Higher education plays a primary role in responding to globalization. The experiences of advanced and developed countries demonstrate that developing human resources in institutions of higher education is essential for advancing the country. Globalization brings both opportunities and challenges to education in Cambodia. Challenges to the higher education sector include: increasing numbers of students accessing institutions throughout the country, growing need for research, building the knowledge society and advancing the economy, and increasing autonomy and accountability of higher education institutions. Higher education institutions need for academic freedom, good governance, respect for intellectual property, higher level of academic qualification, will improve the quality of education to gain regional and international recognition.

Education for sustainable national development demands that the country pays more attention to improving education strategies and developing the research capacity of higher education institutions throughout Cambodia. Currently, due to the lack of human resources, higher education institutions in Cambodia still primarily focus on teaching rather than research and the provision of professional services. Building a research culture in higher education institutions is a new initiative that will motivate people working in the sector to become more creative, innovative and accountable.

Higher education institutions should provide opportunities and encouragement to students, lecturers and researchers, to develop research and professional skills, and participate in local and international scientific research forums.

The Education Law, Article 18, paragraph 2:
“Higher Education shall teach learners to have complete personality and characteristic and promote the scientific, technical, cultural and social researches in order to achieve capacity, knowledge, skill, morality, inventive and creative ideas and enterprise spirit to the development of the country.”

Article 28, paragraph 1:
“The state shall promote and support research, development, invention and production, which are scientific and technological for education to meet the needs of the labor markets and globalization to promote human resource capacity and to enhance the development of the country.”

These articles clearly state that research in education is an important catalyst in the long term development of the Cambodian economy and society.
The Policy on Research Development in the Education Sector introduces a new stage in the reformation and enhancement of the quality of higher education in Cambodia by paving the way for human resource development in the era of globalization and for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

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Policy​ on Research Development