lao pdr report part i descriptive section

8/14/2019 Lao PDR Report Part I Descriptive Section

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L'valuation de l'ducation pour tous l'an 2000 : Rapport des pays

Lao PDR

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INTRODUCTION

Background

Following up with the World Conference on Education for All: Meeting BasicLearning Needs (Jomtien, Thailand, March 1990), in August 1990, theMinistry of Education of Lao PDR, held a national meeting. The meeting wasattended by representatives from the Ministry of Planning and Finance, theMinistry of Public Health, the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Ministryof Agriculture and Forestry, the Lao Womens Union, and the Youths Union.The meeting set forth the needs of the establishment of the NationalCommittee for Education for All. In December 1991, the National Committeefor Education for All (NCEFA) was established. The Chairperson of theNCEFA was the Vice-Minister of Education with members from concerned

ministries and departments. The NCEFA set up goals and objectives to theyear 2000, determined the strategies and the National Action Plan for EFA.The NCEFA also set up guidelines and main measures to be undertaken bythe different concerned parties to participate in the EFA action planaccording to their respective responsibilities.

On the 4th February 1997, the Prime Minister issued a decree on theestablishment of the National Committee on Basic Education forAll. TheNational Committee on Basic Education for All composed of:

Central Level:

1. Member of Polit-bureau of the Central Party, Chairperson of theHuman Resource Development Central Committee as Chairperson.2. Minister of Education as Vice-Chairperson.3. Vice-President of the Lao Front for National Construction as member.4. Vice-Secretary of the Lao Youth Union as member.5. Vice-President of the Lao Womens Union as member.6. Director of the Pre-school and General Education Department as

member and secretariat.7. Director of the Non-Formal Education Department as member and

secretariat.

Provincial Level:
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Provincial Governor as Chairperson.

Head of the Provincial Education Service as Vice-Chairperson.

Deputy Head of the Provincial LFNC as member.

Deputy Head of the Provincial Youth Union.

Deputy Head of the Lao Womens Union.

District Level (same structure as the provincial committee but at

1. The roles and responsibilities of the committee at eachlevel:

Central level.

Monitor and supervise the implementation of the Basic Educationstrategies, coordinate between the local authorities and theconcerned departments to accomplish the planned activities.Motivate the citizens for their participation and contributions,including the motivation for loans and grants from internationalorganizations to implement the Basic Education Programme.Monitor and evaluate the activities that have been implemented.

Provincial level.

Monitor and supervise the plans set by the central committee.

Supervise and the coordination between the authorities and theconcerned departments in the province. Motivate the citizens inthe province for participation and contributions in kind, labor orcash for the implementation of the Basic Education programme inthe province. Assist and monitor the implementation of theactivities to accomplish the targets. Report the activitiesimplemented to the central committee each 3 months, 6 monthsand annually.

District level.

Same responsibilities as provincial level but at district level.

Meetings of the committees at each level.

The Central Committee, meets once a year. The Provincial andDistrict Committee, meet twice a year (every 6 months). Theconcerned organizations in the committees have the duties toimplement the Basic Education Programme in accord to theirroles and tasks.

Country Profile

Lao Peoples Democratic Republic covers an area of 236,800 km2 in the


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center of the Southeast Asian peninsula. It is a landlinked country borderingChina and Myanmar in the North, Vietnam in the East, Thailand in the Westand with Cambodia in the South. A large part of the country land ismountainous. Mountains and plateaus cover approximately 80% of the

country. In the northern and eastern regions, mountains and plateaus above1000 meters cover about 30%, mountains and plateaus between 200 metersto 1000 meters account for about 50% of the area, and elevation below 200meters and floodplains compose 20% (Lao Geography, 1989). The countryextends over 1,700 km in a north-south direction, with the widest part of thecountry from east to west, reaching 500 km and the narrowest part, only 150km wide. It consists of 18 provinces, 141 districts and about 11.697 villages.The provinces can be grouped into three regions: (i) the northern regioncomprise of Phongsaly, Luangnamtha, Oudomxay, Bokeo, Xayabouly,Luangprabang, and Huaphanh; (ii) the central region comprise ofXiengkhuang, Xaysomboon, Vientiane Province, Vientiane Municipality,Bolikhamxay, Khammuane, and Savannakhet; (iii) the southern region

comprise of Champasack, Saravane, Sekong, and Attapeu (see Map).

