In many countries, education is very important sector in
development. It has been invested by the countries in much amount of total
income. It also takes very important role in producing human resource for
countries’ labor demand. Most developed countries focus so much on four
education system – schooling, training and vocational education, higher
education and continuing learning. These four education systems must be
developed together if any country wants to improve the quality of human
resource to supply to work demand.
For Cambodia education, I have observed that the educational
system has only been focusing on schooling as the first priority and higher
education as the next. The technical and vocational training and continuing
learning have not been strengthened yet. Actually, Ministry of Education, Youth
and Sport has more concern about professional skill and integrate some courses
to curriculum. Nowadays, three of vocational high schools have been established
and provide professional skill to students. The technical and vocational
training seem to be attracted very less by students. There are some factors
that cause this problem. First, most students in Cambodia tend to work in
offices because they think that technical and vocational skills are hard work
for them. Secondly, students’ parents also want their children to work for
office work because they think that it is valuable and acceptable in the
society. Thirdly, it can be affected by lacking of orientation from teachers.
Most educators never guide their students about the importance of vocational
skill.
Related to continuing learning, I have observed that most of
people do not want to develop themselves anymore when they are able to live with
appropriate standard of life. They feel that they are too old to study. They
think that their knowledge is enough and they do not need to learn more. They
think that the duty to learn more is for the young generation. The main factor
that affect to their decision in continuing learning is the opportunity, except
the people who work in the particular field such as teachers or technicians who
can upgrade their knowledge and skill in order to gain much more competitive
advantages in the market demand.