Prey Veng province, Dec. 23, 2009 - Four-year-old Thim Siv-Yee is starting school today, and for her and her family, it’s a proud moment. With a final pat from her mother and a gentle shove from her sister, Srey Pon, she races down the bamboo step-ladder and scurries out the front garden to join a gaggle of other young children making their way to school.
Just off the main village track, in a section of a paddy field donated by a villager, sits the makeshift school. At first glance, it’s not much to look at but, for the parents and local commune leaders who have supported its development, it’s a source of enormous pride.
The bare-bricked school has a corrugated iron roof and an aging blackboard. Several rattan mats are neatly laid out on the rough concrete floor in place of tables and chairs. Under the watchful eye of the pre-school’s teacher, Mrs. Yuu Seng, the children assemble at the tiny school’s entrance and carefully place their sandals in orderly rows.
UNICEF has been at the forefront of supporting this local government initiative to prioritize access to early education and preschools in local communities in six provinces across Cambodia.
As a prime example of the Cambodian Government’s decentralization process, UNICEF has encouraged provincial governments and commune councils to fast-track spending on education by using community funds and resources to support preschools.