MoEYS Statement presented by H E Pok Than,
Secretary of State, MoEYS
My Ministry began planning the education reforms in 1999 determined to enter a new era of partnership in the much-needed process of comprehensive sector-wide reform and development. We did not realize, however, how much this new emphasis on partnership would change our relationship with other Government Ministries, the donors, the NGOs and with civil society. Two years later, at this ‘partnership round table’ (as I prefer to call it), the Ministry feels comfortable that it took the correct path. We now feel that we provide other Ministries of the Royal Government with an example of what constitutes an effective ‘sector partnership’.
This Round Table provides the ideal opportunity for the Ministry to reaffirm its long-term commitment to working together with partners in new and productive ways. On this occasion, I would like to highlight what the Ministry sees as the main features of the new partnership paradigm and its role in forging and nurturing new development relationships in the education sector. We would also like to suggest what we envisage as the critical roles of other partners.
After discussions with our partners at sector planning seminars in September 2000, we agreed to three key elements in an effective education partnership.
The first was the importance of national leadership and ownership of the education reform program. The Ministry is confident that it has fully demonstrated its sustained commitment to lead education reform in Cambodia consistent with the partnership principles agreed earlier this year. The Ministry can also assure partners of its full understanding of the implications of the proposed reforms set out in the ESP and ESSP, while recognizing the challenge of implementation.
The second element was that early agreement on education policy and strategic priorities was essential. In the context of this second partnership agreement, the Ministry strongly reaffirms its commitment to Education For All as its priority long-term goal, consistent with the Dakar Declaration of 2000. We are determined to achieve universal access to nine years of quality basic education in the next decade. The Ministry anticipates that its partner will assist the Royal Government to fulfil this priority policy. Concluding statements at Dakar included this one: "The international community acknowledges that many countries lack the resources to achieve Education for All within an acceptable time frame … We affirm that no countries seriously committed to education for all will be thwarted by lack of resources". Cambodia lacks sufficient resources without our partners; the ‘education partnership’ is therefore our joint response to Dakar to work together to achieve this priority target to transform the lives of the next generation of Cambodians.
A third key element of the partnership is to achieve joint agreement on the resources for a collaborative implementation program. The Ministry believes that the joint appraisal exercise concluded this week on our the Education Strategic Plan, and the initial translation of the ESP into a five year Education Sector Support Program is a demonstration of the firm commitment of all partners in this process – MoEYS, other Ministries, our international partners and the non-governmental community. Nevertheless, the Ministry recognises that much still needs to be done to build and sustain the partnership. Support from other Ministries, donors and NGOs must be sustained in order to build on this foundation. The Ministry is therefore seeking an early commitment of technical assistance and operational support to further develop the partnership approach, to refine and consolidate the achievements, and to detail and implement our forward work plan.
My Ministry is acutely aware that there are a number of other key requirements if the new proposed reforms are to be implemented successfully. One critical task will be to reach early agreement on an institutional development plan and on the capacity building priorities. The Ministry has outlined broad directions for building the capacity needed to effect de-concentration of responsibilities to the provinces in the ESP and the ESSP. This policy priority however merely is a beginning, our vision of the future. The challenge will be to jointly identify immediate priorities and mobilize the necessary technical and financial resources to enable the provinces and other levels of agency in the country to take responsibility for improving the education services delivered in the area for which they are responsible. We are eager to accelerate decentralisation of responsibility nearer to the communes and communities, but our partners have to come forward and help us the build back the capacity of these levels of government to effectively assume responsibility.
The education partnership agreement also determined the importance of establishing joint processes for strategic monitoring and negotiation. The Ministry believes that this first joint appraisal exercise over the past ten days demonstrates a shared commitment to a common approach. We strongly endorse the appraisal findings that strengthening existing information systems at commune, provincial and central levels are of the highest priority. Clearly, this is an area where our international partners can join with the Ministry in creating monitoring systems that we can all be confident about.
Another crucial element of the new working arrangements involving the Royal Government, the international community and out NGO partners is the formulation and endorsement of an agreed medium term expenditure framework for education. My Ministry is confident that the financing framework set out in the ESP and ESSP represents the broad budgetary envelope required to implement the priority reforms. The rigor and discipline of that led to identifying the "priority of priorities" within the agreed financing limits has already brought benefits for financial planning and management within the Ministry.
Our partners here today recognize, I know, that we can only plan confidently and effectively if there is a degree of predictability over the resources available. We acknowledge that several of our partners have already given a commitment to support the ESSP. We recognize that in the initial stages, it will take some time to harmonise donor and NGO programming cycles. Nevertheless, we would urge our other partners to consider integrating their support within Government planning systems and calendars.
The Ministry appreciates concerns expressed by the appraisal team over the need to further phase our priorities. We believe that the rolling program approach directly addresses this issue. The ESP and ESSP must not be viewed as a rigid and inflexible, but rather as an evolving program that will be adjusted annually to reflect changing circumstances. This approach leaves the door open for our partners to respond through a mix of budget support and capital investments as time progresses. We anticipate that our partners own modalities will evolve as the reform process goes forward.
The Ministry wishes to reassert its commitment to long-term sustainable reform. Sustainability can only be achieved though the strengthening Government's own planning and management systems. The Ministry welcomes the appraisal team's strong endorsement of this principle, including the expansion, initially, of the priority action program (PAP) mechanism. We acknowledge that there may need to be a limited period of transition in order to build confidence in Government systems.
The Ministry believes that genuine partnership needs to be based on mutual trust and confidence. This trust is best nurtured in the context of long-term commitment to shared goals and a willingness to share risks. We believe that this first joint annual review and appraisal has established a conducive environment for strengthening our partnership.
On behalf of the Ministry, I wish to express our sincere appreciation for all the hard work of my MoEYS staff, the high level technical staff of other Ministries of the Royal Government, and of our donor and NGO partners over the past ten days. We look forward to working even more closely in the coming years with professional colleagues and friends on these important reforms.