Education before the Khmer Rouge...

Public School System:

During the French colonial period, the French model educational system was added alongside with the traditional system. In the early 1900s and 1975, the whole public education system operated on a French model with primary, secondary, higher, and specialized levels. This was when females had a chance to be educated. The whole system was actually fully controlled by the jurisdiction of Ministry of Education.

At primary level, there are two cycles with three years each. They took place either at state or temple run schools. The curriculum was focused on arithmetic, history, ethics, civics, drafting, geography, hygiene, language, science, and physical education. There are two cycles for the secondary level as well. They took a total of four years with one year being taught at college and one year at a lycée. This is when students can get their baccalaureates by passing many examinations. Many students attended schools in France, but after independence, more went to universities in U.S., Canada, China, Soviet Union, and East Germany (German Democratic Republic). Though there were still many that stayed in their homeland. In 1970, 4,570 make and more than 730 female went to the University of Phnom Penh.

Private Education:

Private education was the most important before the communist took over. Some of them are operated by minorities such as Chinese, Vietnamese, Roman Catholic, and Muslims. Other private schools are for indigenous children that could not gain admission to public schools. With different instructors, there are different languages that the classes are taught in. This made it easy to the students.

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.