1. According to the most recent population census, in 1995, the totalpopulation of the Lao PDR is 4,574,848. The female:male ratiowas 50.6:49.4. The average population density of 19.4

person/km2 is relatively low especially in Asia. The populationgrowth rate is 2.6% per year, during the period 1985 to 1995. Therecently projected population will reach 5.34 million in the year2000 and 6.73 million in year 2010.

2. The Lao PDR is a uniquely multi-ethnic state. According to the1995 population census, the Lao ethnic account for only 52.5% ofthe nations population and are the largest ethnic group in only 8of 18 provinces, namely Vientiane Municipality 92.6%,Champasack 84.8%, Vientiane province 64.8%, Saravane 60%,Khammuane 59.4%, Savannakhet 57.5%, Xiengkhuang 44.3%,and Attapeu 36.9%. In 10 other provinces ethnic minorities arethe plurality. Phutai are the largest ethnic group in 2 provincesnamely, Huaphanh 31.5% and Bolikhamxay 41%. Leu are thelargest ethnic group in Xayaboury 26.9%. Khmu are the largestethnic group in 5 provinces, namely Oudomxay 57.7%,Luangprabang 45.9%, Luangnamtha 24.7%, Phonsaly 24.4% andBokeo 23.8%. Hmong are the largest ethnic group inXaysomboon 53.7%.

3. In a country as ethnically diverse as the Lao PDR, it is probablyimpossible to arrive at a classification that captures the true ethnicrichness of the country. The existing official classification is by nomeans definitive nor is it final. The first definitions used by thegovernment classified the population by topography, with threecategories: Lao Loum (Lowland Lao), Lao Thueng (Midland Laoor Upland Lao), and Lao Soung (Highland Lao). While thisdefinition is has been used semi-officially, it falls far short ofcapturing the diversity in the country. The 1995 censuscategorizes the population into 47 ethnicities and lists 2 groups,"others" and "not stated" who represent 0.2% and 0.5%respectively. In the 47 ethnic groups there are 4 major

ethnolinguistic superstocks. These major superstocks are broken


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down into six main language families (see Chart 1):

Tai-Kadai comprising Lao-Phoutai (66.2%);Austroasiatic comprising Mon-Kmer (22.9%) and Viet-Muang (0.1%);

Hmong-Yao (7.4%); andSino-Tibetan comprising Tibeto-Burman (2.5%) and Hor (0.2%).

Table 1 Percentage of Ethnic Groups by Province

Province Tai-Kadai

Austroasiatic Hmong-Yao

Sino-Tibetan

Others

VientianeMun.

95.9 1.0 1.4 0.2 1.5

Phongsaly 20.1 24.9 5.7 47.6 1.7

LuangNamtha 32.1 29.6 7.7 30.1 6.5

Oudomxay 25.0 57.9 13.3 3.5 0.3

Bokeo 40.8 35.6 13.2 10.1 0.3

Luangprabang 37.4 46.0 15.7 0.2 0.7

Huaphanh 61.5 16.7 21.1 0 0.7

Xayaboury 58.2 26.5 14.8 0.1 0.4

Xiengkhuang 54.8 9.9 34.2 0 1.1


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VientianeProv.

78.5 12.3 8.4 0 0.3

Borikhamxay 81.3 8.0 9.2 0 1.5

Khammuane 81.8 16.0 0.2 0 20

Savannakhet 76.4 22.6 0 0 1.0

Saravane 61.7 37.8 0 0 0.5

Sekong 8.9 90.8 0 0 0.3

Champasack 86.1 12.4 0 0 1.5

Attapeu 37.2 62.3 0 0 0.5

Xaysomboun 26.0 17.2 55.7 0 1.1

Source: National Statistic Center Population Census,1995 & LFNC Dept. of Ethnic Affairs, 1999.

1. The Lao PDR is officially recognized as a least developedcountry. The country relies heavily on external aid.According to the 1998 UNDP Human Development Index,

the Lao PDR ranked 136th out of 174 countries investigated.Its development level falls in between that of Myanmar

(131st) and Cambodia (140th) (HDR 1998). According to the1995 World Bank study, 22% of the population falls below"the food poverty line" (defined as the level of incomesufficient to buy 2,100 calories per person per day). Anestimated 50% of the population lives below the higherpoverty line (defined as an allowance for non-foodexpenditures sufficient to buy basic goods)(World Bank,1999). Despite recent economic progress, Lao PDR is still avery poor country with average per capita income of onlyUS$400 (World Bank 1999), respectively to some US$370according to the IMF statistics 1998. According to the StatePlanning Committee Report, the GDP for 1998-99 hasdecreased to US$262.9 from US$280.1 in 1997-98.

