Rising fuel costs disrupt education on Tonle Sap
As global energy prices surge due to regional conflicts, families in Cambodia's floating communities face difficult choices between sustenance and schooling.
For twelve-year-old Soksan Set, the journey to school is not measured in kilometers of pavement but in liters of gasoline. Living in Prek Toal, a floating community on Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, transportation by boat is the only viable option. However, recent spikes in fuel prices have transformed this daily commute into a financial burden that many families can no longer sustain. The obstacle is no longer the distance, but the cost required to cover it.
According to Deutsche Welle, the economic pressure has forced households to make hard choices between putting food on the table and ensuring their children attend class. With Cambodia importing all its petroleum products and lacking domestic refining capacity, the country is acutely vulnerable to global supply shocks. The recent conflict involving Iran has exacerbated these trends, sending energy costs higher and squeezing the margins of those who rely on fishing for their livelihood.
Global supply shocks hit local budgets
The World Bank reports that gasoline prices in Cambodia rose by 45 percent and diesel by more than 70 percent in March, marking the largest single-month increase since 2008. While Cambodia does not depend directly on the Strait of Hormuz for most imports, it remains exposed to higher global oil prices and regional supply disruptions. Current prices stand at 5,700 riel per liter for gasoline, a 26.7 percent increase from the same period last year, according to Global Petrol Prices.
For families like Soksan’s, this inflation directly impacts their ability to fish and travel. Set Soeum, Soksan’s father, explains that the family requires around three liters of gasoline daily for fishing trips. When prices rise, the income from fish sales often fails to cover the fuel costs, leaving little remaining for school transport. Consequently, students are increasingly missing classes, not due to a lack of desire to learn, but because the economic means to reach the classroom have vanished.
Students adapt to rising transport costs
In response to the financial strain, students have devised makeshift solutions to maintain their education. Soksan notes that groups of five students often pool their limited funds to buy just one liter of gasoline at a time. When even this small expense is unaffordable, they resort to rowing their boats manually. This physical effort can take up to an hour, yet the children persist, viewing education as essential for their future despite the hardships.
Siyien Ly, another twelve-year-old student, faces similar challenges. During the dry season, she walks to school, but when flooding makes land impassable, she relies on aid-supported school boats. Her family, which includes four school-age children, has seen their daily income halved. Kunthea Chin, Siyien’s mother, now sells sugarcane juice to compensate for her husband’s lost income due to a work-related injury. The family spends approximately 600,000 riel monthly on fuel, a significant portion of their budget that must cover both business operations and student transport.
Safety concerns emerge from cost-cutting
As families seek to reduce expenses, they are often forced to compromise on safety. Some households have returned to traditional rowing boats to avoid fuel costs, while others allow multiple children to share small vessels. This overcrowding raises serious concerns during storms and heavy rain, as the risk of capsizing increases. Parents express deep anxiety about their children’s safety on the water, knowing that the drive to save money has introduced new physical dangers to the daily commute.
The impact extends beyond students to the logistics of the schools themselves. Remote institutions depend on boats to transport teachers, textbooks, and maintenance supplies. With fuel costs climbing, the delivery of essential educational materials becomes less frequent, potentially disrupting the learning environment. The situation highlights how global energy markets can have profound and immediate consequences for the most vulnerable communities, turning basic access to education into a luxury few can afford.
