Consultative workshop on digital educational resources in indigenous languages for primary school students
On 02 March 2023, Open Development Cambodia (ODC) hosted a Consultative Workshop on Digital Educational Resources in Indigenous Languages for Primary School Students in a meaningful and active collaboration with the Special Education Department (SED) of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MOEYS) that focuses on indigenous education at Kampong Cham Provincial Department of Education, Youth and Sport, Kampong Cham province.
The one-day consultative workshop was presided over by His Excellency Chea Cheat, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MOEYS) and attended by Mr. Thy Try, Executive Director of ODC, Mr. Plan Vannpat, Deputy Director of Kampong Cham Provincial Department of Education, Youth and Sport, and twenty-nine other participants (nine females), including representatives from the Special Education Department (SED) and Department of Information Technology (DIT) of MOEYS, Department of Education, Youth and Sport of Ratakiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng, Kratie, Preah Vihear, and Kompong Thom province, and relevant partner organizations.
The consultative workshop’s primary objectives are as follows:
- Choose and select the topic and type of video for indigenous primary school students
- Identify challenges during implementation at each target school
- Gather key input from stakeholders related to video production in indigenous languages.
To begin with, Mr. Plan Vannpat, Deputy Director of Kampong Cham Provincial Department of Education, Youth and Sport, stated the educational progress and outcomes in the academic year of 2021-2022, including the number of classes, student participation, teachers, various program implementation, school dropouts from elementary, middle to high school, and the examination result of diploma and BacII as well as the award for most outstanding high school students of Math, Khmer, and Physics subject in Kampong Cham province. He also acknowledged the significance of this consultative workshop, which will contribute to helping students improve their learning in the future.
“Consultative Workshop on Digital Education Resources in Indigenous Languages at the [Primary] Level, I think it is vital to help improve student teaching and learning in the future,”- Mr. Plan Vannpat, Deputy Director of Kampong Cham Provincial Department of Education, Youth and Sport.
And then, Mr. Thy Try, Executive Director/Editor in Chief of Open Development Cambodia (ODC), gave a brief project overview, which was funded by the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (SPIDER) and implemented by Open Development Cambodia (ODC) and actively collaborating with the Special Education Department (SED) of MOEYS to address the language barrier face by indigenous primary school student and support their learning. At the same time, it is also in-line with Cambodia’s Digital Economy and Society Policy framework (2021-2035) and MOEYS’s policy related to the Digital Forum of MOEYS. The project will produce ninty educational videos, disseminate digital educational materials and display videos in the six rural provinces of Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng, Kratie, Preah Vihear, and Kampong Thom, and upload them to various digital platforms, especially MOEYS Open Educational Resources Portal (OER), and conduct training of trainers for primary school teachers to use the new digital technologies to effectively and efficiently teach students. He further elaborated that the project is expected to reduce school dropouts, especially indigenous students who face difficulty in communicating and learning the Khmer language, bridge the lack of digital education material in the indigenous language, eradicate social exclusion and inequality, support indigenous student’s learning performance, and contribute to helping primary school teachers to equip with digital skills and literacy. He also noted the crucial of the consultative workshop in selecting topics and types of video, identifying challenges, and gathering essential input. Afterward, he deeply emphasized the significance of continuous collaboration and strengthening cooperation with relevant stakeholders to facilitate the project’s successful and smooth implementation.
“We can say that today’s gathering, as well as today’s achievements, are essential in contributing to the implementation of the Digital Educational Resources project, especially for indigenous primary school students,”- Mr. Thy Try, Executive Director/Editor in Chief at Open Development Cambodia (ODC).
The following agenda was the opening remarks by H.E Chea Cheat, Under Secretary of State, MOEYS. He began by expressing his appreciation to organizations, development partners, and relevant stakeholders’ efforts, including ODC, for educating students, continuing support, and collaborating with the Special Education Department (SED). He also acknowledged the significance of Multilingual Education which contributed mainly to the Fourth Sustainable Development Goals and the Education Strategic Plan that ensures quality education and an equitable environment and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all. He further noted the essential role of indigenous students’ participation in education through Multilingual Education and bridging the digital divide, in which Cambodia’s Multilingual Education is admired internationally in the Asia Pacific Region. Then, he provided insights into rapid technological advancement that integrated into our living styles from artificial intelligence, fast and convenient delivery services internationally and locally, and digital banking, which the teaching method in the education sector, including Special Education and Multilingual Education, also changed in the 21st century, a new digital era. Lastly, he believed that today’s meeting plays a crucial role in disseminating digital educational resources to students.
“Encouraging indigenous students’ participation in education is part of ensuring that all students receive proper education, full participation, capacity development, and confidence building,”- H.E Chea Cheat, Under Secretary of State, MOEYS.
After that, there was a quick break to allow participants to relax and refresh before starting the project presentation and group discussion.
The consultative workshop was resumed by Ms. Ourn Vimoil, Program and Partnership Manager of ODC, who gave a brief overview of Open Development Cambodia (ODC) and a comprehensive presentation on the project overview, objective, strategy, and the aim of the consultative workshop.
Then, she displayed the essential questions for selecting topics, choosing the type of video, and gathering input. The participants were grouped into four major teams, each with various participants from different provinces and institutions, for a fruitful and productive discussion on topic selection for the video as well as a quick presentation on their key findings at the end. Afterward, they were again grouped into four main teams, each with participants from the same province, for a constructive discussion and presentation on choosing the type of video.
Eventually, there was an open discussion on identifying critical challenges from each province for target schools while implementing the project. Finally, Mr. Thy Try, Executive Director of ODC, summarized the results and critical inputs that were gathered through the productive and active discussion and presentation of each team. He was also grateful for all the participants who gave valuable inputs that will serve as crucial findings to contribute to the project’s implementation success. He also further requested all participants to keep active cooperation and provide more valuable inputs to support the project’s implementation in the next phase.
The consultative workshop was concluded successfully by Mrs. Chin Kalyan Leakhena, Deputy Director of the Special Education Department (SED) of MOEYS. She expressed her appreciation to all the participants who successfully joined and contributed significantly to critical inputs for the consultative workshop
