Learning Loss in Cambodia and the Use of EdTech during COVID-19

This report estimates the effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on learning and earnings in Cambodia, analyzes the country's EdTech readiness and the extent to which EdTech access and use are correlated with learning, and discusses the policy implications of the study findings for enhancing learning and for improving system resilience through EdTech based teaching and learning. More specifically, it first analyzes the state of learning outcomes in Cambodia in the immediate post-COVID period (November 2021) using the government's national learning assessment (NLA) data for grade six students and estimates the declines in learning outcomes experienced by students in this grade between 2016 and 2021 in Khmer and mathematics. Additionally, using a learning loss simulation model developed at the World Bank, it also estimates losses in learning adjusted years of schooling (LAYS) and future earnings of students resulting from pandemic. Second, it analyzes the relationship between the EdTech based distance learning measures implemented at the school level and learning outcomes, as well as the extent to which the country is prepared to systematically integrate and expand the use of EdTech in the education system. And third, it provides recommendations for enhancing learning recovery and learning outcomes, and for addressing gaps in policy provision and implementation to support the scaling up of EdTech for the purpose of improving system resilience