Cambodia’s first confirmed case of Covid-19 occurred in late January. With a second case in early March in Siem Reap province, home of the renowned temples of Angkor Wat, the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS), in an abundance of caution, closed the schools until further notice.
Education in Cambodia ground to a halt, or so one might have imagined, but the MoEYS quickly found creative ways to promote learning outside the traditional school setting. The ministry worked with private companies to launch a new e-learning initiative. Lessons for students in grades one through 12 were prerecorded and offered online through the ministry’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, e-learning website and TV.
With schools closed, the responsibility for teaching has now shifted from teachers to families. While the online lessons from the MoEYS are vital to keep kids on track during this enforced hiatus, they are not enough: nurturing children’s creativity, curiosity, and critical thinking is just as important as academic lesson plans. The new routines are stressful for both children and parents, but sheltering at home can also be an ideal time to help kids develop positive learning habits.
The MoEYS’s e-learning initiative came just a few days after the national #ReadEveryDay campaign, in which The Asia Foundation’s Let’s Read project joined forces with the MoEYS, telecom provider Smart Axiata and 11 nongovernmental organisations to promote a weeklong read-aloud event. #ReadEveryDay released 10 videos with tips for reading aloud to encourage parents, caregivers, teachers, and librarians to spend quality time reading with children and students. The campaign, which had hoped for 100,000 participants, succeeded far beyond expectations, reaching more than 220,000 children throughout Cambodia,
Let’s Read is now supporting MoEYS’s e-learning initiatives during the pandemic with the #LetsReadAtHome campaign, which provides essential learning materials in Khmer, English and nearly 30 other languages. The Let’s Read digital library offers books that are relevant to the lives of young Cambodians and that challenge readers to use their imaginations to explore new places and ideas. It will be providing free resources to children, teachers, caregivers and family members who need children’s storybooks to read aloud.
