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H.E.
Tol Lah: Opening Address, Donor
Consultation Meeting Salutation
... I
am particularly pleased to open this new round of MoEYS/Donor consultations
on the education sector. I am
confident that this point in time represents a window of opportunity for
initiating major policy reforms. In particular, the policy directions coming
from the high level government/donor consultative group will provide a broad
framework for education sector policy and strategy.
A key element will be linking education reform to broader financial
and public administration initiatives. The
Ministry recognises that the nature of education sector development is
changing. To date, much of the
Government effort has focused on immediate relief and reconstruction of the
education sector. With donor
support, we have been able to build and repair a large number of schools,
begin the upgrading of teachers and provide more textbooks for children.
These efforts will begin to have some impact on improving access and
quality of schooling. At
the same time, other initiatives have pointed to the need to look at
alternative approaches to planning the sector, recognising that we need a
platform for long-term sustainable development.
The UNDP/UNSECO supported capacity building program for sector
planning pointed to the need for more policy-based approaches.
In January 1999, the Ministry and a number of donors endorsed the
need for an education policy review process.
I am taking this opportunity to re-affirm the importance we attach to
this exercise. However
if we are to embark on this education sector policy review process, a number
of things need to be put in place. Firstly,
the government needs to own and lead this process, including linkages with
finance, planning and public administration ministries.
I can assure you that my senior officials and I are committed to
providing such leadership. A
second point is that we would welcome strong donor support in embarking on
this exercise. I would ask for
two kinds of support. I
hope that an active donor consultative mechanism can be put in place to feed
in policy and strategy ideas for the review process.
I would therefore welcome ideas on the best form of consultative
mechanism. I
hope that the donors will also be able to assist with necessary technical
resources to undertake the process. These
resources could include the use of existing MoEYS technical advisors in a
policy advisory role, complemented by additional support.
I am aware that UNESCO, UNICEF, Sida and ADB have made such a
commitment. I am asking other
donors with a stake in the sector join the process. Another
critical feature will be to ensure broad stakeholder consultation and
participation in the process. The
possibility of establishing a high level policy advisory group to ensure all
interested parties can express their views on the way forward.
I would welcome your comments on the best structure and processes for
such a group. In
summary, I hope this meeting will provide the opportunity to forge a new
kind of partnership for education development in Cambodia. With your support, I intend to move quickly with the
establishment of a work program and technical working groups for this review
exercise. I would therefore
welcome views on the timing and key milestones for the process. Thank
you. |
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