Cambodian Education Ministry Study Finds Girls Outperform Boys Academically

A recent study by Cambodia's Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has revealed that female students consistently achieve better academic results than their male counterparts. Dr. Dy Khamboly, Deputy Director-General of the General Directorate of Policy and Planning at the Ministry, stated that results from the Baccalaureate examination, as well as international tests like SEA-PLM and PISA, indicate that female students perform better academically than male students. This finding was presented during a two-day workshop themed "Reducing Gender Gaps in Academic Performance Through the Implementation of Model School Standards," organized by the Ministry. The workshop took place from July 30-31, 2026, at the Kampot Provincial Teacher Training College. Participants included 74 individuals (23 female) from the education departments of five target provinces: Banteay Meanchei, Preah Sihanouk, Svay Rieng, Kampong Speu, and Kampong Thom, along with educational officials from municipalities and districts, and administrators and teachers from primary and secondary schools. The workshop aimed to review and verify research findings, discuss recommendations, and gather further input from stakeholders. Dr. Khamboly emphasized that in-depth discussions and verification would be conducted to assess the extent to which the implementation of model school standards has contributed to reducing gender disparities in academic outcomes. The research itself was designed to analyze the implementation of various activities within the model school standards to help reduce the gap in academic performance between male and female students, building on the finding that girls outperform boys. The study was conducted by the Ministry's Department of Policy and supported by the General Education Improvement Project (GEIP-AF).