Through the work of Education Above All, Qatar hopes to help provide a brighter future for Cambodian children.

Qatar has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to support the Phase II Development Project for Children by pledging $13.8 million to improve the country’s education sector, Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Post reported on Sunday.

The virtual signing of the MoU, held on November 19,  was conducted by the Cambodian Minister of Education, Hang Chuon Naron, and Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Kuwari, Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD).

According to Cambodian media, the project, which is also under Qatar’s Education Above All Foundation (EAA), aims to help 120,000 children who are at risk of dropping out of school, as well as providing equitable education with life-long learning opportunities across 25 provinces.

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There are 2.1 million children attending primary schools in Cambodia, but according to the country’s Ministry of Statistics, 4.4% of those pupils dropped out of school during the academic year 2018-2019.

Cambodia, like many nations around the world, is no stranger to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The UN estimates that poverty will nearly double to 17.6% in 2020, with many families at risk of debt.

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