2. Achieving the "graduate" status from the ranks of the leastdeveloped countries by the year 2020 will require sustainedannual growth of about 9%, higher than the 7% annualaverage achieved over the last five years. The governmenthas itself set a medium term growth target of 8-8.5% during1997-2000. Achieving this level of growth would not only beunprecedented in Lao PDRs history but is also made moredifficult by the much less favorable economic environmentcurrently prevailing in Asia (World Bank, 1999:33).

3. The social dimensions of the crisis in Lao PDR stem mainly

from the deep depreciation of the local currency, the Kip,


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and from the consequences of this serious devaluation. Themost widespread and noticeable effect of the crisis hasbeen on prices, particularly for basic commodities andgoods on which much of the population, especially the poor,

depend for survival. Annual inflation rose to 26.6 percent bythe end of 1997 and has continued to increase in 1998,reaching over 142 percent in June 1998 (World Bank,1999).

4. The Lao PDR economy is predominantly agrarian.Agriculture, including forestry, represents about 50% of LaoPDRs GDP. Outside of forestry, agriculture has not beensignificantly impacted by the crisis because its linkages withthe regional markets are limited. Production in the sector islargely for subsistence. A large share of the sectors exports(mainly coffee) goes to market outside the region. Laosupply of agricultural produce for agro-processig industries

in the Northern and Northeastern provinces of Thailand hasbeen increasing. The forestry sub-sector has been severelyimpacted by the crisis. Forestry contributes about 5 percentof Lao PDRs GDP but is the leading export sector,providing an average of 33 percent of total exports annuallyover the last five years. The hydropower sector has notbeen significantly impacted as its contribution to GDP is stillvery small, under 2 percent. The key garment industry hasnot been adversely affected, as over 70 percent of garmentexports go to destinations in Europe (World Bank, 1999).

5. Overall, economic activity in Lao PDR has not experienceda major slowdown following the crisis. Growth wasestimated at 6.5 percent. It appears that with inflation, theentire population is sharing the pain of the crisis. However,this pain may have a disproportionate effect on the poor.Even though the effects of the crisis have been smallcompared to those in other countries, given the level ofpoverty in the country, even a small change can haveserious consequences.

6. Tourism is now the biggest contributor to national income.National tourism earnings in 1998 topped income generatedfrom the export of garments and electricity. In 1998 thecountry earned US$ 79.9 million from the tourism sector.

According to the National Tourism Authority, tourism hasseen a continual rise in arrivals from all over the world, from102,946 in 1993 to 463,200 in 1997. In 1998, the numberrose to 500,200. Tourism in the Lao PDR has beendeveloping continually and its role and status has grown inimportance to the countrys socio-economic development.(Vientiane Times,Vol. 6,No. 69,Aug.31-Sept.2 1999)

7. Overall living standards in Lao PDR , following decades ofwars and destruction, are still very low. Life-expectancy(1995) is 52.2 years. According to the HDR 1998, 33% ofthe population does not have access to health services.This can be interpreted as those ethnic minority villages

having no access to roads in the northern provinces for


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example.

1. Poverty and economic opportunities

1. Although the precise definition of poverty differs from society to society,poverty reflects the lack of access to critical goods and services suchas food, shelter, and health care. Poverty is many ways a reflection ofthe lack of access to education and health care services; the poorsuffer from the lack of access, and the lack of access contributes totheir poverty.

2. The previous study of poverty is the Lao Expenditure and ConsumptionSurvey (LECS) conducted by the National Statistics Center in 1992-1993. Although this study did not specifically focused on the povertywithin different ethnic groups, it is still a useful starting point inmeasuring poverty throughout the country.

The LECS sample divided the country into three geographic areas: the North,the Center ( including the capital of Vientiane), and the South. Although thepopulation of the Lao PDR is diverse, the North and the South both have agenerally high proportion of ethnic minorities.

The information in Table 2 shows the distribution of poverty by thesegeographic regions, desegregated into urban and rural sectors.

Two separate poverty lines were defined. The first is the basic poverty line,which measures the households ability to purchase a variety of goodsbeyond food and dwelling needs. The second is the extreme poverty line,which measures the households ability to purchase only the most absolute

necessities: food, shelter, and clothing. The headcount shows thepercentage of the population falling into the categories of poverty andextreme poverty. The poverty gap index measures the average transfer ofresources that the poor need to escape poverty. It measures the depth ofpoverty but does not put any special weight on the poorest of the poor.

