How Can STEM Education Help Stimulate Economic Growth in Cambodia

Full text

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STEM Education in Cambodia
Sopheap Kaing (2016)
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium
Master of Science in Educational Sciences
Abstract
Nowadays, the gap between the skills people learn and the skills people need is
becoming more apparent because traditional learning fails to equip students with the
knowledge they need to survive. For example, the demand for skilled labor has increased
over the past several years as Cambodia gradually moved from agriculture to industrial and
manufacturing sectors. However, skills shortages remain a significant obstacle to the
country's future economic growth. Strengthening the education system requires tremendous
effort and commitment because it has long suffered from a lack of resources. It is vital to
impact Cambodian education and society as a whole positively. Surprisingly, the Cambodia
Development Research Institute report in 2014 (as cited in Parikh, 2016) revealed that college
graduates specializing in business, finance, foreign languages, and liberal arts are more than
70%, while STEM subjects are fewer than 20%. Additionally, the STEM Learning
Achievement research on Cambodian Middle School students found that Science and Maths
were the less popular subjects in STEM education. Therefore, the study concludes that many
parents and students do not see the value of science subjects when they seek profitable and
prestigious career options. Therefore, enhancing STEM education and students' interest in
these fields is significant to sustain economic growth and remain internationally competitive
over the coming decades.
INTRODUCTION
STEM education and STEM careers play an essential role in helping develop and
promote economic growth in both developing countries and developed countries to move
forward, especially in the competitive ASEAN integration in 2015. According to H.E

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William Longhurst, Ambassador British Embassy highlighted that Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Maths (STEM) careers are the most hastily wanted positions worldwide,
and Cambodia is counted. Similarly, Armbrecht (2016) found that STEM studies were the big
winners because companies kept increasing the need for people who could adapt to the fourth
industrial revolution. Young Cambodians need to realize what jobs opportunities are
available and what skills they need for each job to catch up with an economy that is quickly
developing and opening up to international investors. On the contrary, the country faces a
severe lack of STEM professionals. Many young people see STEM subjects as too
challenging, not well respected, or not being well-paid after they graduate; therefore, they
choose not to go into STEM careers. However, Cambodia wants more Statisticians,
Engineers, network developers, and doctors to develop the country and its economy
(Blanquat & Associates, 2016). Sadly, most students do not realize the diverse range of
STEM careers that they could choose to enter. Without knowledge of the choices, a student
or young professional cannot decide which job will be best for them even though a job most
closely fits their skills, personal interests, and financial desires.
Being a member of ASEAN countries, Cambodia will become more and more closely
linked to its neighbors as it can be seen that the ASEAN Economic Community is opening up
to all markets and with developments through STEM careers. It is an exciting time that
Cambodia should introduce, inform, and help young Cambodians catch up with these golden
opportunities both within and beyond Cambodia through STEM education. To move away
from the garment and tourist sectors, the Cambodian government has prepared to raise the
number of sectors that require skilled labor; it means that it is time for young learners and
professionals to choose the proper steps forward to secure their future (Blanquat &
Associates, 2016).

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Similarly, D.r H.E. Hang Chuon Naron, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports
(MOEYS), underlined that STEM professionals create, explain, build, and innovate
worldwide. To develop human resources in the economy and drive Cambodian nation
development, Cambodia requires many young learners skilled and qualified in STEM careers.
Being a developing country with and growing economy, the Cambodian inhabitants need to
adjust to the world's environment by taking the jobs demanded in the job market.
Additionally, young learners must be encouraged to explore the demand for skills to move
Cambodia's economy forward. So, Cambodia needs to increase STEM graduates for the
ASEAN Economic Community to be more competitive in the region and the world.
The government of Cambodia and the Minister of Education, Youth and Sport
(MOEYS) recognize the significance of education and what it means for the future of
Cambodia country. Even though the number of schools increases every year to reach and
ensure rural communities access to the education system, that is insufficient. MOEYS needs
to ensure that teachers are qualified to instruct and can transfer their knowledge to stimulate
young learners to succeed. According to the "Teacher Policy Action Plan" issued in 2015, all
teachers will have at least a Bachelor's degree by 2020 to ensure their capacity to educate the
next crop of professionals ( as cited in Blanquat & Associates, 2016). However, it is hard for
science teachers to teach without the necessary equipment to conduct experiments with
students and show scientific concepts (Mathew, 2015). Presently, Cambodia has seen a
massive trend in business graduates, creating a surplus in job seekers in that sector, and
STEM sectors lack skills. To temporarily cope with this issue, the MOEYS is suspending the
issuance of licenses to open new programs and courses related to finance and business,
allowing universities to pay attention to engineering and science subjects. Concurrently,
Cambodia started to prioritize STEM fields and careers because it is preparing to move from
a Least Developed Country to a Lower Middle Income Country. Therefore, Cambodia must

