Private schools shut their doors amid mounting financial problems
10 July 2021 4:37 PM
Ngay Nai

Private schools across Cambodia are struggling to stay afloat amid a seemingly endless school closure following the February 20 COVID-19 community outbreak. Many private schools, especially primary schools and provincial schools, have been forced to completely close down operations due to the severe financial crisis caused by the pandemic.

A number of senior figures from the private education sector have called on the government to consider reopening schools, but there has so far been little indication that that will happen, with one government spokesperson describing reopening as “impossible”.

Chea Ravy, an executive director of a private primary school in Phnom Penh, told CamboJA that they had been forced to shut down multiple branches of the school due to financial problems. Ravy requested that her school not be named for risk of negatively affecting the institution’s reputation.

“The company was running smoothly until COVID-19 came and hit us hard,” she said. “Since then, income has fallen sharply when schools were ordered to close in order to stop the spread of the virus. We cannot conduct classes online because most of our students are aged between three to six years old only. We have no income at all. Therefore, we are forced to fully close our company’s operations.”

According to Ravy, her company spent around $39,225 a month before COVID-19. But afterwards, the total expenses fell to $9,397 since the company laid off some employees and suspended two branches in the provinces. The other three branches in Phnom Penh continued operations until the start of July, when they could no longer support themselves. Facing five months of no income, the company took out loans to keep the doors open, hoping the situation would get better. It has not.

Even if the COVID-19 situation improves, Ravy said, she doesn’t want to stay in education.

“It is a big loss,” she said. “I cannot accept seeing what I have disappear in just one year. I feel so desperate now, and do not want to do anything.”

Ravy’s school is not the only one that has been struggling. According to Pech Bolen, president of the Education Services Federation of Cambodia and CEO of Westline Education Group, about fifty private schools — half its membership — have fully closed, reduced or suspended their operations.

“More and more private schools, especially at the primary level, have shut down one after the other due to the severe financial crisis,” he said.

“Some of them have borrowed loans from the bank, hoping to survive in this critical time until schools are allowed to reopen. But sadly, COVID-19 remains a concerning problem and the overall situation is getting worse now.”

Bolen told CamboJA that if schools cannot be reopened, more private schools will have no choice but to close their doors.

“Primary schools and province-based schools are the two actors that have faced many more difficulties than others,” he said. “Because classes cannot be conducted online due to the internet accessibility and technical literacy.”
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