Using the poverty line, the national incidence of poverty is estimated at 46%,while for rural areas the incidence is 53%. The incidence of poverty is 53%inthe rural North, 47% in the Center, and 66% in the South. Extreme poverty isespecially prevalent in the South. As is common in most countries, poverty isfar more common in rural areas than in urban areas. Indeed, the level ofurban extreme poverty is quite low.

The poverty gap index confirms the general trends in the head count ratio.The South is the poorest region, with especially heavy poverty in the ruralareas. Since the survey did not identify poverty by ethnicity, it is difficult tomake many inferences about poverty among ethnic minorities. However,poverty is highest in areas that also have a large proportion of ethnicminorities.

Table 2: The Incidence and Depth of Poverty, by Regionand Sector, Lao PDR, 1992-1993

POVERTY


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Region Head-Count Ratio Poverty Gap Index

Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Total

North 0.527 0.160 0.464 0.129 0.025 0.111

Center 0.469 0.257 0.404 0.118 0.060 0.100

South 0.662 0.288 0.598 0.224 0.017 0.188

All 0.530 0.239 0.461 0.144 0.045 0.121

Region

EXTREME POVERTY

Head-Count Ratio Poverty Gap Index

Rural Urban Total Rural Urban Total

North 0.246 0.021 0.207 0.045 0.003 0.038

Center 0.216 0.112 0.184 0.042 0.015 0.034

South 0.373 0.006 0.310 0.098 0.001 0.081

All 0.260 0.076 0.216 0.055 0.010 0.044

Source: Lao PDR Social Development Assessment and Strategy,

World Bank 1995

1. Often the most serious limitations to access, and hence the mostsevere forms of poverty, are economic in nature. On the supplyside, the scarcity of funds may result in entire communities thatlack basic services. The nearest social service may beprohibitively distant.

2. Even where services are available, members of ethnic minoritygroups may face severe economic constraints, caused by lowincome. This may manifest itself through the inability to pay forservices or through other effects of low income, such asmalnutrition.

10. However, economic conditions are not the only factors thatinfluence access. Many other factors contribute to the constraintsof access and the use of social services by ethnic minorities.Some of these factors have a very definite economicinterpretation, whereas others are more clearly related to culturaland political barriers.

EDUCATION SYSTEM

The education system is comprised of General Education,Technical/Vocational Training (including teacher training), and

Tertiary Education. Likewise, the education system of Lao PDR


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can be conceptualized as three interrelated systems, throughwhich both children and adults acquire knowledge and skills. Thethree systems are formal education, non-formal education, andinformal education. Each of these systems has differing but

overlapping goals, organization, curriculum, and pedagogy.

Formal Education

1. General Education: General education consists of:

a. Pre-school which consists ofcrche for children ages 0-2, and Kindergarten for children ages 3-5.

b. Primary Education consists of 5 years of schooling forchildren from

6 -10 years and is compulsory.c. Lower secondary education covers 3 years of schoolingand for children of ages 11 13.

d. Upper secondary education is three years of schooling,accepting children of ages 14-16.

2. Vocational Education (including teacher training):

Vocational education students are admitted after they havecompleted either grade 8 or 11 study at this level for 3 years inorder to receive certificates. Students who completed 11th gradecan receive technical certificates in two years or higher levelcertificates in specialty areas in three years. Students whocompleted 8th grade attend classes for the same certification asabove but for a longer period (8+3+2) and (8+3).

1. Teacher Training

Secondary students who want to become teachers have five options.To become a preschool teacher, they can enroll in a one-year programat the end of upper secondary school (11+1). To become a primaryteacher they can enroll in a three-year training course at the end oflower secondary school (8+3 option) or they can enroll in a one-yeartraining program at the end of upper secondary (11+1 option). To teachat the lower secondary level, they can enroll in a three-year trainingprogram upon completion of the upper secondary school (11+3 option).To teach upper secondary, they must enroll in the Faculty of Educationat the University of Laos (11+4 option).

The consolidation and strengthening of teacher training has been anational priority throughout the 1990s, with considerable success. Inthe late 80s, teacher training was provided by 59 small training schoolsthat had little common curriculum and offered generally low qualitypreparation. In the mid-1990s, the MOE raised the minimum

educational requirements for primary and secondary teachers and


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began closing and consolidating these small schools into larger teachertraining centers. These larger centers were able to achieve economiesof scale and offer a stronger, more consistent training program. By1998 the 59 schools had been reduced to 10 (plus the Faculty of

Education at the National University).

