PHNOM PENH, November 25, 2025 — Cambodia has made significant progress in enrolling children in school, but urgent improvements are needed in classroom teaching, according to two new World Bank reports. The studies examine both the quality and quantity of instruction in primary schools and provide recommendations to strengthen basic literacy and numeracy, ensuring all children have a solid foundation for learning and personal development.
“By investing in teachers and improving learning time, Cambodia can offer children a better education and build a more competitive workforce,” said Tania Meyer, World Bank Country Manager for Cambodia. She emphasized that enhancing learning outcomes is essential for inclusive economic growth and creating better job opportunities.
The report Teacher Quality in Cambodia’s Primary Education: Toward Incentivizing Effort, Performance, and Quality Assurance highlights the need to strengthen teaching quality. While higher teacher salaries have attracted more top-performing high school graduates to the profession, classroom practices and subject knowledge have not improved significantly. Many primary teachers continue to work second jobs, limiting the time and energy available to support their students effectively.
To address these challenges, the report recommends increased investment in pre-service and in-service teacher training. With a large number of new teachers expected to enter the profession in the coming years, there is a critical opportunity to develop a new generation of high-quality educators who can enhance learning outcomes.
The report Instruction Time and Student Learning: Can Cambodia Improve Learning Outcomes by Introducing Full-day Lesson Schedules in Primary Schools? finds that despite a relatively high allocation of classroom time to literacy and numeracy, many students still struggle with these foundational skills. Drawing on international experience, it recommends cost-effective measures such as reducing teacher absenteeism, minimizing unofficial school closures, and increasing the number of teaching weeks.
The report also advises that if Cambodia expands full-day schooling in primary education, it should adopt a gradual, long-term approach to ensure effectiveness and affordability. Continuous investment in improving classroom instruction quality and effectiveness is essential for sustainable educational outcomes and student success.
