Education before the Khmer Rouge...

Before the French colonization, Buddhist education was the only formal Cambodian education. Its main education function was the teaching of the Buddhist doctrine, history, and the importance of gaining merit. The monks who were the teachers taught the boys - no girls were allowed to study in Buddhist education - how to read, write in Khmer, and the rudiments of Buddhism.

Buddhist education continued in the French colonial period (1887-1953). Actually, Preah Sihanouk Raj Buddhist University was created in 1959 and many students had this form of education during the academic years (1969-70), where 27,000 students went to a Buddhist elementary, 1,328 students went to lycées, French public secondary schools, and 176 went to the Buddhist University. With Cambodia being colonized, education did change, maybe not so much in the Buddhist education area, but a lot in the public school system area.

Source: Seekins, Donald M., Robert K. Headley, Jr., Rinn-Sup Shinn, and Frank Tatu. Cambodia a Country Study. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990.

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