Teacher training colleges (TTCs) are under the general supervision ofthe Department of Teacher Education within the Ministry of Education.Each school has a Director who oversees the operation of the school.The Faculty of Education at the National University of Laos Reports tothe Ministry through the Rector of the University.

2. Higher Education: Students who are admitted to higher educationcourses have completed grade eleven. They study in each faculty for 4-7 years depending on the subject area. For example, Engineering takes7 years and to become a medical doctor takes 6-7 years.

In parallel with the Public Education system, the PrivateEducation system is becoming increasingly important and has agrowing role in the education system. Private crches,kindergartens, primary and secondary schools,vocational/technical schools, and colleges are growing innumbers, and are concentrated primarily in urban areas.

Non-Formal Education

The objective of the non-formal education system is to provide learningactivities to meet the needs of adults to acquire knowledge and skills.

Considering the isolation in many parts of countries and the years of fightingand involuntary migration, there is a large group of adults who have limited orno formal education. The Non-Formal Education policy of the MOE targetson 3 age groups:

those between the ages of 6-14, who are not attending schools;those between 15-25 years of age who do not have definite vocations;andthose between the ages of 15-40 who are illiterate and have notcompleted primary school, or those over 40 years old who areinterested.

Until recently, the major components of non-formal education were literacyprograms and formal education equivalency programs for adults, with aparticular focus on government personnel and staff. While these programsstill operate, non-formal education also focuses on other educational needsoutside of the formal education system. The non-formal education systemprovides a combination of anti-literacy and basic education for the illiterate,and programs to raise the education levels of the population. It has aparticular focus on vulnerable groups: the poor, women, and ethnicminorities. The activities and goals for non-formal education are:

Eradication of illiteracy for the population countrywide, especially forwomen and ethnic minorities in remote areas;

Raising the primary and secondary levels of education for government


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employees, military personnel, police; andIn conjunction with the two responsibilities above, the promotion ofbasic vocation for educationally disadvantaged and low-incomepopulations, in order to increase income levels and to improve

livelihood.

In conjunction with its activities to raise the education levels of the populationwith some basic education, the non-formal education department of theMinistry of Education maintains an equivalency program for adults (Table 3).There is an accelerated program for senior officials. This program presents 3months curriculum for each grade and is not intended for universityenrollment, but for education equivalence purpose only.

Table 3: The Equivalency Curriculum

Level Equivalent Duration

Primary Level 1 Grade 1 and 2 340 hours (45 units)

Primary Level 2 Grade 3 180 hours (23 units)

Primary Level 3 Grade 4 and 5 120 hours (17 units)

Lower Secondary 1 Secondary 1 462 hours



Upper Secondary 1 Secondary 4 484 hours



In addition to the equivalency curriculum, the NFE department also hasdeveloped special curriculum for vocational training (i.e. sewing and weavingand many other supplementary materials). NFE with the assistance of GTZare in the process of developing vocational training curriculum. Also with theassistance of UNESCO the NFE is developing a curriculum for distance

education. The continuing education curriculum for lower and uppersecondary has also been developed.

Informal Education

The informal education system that transmits indigenousknowledge to populations is an extension of the traditionallearning system that has always existed in Laos. It operatesprimarily through the family/clan, and ensures the socialization ofboth males and females as productive members of society as wellas the survival of the ethnic group as people. Of importance to alarge percentage of the population of Lao PDR, there is also the

religious education provided by the monks in the monasteries to


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the masses and novices. The first official policy about theeducation of monks and novices was introduced in November1998.

Administration and Management

In the Lao PDR, the administration and management of education consists ofthree levels:

At the central level, the Ministry of Education government staffdetermines policy guidelines, strategy, law, regulations, rules,monitoring and control of education.At the provincial level, the Provincial Education Service (PES)implements education policy guidelines, programmes, and projectsdefined by the Ministry of Education for the province.At the district level, the District Education Bureau (DEB) implements,

and manages primary schools and kindergartens in each district.Non- Formal education or adult education provides education to 15-40years old population group.

