The proposed strategy and financing plan for achieving EFA by 2015 is based on a number of key assumptions for achieving equitable access, improved quality and efficiency and for Government, donor and private/parental resourcing of the sector. These assumptions are detailed in Annex 4.

For achieving education for all by 2015, the specific program strategy assumptions and targets are as follows:

» Enrolment in basic education (grades 1-9) will increase to 3.8 million by 2008 followed by a temporary decline over 2009/12 (due to elimination of overage enrolment and the capture of out-of-school children) rising again to around 3.8 million by 2015.

» Teacher deployment and utilisation will be gradually rationalised with a target of pupil- teacher ratios (PTR) of 45 and 40 for basic education and upper secondary respectively.

» Improved efficiency in the use of existing and new classrooms through a combination of multi-grade teaching and double shifting, with a target of eliminating double shifting by 2007.

» Gradual increases in the number of instructional hours at primary and secondary levels through the elimination of double shifting and extension of the teaching day to cover both mornings and afternoons for individual classes from 2007.

» Expansion of classroom facilities, especially provision of additional classrooms for incomplete primary schools and new secondary schools in underserved areas, increasingly demand driven.

The strategy also includes improvements in teacher supply and demand planning based on a target enrolment of around 10,000 per annum in pre-service teacher training institutions, with a shift towards the training of secondary school teachers from 2003 onwards. An associated strategy will be to re-deploy existing and future teaching and non-teaching staff on a more equitable basis to ensure greater equity in teacher supply for remote and disadvantaged areas.

Another associated strategy is to maintain incremental increases in the salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff at between 3-5 per cent per annum over the EFA plan period. This strategy builds upon the substantial par rises for the education service of 25-50 per cent in 2002 and is consistent with broader civil service projections for pay reform. This strategy will be complemented by continuation of targeted and performance based incentives for key groups within the education service including head teachers, strategic managers and teachers in remote areas.

In order to sustain improvements in quality of education it is assumed that expenditure for basic education per student will increase from 108,000 Riels (US$27) in 2002 to around 184,000 Riels (US$46) by 2015. The target will be to reduce the parental/community contributions for basic education costs from 22 per cent to 0 per cent by 2015. Alongside this, it is assumed that pre-service and in-service teacher training costs will be fully financed by Government to assure quality improvement.

In order to provide a sustainable balance of access and quality improvements, the target will be to maintain a high non-wage/wage ratio in overall spending, especially for basic education. The target is to increase the non-wage share from 42 per cent in 2002 to around 55 per cent in 2015. This will be achieved through expansion of spending on quality improvement programs (e.g. textbook provision, teacher training and system performance monitoring) and rigorous regulation of staff deployment norms.

The EFA plan projects a significant expansion of early childhood education and development programs, with a target of enrolling 75 per cent of all five-year-olds by 2015. The broad ECCE strategy will be to move towards a community-based playgroup approach complemented by home-based approaches as well. It is assumed that ECCE provision will be increasingly financed by parental/community and private contributions, with a target of 75 per cent non-government spending by 2015. Government contributions to ECCE financing will be targeted on the very poorest communes who are less able to contribute to costs as well as on provision of ECCE organiser/leader development and curriculum development.

The action plan projects a medium/long-term expansion of non-formal education programs mainly focussing on the provision of roughly 15,000 places per annum for grades 4-6 re-entry programs.