Street Level Bureaucracy and Institutional Alienation Implementation of National Policy on Education for All: A Study of Cambodia

Abstract

The purpose of this research has identified unexpected outcomes from the implementation of Cambodia National Policy on Education for All (NPEA) from 2000 until 2015 where the poor and vulnerable have shown negative reaction to their right for Education for All (EFA) from Cambodian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) in reconstructing human capital and alleviating poverty toward the attainment of developed country in 2050. A mixed method study was conducted in two phases in which surveys and focus-group discussions with participants such as students, parents and officers in charge several communities and all districts across Phnom Penh; the capital city of Cambodia. It has found that there were production of institutional alienation practices performing by street-level bureaucrats during the 15 years periods of EFA implication which had provoked adverse outcomes in socio-economic disparity and inequity to different income groups assessment. Suggestions for policy makers and changes in practice for sustainable framework have also been addressed for continuing EFA policy implementation in Cambodia toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.