Cambodia : balancing the books - household financing of basic education

In this study, issues are discussed first in general and then with specific reference to Cambodia. Household costs of schooling arise in all settings, but have been especially prominent in Cambodia because successive governments have found themselves short of resources, and unable to meet all needs. The Cambodian deficit has been more extreme than in most other countries, but has been the focus of far-reaching policy reforms which have had an impressive impact. The study is a sequel to a publication written by Bray (1999) entitled "The Private Costs of Public Schooling: Household and Community Financing of Primary Education in Cambodia". That book showed that in the late 1990s, households and communities in Cambodia were meeting an estimated 59.0 per cent of the total resources for primary schooling, even in the public system of education. The present work builds on the 1999 book in two ways: First, it updates analysis in the primary school sector, presenting information on changes over time. It does this by examining precisely the same sample of selected schools and their communities. Second, the study supplements data on primary schooling, with data on lower secondary schooling, which permits identification of the increasing burdens on households at higher levels of the system. The title of the study refers to basic education. In Cambodia, as elsewhere, basic education is an umbrella term which encompasses primary plus lower secondary education. The study begins by identifying themes and issues in a comparative framework, followed by presentation of the Cambodian social, economic and educational context. The next section turns to the explanation of methods through which data were collected for this study. The study then documents household costs, comparing patterns in primary and lower secondary schooling, noting differences in urban, rural and remote areas. These findings are followed by a section on opportunity costs, to then focus on incomes received at the school level from the government, and from other sources, which then permits comparison of the balance between household, and government financing. Finally, the study presents policy implications, and recommendations.