The Complete Guide to Using AI in the Education Industry in Cambodia in 2025

AI matters for education in Cambodia because it can turn scarce resources into tailored learning pathways - AI-driven platforms can diagnose strengths and weaknesses, deliver targeted exercises, and free teachers to focus on high-touch instruction - an approach already piloted through the HTHT model in 9 Cambodian schools reaching 2,252 students and 13 teachers (HTHT personalized learning pilot (Learning Generation)).

Studies and industry write-ups highlight how AI also streamlines administrative tasks and brings digital resources to rural classrooms (BytePlus analysis of AI's role in Cambodian classrooms), while ethical use and educator training remain central concerns.

For school leaders and educators ready to apply these ideas directly to work, Nucamp's practical AI training - AI Essentials for Work, a 15-week course teaching prompt-writing and workplace AI skills - offers a hands-on route from concept to classroom-ready practice (AI Essentials for Work syllabus (Nucamp)).

“At the beginning of the year, my students were among the lowest-performing compared to other classrooms. Many skipped classes or were disengaged. But after joining the HTHT classroom, I noticed a promising shift - students now attend regularly, arrive on time, and actively participate.”

Overview in 2025: momentum is building around a clear policy backbone and pragmatic pilots, but adoption still depends on hard realities - the government's new Digital Education Strategy for Schools (DESS) has set the direction for more digital and AI-enabled classrooms (Cambodia Digital Education Strategy for Schools - Kiripost coverage), while independent reporting and platforms highlight how AI is already being used to personalize learning, streamline administration, and extend lessons to remote communities (AI personalization and education in Cambodia - BytePlus analysis).

High-level reform signals - including calls to modernize curricula and strengthen public–private collaboration - pair with promising public sentiment (a UNDP brief notes two‑thirds expect to use AI in education, health, or work in the near term), yet gaps remain: uneven internet access, limited device availability, and low AI literacy could widen divides unless investments follow policy.

The picture on the ground is therefore mixed but actionable: pilots and private tools are proving what AI can do, policy is creating space for scale, and the urgent next step is equipping teachers and rural schools so that an AI tool becomes a learning assistant in every classroom, not a luxury for a few.

“We're committed to inclusive innovation that leaves no one behind. AI is not a luxury but a necessity for our nation's growth.”

Key statistics make the case that Cambodia is investing more in education but still faces trade-offs that matter for AI adoption: national spending has hovered around low single digits of GDP (the CIA World Factbook lists Cambodia at about 3.2% of GDP in recent estimates), while the government's 2024 education budget was raised to 4,081 billion riels (roughly $990 million), equal to about 2.82% of GDP according to local reporting - an increase that helped double many starting secondary teacher salaries between 2014 and 2020 but left capital spending (infrastructure) trimmed from 27% to 17% of the ministry's budget (World Bank/UNESCO time series data track these measures back to 1998).

Decentralization has steered resources to provinces (88% of the 2021 allocation), which matters for getting devices and connectivity out of Phnom Penh and into classrooms where AI could have the biggest impact.

See the detailed datasets and coverage from the World Bank and UNESCO education expenditure dataset for Cambodia (1998–2023) and the Khmer Times report on Cambodia education expenditure (2024) for the original figures.

Cambodia's policy push on AI is shifting from pilots to a formal playbook: the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC) has led a Draft National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030 that explicitly elevates “Technology” in Phase I and maps out six strategic priorities with 41 concrete measures to build human capital, data and infrastructure, digital government, sectoral adoption (including education), ethical AI, and R&D collaboration (Draft National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2030 (Cambodia, Version 5)); public consultations launched in June 2025 invited industry, academia, civil society and development partners to download the draft and submit feedback (documents and a feedback form were circulated via QR code).

