the school fund-raising activities and the mobilization of donations from philanthropists in the community, community, or through all possible networks to bring those benefits to run extra-curricular activities to offset the loss of students’ education.
- Promoting Digital Education at School Level
- Must continue modernizing education system at school level into digital education to supplement the process of teaching and learning with respect to the four key areas:
- Provide online education: Electronic education via synchronized learning or live on the Internet
- Provide offline education: Facilitate learners to access to video or digital contents stored in USB or hard drive and uploading to electronic devices or smartphone app which can be viewed in an offline mode
- Provide on-site education: Reach community to provide learners with digital contents via smart devices such as tablets, smart boards, etc.
- Provide on-air education: Distance education via radio or TV
- Must utilize digital resources produced by the MoEYS at the fullest potential in teaching and learning activities to respond to the learning loss as followings:
- Electronic learning platform address https://elearning.moeys.gov.kh/ to continue the teaching and learning activities
- Download app, called elearning MoEYS Cambodia
- Test platform where learners can access and take tests by themselves via http://exam.moeys.gov.kh/ to strengthen students’ potentials via self-tests
- Other digital resources available on MoEYS website, http://www.moeys.gov.kh
Upon receiving this instruction, all Provincial Offices of Education, Youth and Sport of the provincial administrations must disseminate it widely to all District Offices of Education, Youth and Sport of district administrations, school clusters and public and private schools, authorities, parents, guardians to implement this instruction effectively.