Inclusive Education amid Covid-19 in Cambodia

 SHAPE SEA, Oct. 16, 2002

Neak Piseth
Founder of “The Way of Life Cambodia.” He received a scholarship to pursue his master’s degree in Non-Formal Education at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. He has been working as an English Lecturer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. He is also the author of the book “The Genuine Chapters of Life” and a reviewer at Cambodian Education Forum.

ccording to UNESCO, inclusive education refers to the systems that remove any barriers limiting their learning participation in regardless of their genders, ages, physical abilities, religions, cultures, and others (UNESCO, 2020). The initial turning point in Cambodia towards inclusive education was the ratification of the Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC) on 20 November 1989, which recognized the right of the child to enjoy the equal opportunity to access education (UN, 2006). Covid-19 not only challenged Cambodia’s health system but also its education sector. The government had no choice but stopped schooling in mid-March for health safety (Neak, 2020).

Despite the impact of COVID-19,  inclusive education through Social Media like Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, radio and television is being implemented to disseminate preliminary information for students’ health protection (Internation, 2020).

Traditional face-to-face education has been replaced by online learning. Hence, problems arise in terms of granting inclusive education in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (Rinith, 2020). For instance, we can see that developed countries are still lagging behind in terms of technological advancement including internet connectivity. This is a primary issue in delivering equitable quality education for all, especially to marginalized groups and disabled people (Nishio, 2019). The marginalized groups and differently-abled people are also vulnerable as learning through online is uncommon and likely impossible for them (UNICEF, 2020)

In full:  https://shapesea.com/op-ed/covid-19/inclusive-education-amid-covid-19-in-cambodia/