KEY POLICIES IN EDUCATION

Human Resources Development Policies

The Leading Committee of Human Resource Development (LCHRD) wasestablished in November 1993. The Lao Government has highlighted theimportance of this committee by appointing the Head of the PartysOrganizational Central Committee as chairperson and including several

ministers as members. The duties of the LCHRD are to draw plans, policies,projects, and measures to implement human resource development, monitorand direct the implementation, and to study, analyze, and resolve problemsin the implementation. The LCHRD has a permanent secretariat to implementits daily duties. The following is the Governments definition of humanresource development (HRD):

HRD is a constant development of a human being for the development itself,starting with birth (i.e. starting from the family planning) to the last minute oflife. In each stage of the life cycle, there should be attention and concernplaced to each aspect of the human life, particularly from whether there willbe live birth which is related to family planning activities and then maternal

and child care activities to assure child survival. Once a child was born, thenew born baby should receive hygienic and sanitary care, immunization andgood nutrition. In the next stage of life cycle, the child should receiveeducation; especially in Lao PDR, this is basic education for all, followed bysecondary education, vocational, technical and tertiary education or shortterm training courses or skill development courses for upgrading thetechnical capabilities in different disciplines. For those who are without formalschooling, they should be educated through informal education starting fromeradication of illiteracy to the level equivalent to completion of highersecondary school. Concurrently with the provision of scientific-technicaleducation, the population should also be provided with education and trainingon the value and significance of the national tradition, custom, art and culture

in order to gain understanding of development along the era, to cultivate the


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senses of a human being, the values of lives and preferences which are inconformance with the development of the country in a progressive andcontinuous manner. During his/her lifetime, a person should be entitled to anappropriate remuneration for his/her work in order to enjoy a proper life,

appropriate welfare policies, a pension at old age retirement, and properallowances to the spouse and children, when that person dies. From theabove reasons, it could be seen that human resource development is a broadactivity involved activities in the areas of development and training of manpower, education, labor and social welfare, public health, culture andinformation, science and technology, and environment, and youth, women,worker and ethnic minorities development

The definition states that HDR is a life long process, intended to createcitizens who live good lives(i.e. enjoying health, having access and qualityeducation and opportunities for employment, and contributing productively tosociety). The definition involves the whole Services Development, which is

not in the list of the seven priorities of the national socio-economicdevelopment plan.

In August 1996, a National Review Conference on HRD was held. Theconference identified both progress and weaknesses in the sector. Themajor weaknesses causing obstacles identified in the conference wereproblems reaching remote rural areas and the heavy bureaucracy still inplace. To counter these weaknesses, more attention needs to be paid toHRD, the planning must be better and more coordinated, training sessionsshould be continuous and coordinated, mobilization and management offunds needs to be more efficient and also equitable. HRD efforts wereidentified:

Formation and training of civil servantsQuality of educationBuilding of labor forceCulture and informationHealthMass organizations: Youth, Women, Trade Union, National Front.

1. Strategies and Policies of the Government Regarding HumanResource Development of the Education Sector

Education Strategies

The Lao government considers that the education of the massesis necessary for the development of the country. Despiteconsiderable achievements since 1975, the governmentrecognizes that much remains to be done.

Despite the exceeding excellent growth of economy in theprevious years, the situation of education indicates the imbalanceand conflict between socio-economic growth and that of theeducation sector. Therefore, the Government adopted aneducation strategy reform as follows:

Determine the role and function of education toward the cause of


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national development.Link education with socio-economical goals and two strategic tasks.Encourage the general population to achieve primary education level.Upgrade the quality and efficiency of education.

Raise prestige of teachers-professors in the society.Mandate contributions from the entire society toward education.Enhance the management of administrative committees towardeducational work

2. Education Policies

The resolution of the Fifth Party Congress and the resolution onhuman resource development can be summarized as follows:

Enforce compulsory education for children and youth by using mainlythe State fund.

Completely eradicate illiteracy among the illiterates and neo illiterates.Promote and expand private education both formal and vocational.Reorganize the lower and upper secondary schools, and vocationalschools in consistence with the actual capacity of the country and giveexamination at every level.Develop personnel for all socio-economic sectors and not only for stateapparatus.Gradually raise the quality of education to an international standard.Expand education to reach the remote, isolated, and mountainousareas, build ethnic boarding schools in certain appropriate areasto establish conditions for children of the ethnic minorities toattend schools.

Improve the system of monks education by providing knowledge indharma, linguistics, and literature and clearly outline policies for monkseducation.

