Pheng Pong-Rasy, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia’s Genocide Education Programme, addresses high school students. Supplied
A healing initiative: Half a century after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime, 600,000 young Cambodians learn about Khmer Rouge history each week in their classrooms
April 17, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the Khmer Rouge genocide against the Cambodian people. Fifty years ago, over 7 million Cambodians not only faced unprecedented suffering, forced labour, untreated illness and starvation, but also completely lost their education. Children of school age were sent by the Khmer Rouge to work in the rice fields, in mobile work units and to build dams.
Fifty years after this tragic event, more than 7 million members of Cambodia’s younger generations have learned about the experiences and events of that time. At least 600,000 young Cambodians learn about Khmer Rouge history each week in their classrooms.
Since 2009, when the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport integrated the study of Khmer Rouge history into the national curriculum, approximately 5,000 teachers of history, geography, Khmer literature, and citizen morality have received training on methodologies for teaching Khmer Rouge history, organised by the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cm) and the education ministry.
Hundreds of thousands of students study Khmer Rouge history annually as part of their regular education, ensuring a new generation of Cambodians is educated about this significant period in their country's history.
On May 20, Prime Minister Hun Manet presided over the opening ceremony of the First International Conference on “The Future of Cambodia Without Genocide”, organised by DC-Cam and the prime minister’s office.
The event was held at the Yutti Techo Hall, Army Headquarters of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), formerly the courtroom of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), one of the world’s few courtrooms dedicated to international criminal law relating to genocide.
In his keynote address, Manet emphasised the critical need to enhance and expand genocide education in Cambodia.
He called upon all institutions, both military and civilian, to actively participate in educating younger generations about the history of Democratic Kampuchea, the name given to the Kingdom by the Khmer Rouge.
He encouraged all teachers to join this effort as key contributors in disseminating genocide education across schools nationwide, and stressed the importance of integrating Khmer Rouge history into various academic programmes, rather than limiting it to a single history subject alone.
“Genocide education does not have to be limited to history lessons. We can integrate it into all subjects, from Khmer morality and literature to leadership studies and other soft skills development. We can also develop creative ways to tell these difficult stories to people of different ages and generations through arts, digital content or multimedia,” he said.
His address reflected the Cambodian government's commitment to human resource development and the collective responsibility of all institutions to support the government's efforts in genocide education and awareness campaigns for younger generations. This initiative forms part of the broader strategic priorities under the seventh-mandate government’s Pentagonal Strategy.
“We need to emphasise that the obligation to promote genocide education is the responsibility of all, not just the government. Today's conference is a great example of good cooperation and solidarity between various stakeholders. I would like to thank DC-Cam for assisting the Royal Government in integrating the teaching of the history of genocide into professional and institutional development and in disseminating activities in national and international society, using history to reflect and inspire the future of Cambodia,” he added.
The education ministry recently published a new Grade 6 history textbook, titled “Khmer and the Journey to Prosperity”, intended as supplementary material for sixth-grade students studying core history subjects. This initiative directly supports the ministry’s vision and mission of human resource development, in alignment with the seventh-mandate government’s Pentagonal Strategy. The publication of this textbook represents a key strategic initiative of the ministry in enhancing national historical knowledge.
For the 2024-2025 academic year, the ministry has implemented numerous projects, with priority given to improving core textbooks for Khmer Literature, Science, Social Studies, History, Citizen Morality and Economics – essential foundations for developing both public and private education programmes. The new textbook also includes a chapter on Khmer Rouge history. These lessons reflect the factual realities that occurred between April 17, 1975, and January 6, 1979. Primary school students, particularly sixth-grade students, will gain a fundamental understanding of these historical events.
In early 2025, the ministry of Education began working with the 4th Military Region of the RCAF and DC-Cam to organise educational workshops on Democratic Kampuchea history for serving military officers.
This initiative serves three key objectives: 1) enhancing military officers' knowledge of Democratic Kampuchea history to prevent conflict and maintain peace, 2) deepening critical thinking among officers through historical facts and 3) strengthening military decision-making capabilities by using history as a foundation for future-oriented strategic planning.
Through the dedicated efforts of the Royal Government and relevant institutions to promote education on Khmer Rouge history, over 600,000 students across all three levels of schooling in Cambodia, studying at both public and private institutions nationwide, have learned about Democratic Kampuchea history. According to the 2024-2025 educational statistics and indicators from the ministry, more than 300,000 students in Grade 9 and Grade 12 are currently studying Democratic Kampuchea history in their schools. In addition, a total of nearly 300,000 Grade 6 students will receive education on Khmer Rouge history through the new history textbook in subsequent academic years, following the ministry’s ongoing review and revision of the Grade 6 curriculum.
The Education Sector Strategic Plan for 2023-2028 indicates that the enrolment statistics for students will show growth from over 1.83 million students in 2024 to over 1.86 million students by 2028 at the primary education level. Similarly, the number of students at the lower secondary education level is expected to increase from over 920 thousand students in 2024 to over 960 thousand students by 2028. In the academic year 2024-2025, the total number of students currently studying at the primary education level is over 2.2 million. This increase in enrolment will promote the revitalisation of sharing experiences, learning, research, compilation, publishing and teaching from the perspective of the Khmer Rouge era, which will increasingly resonate in each academic year. This growth will contribute to maintaining social order and more effectively preventing violence or acts of genocide.
In summary, lessons on the history of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979) are an essential subject for both current and future generations in Cambodia, including students at the primary, secondary and higher education levels, as well as government officials and military personnel across various institutions in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Studying the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge not only enhances memory and ensures that the true history is not forgotten, but it also helps maintain social security and prevents the recurrence of such terrible acts.
From this point forward, each year, Cambodia will educate over 600,000 members of the younger generation, who are the descendants of Khmer Rouge survivors, about this historical period through public and private schools, as well as in various institutions working in the field of education regarding genocide. These individuals will become a strong backbone in preventing violence and ensuring lasting peace in Cambodia.
Pheng Pong-Rasy is the director of DC-Cam’s Genocide Education Programme and the Prey Veng and Takeo Documentation Centres. The views and opinions expressed are his own.