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prepare young learners and professionals for this transition. Additionally, to move beyond a
garment sector-led economy to one based on manufacturing, the knowledge of STEM will be
invaluable.
Research question
How can STEM education help stimulate economic growth in Cambodia?
LITERATURE REVIEW
Skills Challenge in Cambodia
There are four main sectors for economic growth in Cambodia so far: garments,
tourism, construction, and agriculture (ADB, 2015). However, sustaining economic growth
requires further economic diversification. There was also a remark by Prime Minister Hun
Sen at a policy conference that Cambodia's economy is presently counting on traditional
sectors such as garments, tourism, construction, and agriculture. "This indicates it is
necessary and urgent to diversify into new sectors, especially industry, agro-industry, and
handicrafts, which require massive investment (as cited in Mark, 2016)”. In a nutshell,
Cambodia's goal is to turn the country into a middle-income economy. There is a drive to
raise science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to bridge the skills gap as
Cambodia plans to shift its economic focus into new realms to raise this country
economically (Mark, 2016). In addition to achieving this, Cambodia needs to diversify its
export base from garments into light manufacturing, electronics, food processing, and other
sectors requiring higher-skilled and better-educated workers (Rollet, 2015). However, finding
well-educated and experienced workers remains a significant challenge for skill-driven
industries in Cambodia. Even though the students graduated from the Institute of Technology
of Cambodia (ITC) with qualified teachers, they also lack experience (Parikh, 2016). This has
indicated a lack of human resources.

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To carve sustainable careers for Cambodians and help develop the country's economy,
the use of lab is essential for STEM education and careers (Mark, 2016). This is true;
however, the lack of financial support and the cost of high utilities puts limitations on
students' research and the faces of modern technology (Makara, 2008). Additionally, the
existing skills and human resources gap are the main obstacles to shifting towards a lighter
manufacture-driven economy. The need for STEM education and career were underlined as
an urgent demand for students to study subjects that the labor market requires in the limelight
in 2015 by a Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) education report. Jofeh
(N/A) added that a few universities offer electronics courses, physics, and physical science
courses. CDRI also warned that too many students are graduating in liberal arts and too few
in STEM education (Mark, 2016). According to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
(MOEYS), in 2014, only 3% of the 250,000 post-secondary schools graduated from technical
and vocational fields such as agriculture, science, and engineering. Similarly, World Bank's
East Asia Pacific in 2014 also discovered that Cambodian university students were enrolled
in a scientific major less than 6%, such as biology or engineering. There was also a claim
from Education Minister, Dr. Hang Choun Naron, to demand further 3700 secondary school
teachers in STEM subjects (Mark, 2016). This idea has been identified as similar to Walter
(2002) from the Phnom Penh Post Newspaper:
With the complete lack of genuinely trained and competent engineers in Cambodia, there
is undoubtedly a vital need for an immediate upgrading of mathematics and science
teaching to provide the essential foundations for engineering studies. Cambodia is sorely
in need of qualified and competent (not the same thing) engineers. However, there is no
such thing as a competent engineer who has little or no knowledge and understanding of
mathematics and science. Cambodian engineers are the guys digging holes in the mud,
while the real engineers (from other countries) are ensconced in air-conditioned offices
running the engineering projects.

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Reasons for not choosing STEM Education
According to Bryony Mathew (as cited in Mark, 2016), there are some reasons that
youngsters choose not to study STEM subjects. These embrace the misunderstanding that
there are no jobs in these fields and parents and peer pressure. He stated, "there is much
cultural influence regarding prejudice in jobs. If you are working for a ministry, your family
has kudos, even if it is a low-paid salary. You will not get that if you are a biomedical
scientist". In similar, David Ford (as cited in Parikh, 2016), a chemistry department adviser at
the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), stressed:
Students' perceptions of science are formed in high school, and the curriculum does little
to engage them; it is too theoretical and virtually no practical work. Also, they get little
accurate information about job prospects, and many think that teaching is the only career
after studying science. In reality, about 40% of chemistry students at RUPP have found
work in the food, pharmaceutical, and consumer-testing industries. This figure is almost
certain to rise in the coming years.
In addition, Sothy Eng (as cited in Parikh 2016) highlighted another barrier to STEM
education: attitudes, poor teaching quality, and insufficient school materials that are difficult
to motivate more students to take up higher study and careers in such disciplines.
The British Embassy in Phnom Penh has demonstrated a series of programs, for
example, hosting STEM activity days at Kids City with students, road illustrations in
provinces, and teacher training sessions. Additionally, the booklet listing the top 20 STEM
careers, including botanists and health technicians, case studies and information on each
subject that needs to be studied at school and university, training, starting salary, and work
hours, has been produced (Mark, 2016).
The Importance of STEM Education
STEM education is a new topic discussed among policy-makers and other stakeholders,
especially MOEYS and T-VET. STEM education has been highlighted to raise Cambodia's