UNESCO-backed analysis and reporting highlight real momentum but also clear policy gaps - no finalized strategy yet, draft personal data protection and cybersecurity laws still to be enacted, weak procurement guidance for AI, and inconsistent inter‑ministerial coordination - so governance must move from principles to practice if AI is to improve classrooms rather than deepen divides (UNESCO report on Cambodia AI strategy and governance gaps (2025)).

The policy imperative is simple and urgent: finish the legal foundations, set clear procurement and transparency rules so citizens know when algorithms touch public services, and fund the teacher training and rural connectivity that will turn strategy pages into daily learning gains.

“Cambodia is showing strong commitment to responsible innovation. With the insights from this report, the country now has a clear roadmap to harness AI's potential while ensuring ethical, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes.” - Lidia Brito, UNESCO Assistant Director‑General for Social and Human Sciences

Cambodia's promise of AI-enabled classrooms bumps hard against everyday infrastructure and financing realities: many policy documents set an ambitious tech roadmap - expecting teacher laptops, school computer labs and broadband - but on the ground essentials are still missing, especially in rural areas, where electrification and devices are uneven and internet costs put online learning out of reach for the poorest families.

Government surveys and field studies show more than 80% of children reported no TV or smartphone at home during the pandemic and only 23% of students have both an ICT device and a stable connection, so learners and instructors often make do with a single smartphone for all coursework or rely on non-digital channels when networks fail (see the blended learning review from the Cambodian Education Forum).

Teacher readiness is another pinch point: New Generation School rules encourage high ICT proficiency and laptop ownership, yet teacher training and hands‑on experience lag behind the policy goals described in Cambodia's technology profile - so investments must match the master plans if AI is to be an everyday learning assistant rather than a luxury in a few urban schools (read the Cambodia technology profile for details).

Teachers are the hinge for AI-ready classrooms in Cambodia: programmes that pair sustained professional development with hands‑on mentorship are proving the fastest route from policy to practice.

Initiatives like the Digital Literacy Initiative (DLI) embed regular teacher training, on-site mentorship and new coding curricula into weekly schedules so instructors can guide project-based learning - students in DLI classrooms have moved from theory to building things like automatic lighting systems and Micro:bit projects, a vivid sign that pedagogy is changing from lecture to maker-led discovery (Swisscontact Digital Literacy Initiative (DLI Cambodia)).

Complementary efforts such as the Khmer Digital Literacy Programme (KDLP) use master‑trainer ToT models to scale ICT pedagogy across New Generation Schools, while community programmes like REACH's Computer Literacy classes show how small device donations and steady teacher support can jumpstart classroom confidence (KAPE Khmer Digital Literacy Programme (KDLP), REACH Siem Reap Computer Literacy Program).

Persistent gaps - too few trained ICT teachers, limited laptops, and overcrowded classes - mean pedagogy must focus on scalable teacher coaching, simple AI‑aware lesson designs, and refurbished labs that let every instructor experiment with AI tools alongside students; when teachers move from isolated workshops to regular, in-school mentorship, classrooms shift from passive slides to active problem solving, and that change is what will make AI a learning assistant rather than a novelty.

“When I first started studying this coding program, I began to understand how the coding system works. It has helped me develop my problem-solving skills, boost my creativity, and create new things. For me, learning to code has been an exciting new experience. It's fascinating to see how the system runs and how it works.” - Meng Soklong, Grade 11 student (DLI)

Equity and ethics must be the spine of any AI rollout in Cambodia's schools: policy and pilots can only translate into fair learning when digital tools are affordable, accessible and governed by clear privacy rules, so that students from low‑income, rural, indigenous and disability communities benefit rather than get left behind; CDRI's roadmap stresses that only 55.6% of students and educators have internet access and just 22% of schools report functional computers, a reality that leaves nearly four in five schools without a working PC and makes inclusive design and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) essential (see the CDRI brief on bridging the digital divide).

