First national conference on teacher development focuses on teacher training reform to prepare Cambodia’s students with 21st century skills

Phnom Penh, 14 September 2022:  Today saw the successful conclusion of a milestone two-day national teacher education conference which brought together experts from throughout Cambodian public education alongside key partners in the development and NGO sectors. The conference provided a powerful platform for participants to share knowledge, research and best practice to further develop the nation's teaching workforce. Teacher training institutes played a key role, with the ultimate objective of helping teachers become better prepared for equipping Cambodia's children with crucial 21st century skills.

The conference was organised by Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) and its Capacity Development Partnership Fund (CDPF) partners - the European Union (EU), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and UNICEF. More than 130 teacher education experts and practitioners attended in person, with 500 additional participants, including teachers and student teachers, participating online.

Young Cambodians face a rapidly changing world which requires teaching that focuses on fostering 21st century skills and knowledge, including understanding of technology, creativity, critical thinking, media literacy and communication skills. The Ministry of Education has long recognised that existing teaching skills and training need to be reformed to meet this challenge. A wealth of valuable knowledge and expertise on these subjects already exists within the Cambodian education community, but often hasn't been widely shared. The conference was designed to tackle this challenge, by providing a forum for knowledge sharing which in turn galvanised action and mutual support in modernising Cambodia's teacher training.

"Raising teaching standards is the Ministry's key priority, with the goal of ensuring that teacher education programmes prepare the workforce to meet the demands of the 21st century," said His Excellency Dr, Nath Bunroeun, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, who delivered the conference's opening address. "This conference is about us sharing our progress so far, identifying where the gaps might be, and identifying concrete future actions in teacher education policy, curriculum and practice. These actions will be incorporated into the 2022 – 2030 Teacher Policy Action Plan, which will help us ensure our teachers are offering Cambodian children the modern, first-rate education they deserve."

The CDPF was established in 2011 to support MoEYS' strategic capacity development goals, including teacher reform initiatives. Ongoing initiatives funded by CDPF include improving the pre-service teacher training curriculum for training institutions, provision of high quality in-service professional development courses, and development of high teacher educator professional standards. The CDPF is also supporting MoEYS to revise the existing 2015-2020 Teacher Policy Action Plan and put in place a robust Action Plan to guide further progress from now until 2030.

The varied conference agenda was structured around three key areas: policy, curriculum and practice. Research on the current experience of Cambodian teachers in 21st century skills was shared, plans for curriculum reform discussed, and new classroom teaching techniques explored. One of the liveliest sessions was an interactive panel discussion on Cambodia's Teacher Educator Development programme, which was developed by MoEYS with technical support from the education NGO VVOB and funded through the Capacity Development Partnership Fund. There was widespread agreement on the positive role this programme would play in improving teacher development.

For more information, please contact

H.E. Dr. ROS Soveacha, MoEYS Spokesperson,

Tel: +855 78 755 556 or

E-mail: [email protected]