Ou Sralao Lech Primary School
Ou Sralao Lech Primary School is located in Vat Tamim Commune, Sang Kae District, Battambang Province, Western Cambodia.
Established in 1979, Ou Sralao Lech Primary School had 2 school buildings (1 made of concrete and 1 made of wood), with a total of 8 classrooms. The concrete building, built in 2002 with 3 classrooms, is still in good shape and can last for some more years. The wooden building with 5 classrooms, however, was fast deteriorating and posed a great risk to the safety of the children. The temporary structure was supported by substandard timber columns bolted on concrete piers, with concrete foundation walls, wooden slat upper walls, and terracotta roof shingles. The concrete foundation walls were severely cracked and on the verge of collapsing. The wooden slat upper walls were infested by termites. The building hardly offered any protection from the extreme and harsh weather conditions. With substandard materials and poor workmanship combined, the dilapidated building was beyond repair and in dire need of replacement.
The students clearly lacked a safe and suitable infrastructure to focus on their learning. Currently, the school serves 324 children (177 boys, 147 girls) ranging from 6 to 12 years of age and employs 10 teachers (4 women, 6 men).
On 30 May 2018, construction started of a new school building with 4 fully furnished classrooms, to replace the ramshackle building with 5 classrooms for a safer and more motivating learning environment for the students. The construction of the new building emphasises the importance of education to the whole community and provides an incentive for the children to complete their primary education.