Cambodia's educational system was demolished during the years of the Pol Pot regime, when schooling in anything other than communist ideology was prohibited. Even today, 15 years since the establishment of peace, the nation's literacy rate remains low, and the quality of education in remote regions in particular is poor. As part of support to rectify the digital divide, this project aimed to create a model for improving schooling and literacy rates in remote regions through support for computerassisted learning in elementary schools in remote regions using mobile access point (MAP) networks (a system for relaying data from computers via radio-equipped motorcycles).
Last year, the project targeted nine elementary schools in the Special Municipality of Pailin, home base of the old Pol Pot camp, and constructed a system for distance education and e-mail making use of MAP networks. The project also trained teachers in instructing pupils in the use of computers and e-mail. A total of 180 pupils used the system.
This year, the target area was expanded, and MAP networks were introduced to elementary schools in Takeo, Preah Vihear, Koh Kong, Otdar Meanchey, and other provinces, reaching a total of 35 schools (8-10 per province) and more than 1,000 pupils. An Internet access point for the MAP network was set up in a designated school in each province. In this way systems were set up and operated to qualitatively improve public education by means of information and communication technology (ICT) in rural and remote regions.
Parallel with these activities, people in charge of operating MAP networks were sent on a fact-finding visit to Thailand to observe distance education there. On the
basis of this visit, three workshops for teachers from schools in MAP-equipped regions were held to train them in methods of teaching computer use and teaching English with the aid of computers. A total of 100 teachers attended these workshops.
This project attempted to establish a learning system making use of ICT in rural and remote regions of Cambodia, a country with inadequate transport and communications infrastructure, thus contributing to the qualitative improvement of education and the improvement of computer literacy in elementary schools.