3. Education Objectives and Targets

Overall objectives: To build young generation with global scientificknowledge, patriotic values, a spirit of solidarity with otherethnic groups in the country and friendly countries in theworld, to know their rights and interests and obligations ascitizens, know how to preserve and expand fine tradition andculture of the nation, to be self-dependent and self-strengthening,

to be economical and know how to harmoniously combine thepersonal interest with that of the collective, to equip with generalknowledge and specialized fields, in science and techniques, tobe moral and disciplined, responsible for duties, to be healthy andinnovative, to have a civilized mind and be prepared to contributein the defense, construction and development of the nation.

Overall targets:

Expand and improve crches, kindergartens according to thecapacity of each locality.Expand primary education to be able to accept more children at the

age of schooling from 63% (1990) to 80% (2000) while reducing class


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repetition and school drop-outs. The anticipated outcome is to increasethe rate of surviving students enrolling in grade 1 to grade 5 from 27%(1990) to 63% (2000).Expand and improve lower and upper secondary schools to be able to

accept more students: first year lower secondary from 30% (1990) to40% (2000) and upper secondary school from 12% (1990) to 17%(2000).Eradicate illiteracy among the population and the re-illiterates of 15 to40 years old to increase the literacy rate from 60% (1990) to 80%(2000); provide training and upgrade the recent graduates of illiteracyclass to primary level to reach 50% of the total number, and offer thegeneral population necessary basic skills training.Encourage private sectors to establish more schools, particularlyvocational training schools, and improve the management andmonitoring system.Develop and train teachers to satisfy the requirements of the expansion

of formal education, aiming to produce teachers equipped with goodpersonality, good level of knowledge, and good moral values, who willbe responsible toward their duties, strive to overcome all difficulties,enjoy their profession, and have affection for children; increase studentper teacher ratio: primary school from 28:1 (1990) to 33:1 (2000); lowersecondary school from 13:1 (1990) to 25:1 (2000); and uppersecondary school from 12:1 (1990) to 25:1 (2000).Expand and reorganize vocational schools and tertiary facilities toconform with the actual capacity, and establish National University andPolytechnic colleges in each region of the country to supply labor forcefor socio-economic development.Steadily raise the quality of all levels of education, particularly theformal education that is the basic fundamental of the national educationsystem.

Though these education targets have been set relatively high, todate, education attainments quantitatively were very close toachievement in general. Qualitatively, a lot needs to meet thetargets in the very near future year 2000.

BASIC EDUCATION:

1. The Constitution and Definition of Basic Education

With reference to Article 19 of the Lao PDR Constitution, on 19July 1996, the Prime Minister issued the Decree of Order onCompulsory Primary Education in Lao PDR.

Article 19 of the Lao PDR Constitution stated:

The state emphasis the expansion of education in conjunctionwith the building of the new generation to be good citizens. Theeducation, cultural and scientific activities are focus to raise thelevel of knowledge, patriotism, love of the peoples democracy,the spirit of solidarity between ethnic groups , the spirit ofindependent . Pursue compulsory primary education. The state

permits private schools that follow the state curriculum. The


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government and citizens jointly build schools of all level, to makethe education system complete. Put emphasis on theexpansion of education in ethnic minority areas.

The state promotes the culture that is the beauteous heritage ofthe nation and the progressive culture of the world, eliminate allthose actions that reflect unprogressive ideology and culture.Promote cultural, artistic legacies and mass media includingmountainous areas. Preserve the nations historical heritage sitesand assets.

The following are the general principles stated in Chapter I of the decree:

Article 1: Primary education is one of the levels integrated in generaleducation with 5-year schooling system. It is the basic level ofeducation that needs to be completed by all the Lao citizens.

Article 2: All Lao citizens regardless of race, religion, sex, ethnicity,social and economic status residing in Lao PDR with the ages rangingfrom 6 years onwards by December of each academic year mustreceive primary education thoroughly and equally.

Article 3: All pupils whose enrollment is stipulated in Article 2 mustcomplete their schooling. If not they shall otherwise continue theschooling without dropping out or leaving school until the age of 14,except for those with physical and mental health problem and cannotcontinue their schooling even though sufficient care has already beenprovided.

Article 4: Education services can be provided in the form of eitherpublic or private; however, the content must be ensured with the aim to

develop children physically and mentally with high capability in complywith the curriculum designed by the Ministry of Education.

Article 5: The Government and the people will join efforts to beresponsible for education management and services in all publicprimary schools. The services in schools are free of charge.