Ethical safeguards - accelerating data protection and cybersecurity laws, limiting unnecessary surveillance, and embedding consent and autonomy into EdTech - are non‑negotiable if AI is to assist teachers and protect learners, and public–private partnerships are critical to fund infrastructure, train educators in AI literacy, and scale locally relevant content so AI becomes a tool for dignity and opportunity rather than a new barrier (CDRI briefing: Bridging the Digital Divide - advancing inclusive and equitable education in Cambodia (2025), Khmer Times report on AI empowering Cambodia's education and social development).

“We're committed to inclusive innovation that leaves no one behind. AI is not a luxury but a necessity for our nation's growth.”

Public–private partnerships are the linchpin of a scalable EdTech ecosystem in Cambodia: collaborative workshops led by the Ministry's Department of Policy with EdTech Hub and UNICEF - from Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham - have deliberately invited private sector actors, school leaders and development partners to co-design an action‑oriented digital education strategy and to test practical partnership modalities that can deliver devices, connectivity and teacher support at scale (EdTech Hub and UNICEF support for Cambodia digital education strategy).

On the ground, that means pairing national planning with product-level pilots - for example, adaptive tools that speed formative assessment and generate rubrics for immediate classroom use and analytics platforms that enable early intervention and targeted support to reduce dropouts (adaptive formative assessment creator for Cambodian classrooms, data-driven student analytics platform for early intervention in Cambodia).

Longstanding coordination mechanisms - notably the Joint Technical Working Group created to align stakeholders - give Cambodia a platform to move partnerships from pilots to predictable procurement and sustained school-level support, so public funds, donors and private innovators can focus on durable teacher training, refurbished labs and locally relevant content rather than one-off gadgets.

In five years Cambodia's classrooms could look markedly different: with the Digital Education Strategy for Schools setting the direction and the Draft National Artificial Intelligence Strategy under consultation, the country has the policy scaffolding to move pilots into everyday practice (Cambodia Digital Education Strategy coverage - Kiri Post analysis, Draft National AI Strategy 2025–2030 for Cambodia).

If legal foundations, procurement rules and sustained teacher development are completed, expect practical wins: adaptive formative-assessment tools that generate instant rubrics and model answers, and data-driven student analytics that trigger early interventions to keep at‑risk learners on track (Adaptive formative assessment tools for Cambodian classrooms, Data-driven student analytics for Cambodia schools).

Yet the upside depends on closing glaring gaps: with less than 3% of older students meeting expected skill levels today, AI must be deployed as an inclusive accelerator rather than a luxury for elite schools, or it risks widening the divide it aims to fix - the next five years are therefore a test of governance, financing and the will to scale what works from Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham.

AI offers a promising path to revolutionize Cambodia's education system, but the approach must be comprehensive and inclusive.

To turn Cambodia's policy momentum into classroom reality, the roadmap is straightforward and actionable: finalise and institutionalise the Draft National AI Strategy 2025–2030 and align it with the Digital Education Strategy for Schools so procurement, data protection and cybersecurity laws are clear and enforceable (see the AI readiness recommendations from Kiri Post AI readiness assessment report for Cambodia and the DESS coverage on practical integration Kiri Post: Is Cambodia Ready to Integrate AI in Education?); mandate the MoEYS–UNESCO teacher reform plan (2024–2030) as the engine for sustained, in‑school professional development; prioritise affordable connectivity and refurbished labs so every teacher isn't left improvising with a single smartphone; scale proven, low‑cost tools - like quick formative assessment creators and data‑driven analytics - to speed classroom feedback and early intervention while building procurement rules and privacy safeguards; and fund practical upskilling pathways that teach prompt writing, tool selection and classroom integration (educators and school leaders can use hands‑on programs such as Nucamp AI Essentials for Work 15-week bootcamp to translate policy into day‑to‑day practice).

The result is pragmatic: finish the legal foundations, invest in teachers and reliable devices, adopt simple AI tools that improve assessment and retention, and use public–private partnerships to move pilots into predictable procurement so AI becomes an inclusive learning assistant - not a luxury - in every province.