Background

Education is considered an essential factor to develop human capital to respond to rapid changes of the labor market in the knowledge-based society within the context of globalization. The Royal Government of Cambodia has, therefore, placed a great emphasis on education as indicated in the National Strategic Development Plan 2014-2018. It also aims to ensure that every Cambodian child has an equitable access to basic education free of charge as stated in the education law, enacted in 2007. This is also linked with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations in the area of education (SDG4), which aims to ensure inclusive, equitable, quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030. Hence, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) has made a strong commitment to improving the quality of education as reflected in the Education Strategic Plan 2014-2018. Evidently, in 2015, the MoEYS introduced the curriculum reform, one of the 15 items in its comprehensive agenda for educational reform. The objectives are to improve students’ quality of learning in order to meet the needs of the skilled labor force to realize the country development vision of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030 and a developed country by 2050.

To ensure the quality education throughout Cambodia, the MoEYS has considered teacher education a key factor to the improvement of learning quality in the 21st century. In other words, the quality of learning is largely dependent on the effective delivery of the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the school curriculum as manifested in the instructional materials. In addition, the MoEYS has set out five main pillars in its educational reforms, one of which is the improvement of teacher quality. Such a reform is clearly reflected in the establishment of Teacher Education Colleges (TECs) in two areas of the country – one in Phnom Penh and the other one in Battambang Province. These TECs aim to provide pre- and in-service training programs for primary and lower secondary school teachers based on 12 + 4 formula and to conduct educational research for continuous improvement of education quality within the institutions.

The Phnom Penh TEC (P.T.E.C) is established through the combination of the two campuses, Phnom Penh Regional Teacher Training Center and Phnom Penh Municipality Teacher Training Center, by Sub-decree No.73 dated 22nd May 2017. Considering the TEC establishment, the MoEYS, in cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through the Establishment of Teacher Education College Project (E-TEC), has made great efforts to meticulously study all the needs and technically and financially support P.T.E.C so that it can be operated from the academic 3 year 2018-2019 onwards. These preparations include building construction and institutional operation.