Bangkok, November 2025 - Cambodia convened its 2nd SEA-PLM Country-Level Strategic Workshop in Phnom Penh on 06 - 7 and 9 October 2025, advancing a shared commitment to use assessment evidence to strengthen classroom teaching and learning. The workshop formed part of Initiative 2: Evidence-to-Policy linkages, the programme stream designed to translate SEA-PLM results into practical, system-level actions. This 2nd country-level strategic workshop and National Steering Committee Meeting are made possible with the generous support of the ASEAN-UK SAGE programme. 

Day 1 focused on SEA-PLM programme updates and discussed the 2024 regional preliminary results, including Cambodia’s preliminary 2024 country snapshots.  Day 2 convened the NSC meeting with a bilateral meeting and continued consultations with the SEA-PLM Regional Secretariat. Day 3 was dedicated to follow up on the System-Level Questionnaire (SLQ) with clarifications on Modules 2 and 3 to ensure Cambodia’s system-level inputs are precise and policy-relevant.

H.E Borat Oung - Secretary of State and Head of the Cabinet of Deputy Prime Minister, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport Cambodia. Ms Linda Jönsson - Education Specialist UNICEF EAPRO gave opening remarks on the workshop

Ministry leadership emphasised sustained, evidence-based reform thanking the SEA-PLM Secretariat for supporting the National Action Plan and for convening the NSC. Participants used the workshop to align next steps and to coordinate responses to the SLQ Module 3 across relevant technical offices.

On planning, Cambodia set a 12 December 2025 target for the National Report, positioned ahead of the regional report launch. Deliberations stressed benefits for teachers, curriculum strengthening, and processes that embed continuous data use in schools.

Meeting on Day 2 under the chairmanship of H.E. Puth Samith, the NSC received its first formal briefing on Cambodia’s SEA-PLM results and consolidated direction across policy and technical streams. The Committee called for deeper analysis of national datasets (including student–teacher ratios), inclusion of cross-country policy insights in the national report, and stakeholder consultations before finalising the National Action Plan.

As part of the extended programme, Day 4 featured an advanced System-Level Questionnaire session with assessment expert Dr Victor Fei Lim, offering practical guidance on indicator design and interpretation for policy use.

Meeting with National Steering Committee during technical working group meeting

To maintain momentum, the NSC agreed to: convene a Technical Working Group meeting the following week and hold a follow-up NSC meeting to be chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister by the end of October to validate the national roadmap and shape the policy response for the regional launch.

The NSC also steered Initiative 2 toward direct classroom benefit: positioning the national technical team as trainers in MOEYS’ capacity-building efforts, integrating SEA-PLM concepts into pre- and in-service teacher training (including higher-order item design), and conducting curriculum mapping to support targeted teaching.

With a clear report timeline, concrete analytical directions, and senior-level ownership through the NSC, Cambodia is tightening the link between evidence and action—ensuring that SEA-PLM results inform teacher development, curriculum enhancement, and continuous improvement in schools.

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SEA-PLM is supported by the UK Mission to ASEAN under the ASEAN-UK Supporting the Advancement of Girls’s Education (SAGE) Programme. Its content is the sole responsibility of the SEA-PLM Regional Secretariat and does not necessarily reflect the views of ASEAN-UK SAGE.