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productivity, climb up the global value chain, and increase Cambodian wage and living
standards (Holman, 2015). Likewise, the Minister of Education stated at the STEM Festival,
"Cambodia needs more young people skilled and qualified in these subjects to develop
human resources, the economy, drive nation's development, and compete in the region and
the world (Mark, 2016)". Furthermore, they are the backbone of a developed society and
drive the country's economy (Walter, 2013). STEM skills are also vital for the Cambodian
economy to shift to value-added and innovative industries. However, Cambodia's lack of
science and technology expertise remains an impediment to diversifying the country’s
economy away from agriculture and manufacturing and toward more lucrative and
competitive research and development fields (Parikh, 2016).
It is a shred of significant evidence that attitudes toward ignorant STEM education were
immensely changed through the inaugural Science and Engineering Festival in Phnom Penh
in March 2016. More than 10,000 people participated across the three days rather than the
anticipated 3000 (Mark, 2016). The festival's main goal was to alter people on STEM
perception and encourage students to think about that as a future career. It is unarguable that
the garment and agricultural industry needs STEM to become light manufacturing-driven.
Strategies to Promote STEM Education
The new Minister of education, Dr. Naron, and the British Ambassador in Phnom Penh
are trying their best to promote awareness of STEM education through STEM events. Under
the initial idea and support from MOEYS and British Ambassador, a network of volunteers
working in STEM careers will tour the country, share their experiences and act as role models
and mentors for a younger generation (Mark, 2016). Furthermore, local organizations also
contribute to engaging youth in STEM professions. For example, the Golden West Design
Lab allows undergraduate engineering students to work as engineers while still university
students with paid practical experience (Anonymous, 2015). With the US Department of

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State funding, the lab steals the limelight in teaching students the engineering skills that
students need to know to design and build projects. These consist of practical skills such as
3D printing, computer-aided design, and fabrication.
Furthermore, the Minister of Education has set a strategic plan for 2014—2018 to train
teachers in mathematics, science, and laboratory skills to strengthen STEM education at
primary and secondary levels and make teaching more attractive (Parikh, 2016). Further
explanation, study clubs for STEM, organizing science festivals, and learning material
available on the internet must be encouraged to bring curricular, teaching methodologies, and
learning resources compatible with international standards. Next, Businesses can play a vital
role in offering students internships to engage in real hands-on experience.
A traveling science roadshow that uses many of the Science and Engineering Festival
exhibits to access youth in the provinces is a further plan to continue youth involvement with
STEM professions. This aims to energize STEM education and get more people to think
about STEM as a future career, create a national dialogue, and exhilarate kids (Anonymous,
2015). On the other hand, Walter (2013) also suggested that MOEYS should learn and
contact the Ministry of Education in Singapore to see how and why Singapore is always in
the top two or three countries in science and mathematics education. In addition, it is a good
idea if the ministry could offer appropriate incentives for working groups for universities and
students who lack interest in science, technology, and engineering degrees. The funding
might be given directly to the universities willing to invest in those skills. The ministry can
also provide other support such as academic and professional staff capacity building, joint
research projects, and lab equipment. A better solution, perhaps, is to provide complete and
partial scholarships to students who want to study engineering and similar subjects (Kung,
2014).

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CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION
Cambodia has a long way to go ahead in order to improve education and create a
knowledge-based society on a competitive level with the rest of the world. Therefore,
choosing the right career means undertaking the proper studies. Even though the information
among education circles is lacking, the British Embassy and other stakeholder involvements
are trying to bridge this information gap by publishing STEM booklet, running seminars and
workshops about STEM education and careers in universities in Cambodia. With ASEAN
Economic Community, there will be an influx and free movement of exceptionally skilled
labor across members' borders. Therefore, allowing students to compete in international
markets without educational reform is a big concern for MOEYS and T-VET. For example,
Singapore or the Philippines has more people in technology. Technology development makes
a huge difference for any country because technology gives access to the global market,
increases efficiency, and supports innovation. The development of science and research
capacities in the educational field is the key to improving teaching and learning because it
can help learners access information faster. Furthermore, science and technology could be
used to reduce teacher training time and improve teachers' quality of educational
qualifications. Sadly, financial constraints and lack of expertise keep the bar low in
Cambodia. To deal with this issue, MOEYS should create a package of money to help and
bridge all universities to see the lack of high-quality education as a collective problem in
terms of skills shortages and skills mismatch for thousands of students.

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