Fuel costs threaten Cambodia’s floating schools

Education Above All Foundation

On Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake, children like 12‑year‑old Soksan Set face a daily struggle to reach class. In Prek Toal, a floating community where boats replace roads, rising fuel prices are now the biggest barrier to education.

Families who rely on fishing must spend several litres of petrol each day to work and to send their children to school. With gasoline up nearly 45% and diesel more than 70% in March, many parents are forced to choose between food, fuel and schooling. Some children row themselves across the lake when families cannot afford even a litre of petrol.

The impact is felt beyond pupils. Remote schools depend on boats to deliver teachers, textbooks and supplies. Higher fuel costs raise the expense of running classrooms, while overcrowded boats and stormy weather add safety risks.

Parents like Kunthea Chin, who now sells sugarcane juice after her husband’s accident, say incomes have halved while fuel bills climb to $150 a month. “Even though fuel prices are rising, we still keep trying to come to school because education is important for our future,” her daughter Siyien explained.

Cambodia imports all its petroleum products, leaving households exposed to global shocks. The 2026 Iran war has driven up energy costs across the region, hitting Tonle Sap’s poorest hardest. Government subsidies and tax breaks have softened the blow, but families with low and unstable incomes remain vulnerable.

Climate change compounds the crisis. Shifting water levels and extreme weather already disrupt schooling, and now fuel costs add a second burden. Some children, like 14‑year‑old Nary, have dropped out entirely, while her younger sister continues to attend thanks to a subsidised school boat.

Aid groups warn that without affordable transport, thousands of children risk losing their right to education. “Access to education depends not only on having a school, but also on being able to reach it,” said Samphors Vorn of Action Education.

For families on Cambodia’s great lake, the journey to class is becoming a test of resilience against both climate and economic shocks.

-2026-09-10