Presently, a high percentage of ethnic minority children do notattend school, and the illiteracy rate among ethnic minorities isvery high. The quality of primary education is still relatively low,due to inadequate textbooks and the low-quality teacher training.There is a large proportion of untrained teachers in the teachingforce. Enforcement of compulsory primary education alone will

require more efforts and more flexible strategies.

1. Lao PDR Basic Education for All Programme.

Based on the Framework for Action to Meet Basic LearningNeeds adopted by the World Conference on Education for All:Meeting Basic Learning Needs (Jomtien, Thailand March 1990)the Ministry of Education and various sectors and concernedministries formulated the Lao PDR Framework for Action Plans onBasic Education for All 1990-2000 and set up strategies, goalsand objectives as follows:

1. EFA goals and targets


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Primary Education.To increase the net enrolment of six-year-old children to 80 %and gradually reduce the attendance of over-aged children.

To reduce the repetition and dropout rates and increase retentionrate from 40% to 80%.To improve pupil performance by upgrading the quality ofteaching and the teaching contents, and thus enable the studentto gain knowledge and skills relevant to the needs of thecommunity.

Non-formal Education or Adult Education.To provide opportunities for people of all ethnic groups ages 15-40 years who are illiterates or have relapsed into illiteracy tobecome literate, increase the number of literacy rate among thispopulation age group from 60% in 1990 to 80% by the year 2000.To allow up to 50% of the new literates to continue in

complementary education to acquire basic education andvocational skills that would enable them to contribute in thedevelopment of the communities.To raise the level and quality of education of the learners.

2. EFA Strategies and Plan of Action

Strategies on raising the enrolment rate.

Promote primary education in an extensive way in order to carryout the compulsory primary education principle.Recognize the need for primary school networks to create

favorable condition for better student enrolment and access.Continue to undertake multi-grade teaching in the remote ruralareas and the double-shift system in urban area where thedensity of the population is high so as to remedy the shortage ofclassrooms.Provide more incentives for teachers especially those who areassigned or who volunteers to teach in remote rural areas; andEstablish and support the activities of Students ParentAssociations and mass organizations which work for thepromotion of basic education for all.

Strategies for increasing retention

Take measures to encourage regular class attendance ofstudentsInclude programmes on sanitation, vaccinations and primaryhealth care, nutrition etc in the curriculum.Automatic promotion during the first three years of schooling andyearly revisions of examinations for promotion to the highergrades.Make schools more attractive and provide more basic teachingmaterials.

Strategies for improving students performances


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Improve the relevance of the curriculum, the textbooks, theteaching materials and make them more responsive to the realsituation in the regions.Review the control principles of examinations used to ensure the

regular and continuous learning of the students; andImprove the skills of teachers by organizing training programs fortheir upgrading and strengthening the supervision system bothfrom outside (district) and inside the school cluster.

Strategies for the use of educational resources more effectively:

Setting up the school maps and organize the primary schoolclusters in order to share more effectively all available facilities(personnel and material);Improving the organization and school management system;Setting up the Education Management Information System

(EMIS).

Strategies on disabled groups

Admit a certain number of disabled children in the formalmainstream general education schools, and request teachers topay special attention to handicapped students.Set up an experimental class for handicaps who need specialcurriculum (e.g. for blind people);Identify and examine the mentally and physically handicappedchildren from the beginning in order to orient them properly; andSet up training for special education teachers.

3. EFA Decision making and management

Strategy and Action Plan to achieve goals and targets were formulatedduring the National Meeting of the Senior Education Administrators in1990 and officially published by the National Committee for EFA. TheAction Plan were implemented by concerned departments andministries from central to grass-roots level. Annually, the progress ofthe implementation of the EFA action plan were reported at theNational Meeting of the Senior Education Administrators and theadjustment of the action plan were then formulated for the forth-comingyear.

The members of the NCEFA comprised of:

The Minister of Education, ChairpersonDepartment of General EducationDepartment of Non-formal EducationDepartment of Planning and CooperationDepartment of Teacher TrainingThe State Planning CommitteeThe Ministry of Public HealthThe Ministry of FinanceThe Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

The Ministry of Industry and Handicraft


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The Lao Womens UnionThe Federation of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Youth

The main roles of the NCEFA were to determine the strategies and

National Action Plan for EFA as guidelines, and main measures to beundertaken by the different parties concerned in accordance to theirrespective responsibilities. Coordinate with the different partiesconcerned in order to encourage, support and facilitate their action.Supervise, monitor and evaluate the annual progress in theimplementation of the programme and projects.

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lao pdr report part i descriptive section

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