study on the expectations and aspirations of the lao youth · youth awareness of aec integration...

Study on the Expectations and

Aspirations of the Lao Youth

Implemented by On behalf of GIZ

Published by the

Deutsche Gesellschaft für

Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Registered offices

Bonn and Eschborn, Germany

GIZ Country Office Vientiane Watnak Nyai Rd., House 247, Unit 19 Thapalanxay Village, Sisattanak District

Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR T +856 21 353 605 E [email protected] www.giz.de/laos As at

June 2016

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Content

Contributions of the contractor, Rapid Asia, do not necessarily represent the position of GIZ, the Government of Lao PDR, or the Government of Germany.

On behalf of the

German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Study on the Expectations

and Aspirations of the Lao Youth

1Lao Youth

This evaluation would not have been possible without the contributions from several parties during project planning, fieldwork, analysis and report preparation. While the list of people the Project Team wishes to thank is too extensive to detail here, the Project Team would like to acknowledge several individuals, groups and organisations whose contributions were instrumental to making the evaluation a success:

Alexander Neubauer, Portfolio Manager at the GIZ Office Vientiane, whose continuous support throughout the project has been most appreciat-ed.

Soulikhamkone Sisoulath, Director at the Voca-tional Education Development Institute (VEDI) office in Vientiane, for his assistance in accommo-dating the various workshops in Vientiane, as well as his invaluable input during the questionnaire development phase.

The Project Team had input and support from other donor partners and our sincere appreciation is extended to Julianna Hyjek and Martin Roch of the EU Delegation, Christian Olk of the German

Embassy, James Toone of the British Embassy, Fanny Gazagne and Benoit Bonaime of the French Embassy, Aurélie Klein of the Embassy of Luxemburg and their respective, participating team members, for taking time to share their insights and answering our questions on more than one occasion.

Our gratitude also goes to Ernst Hustaedt, Country Director of GIZ Office Vientiane, and the many GIZ Mission staff members in Lao PDR, for their active participation and inputs during the key findings workshop in Vientiane. The many frank and insightful remarks during the workshop were very helpful for deeper understanding of some of the results and fine-tuning recommendations.

The Project Team would further like to thank our hard-working interviewers, and all those who took time from their busy schedules to respond to our survey and participate in interviews. We shall never forget your support. Thank you!

Finally, the Project Team wishes to acknowledge the youth of Lao PDR, as well as others behind the scene, who worked tirelessly every day to help youth realise their aspirations and life dreams.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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CONTENTsACKNOWLEDGMENT ................................................................................................................................................... 1

CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................................................... 2

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................................... 4

LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................................................... 6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 7

PROJECT BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................................... 111. Context ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 11

2. Objectives ................................................................................................................................................................................13

EVALUATION DESIGN, METHODS & LIMITATIONS ..................................................................................................................14

1. Evaluation Design ...................................................................................................................................................................14

2. Data Collection Methods .........................................................................................................................................................14

2.1 Document Review ..............................................................................................................................................................15

2.2 Informant Interviews and Survey .......................................................................................................................................15

3. Data Analysis ...........................................................................................................................................................................17

3.1 Document Review ..............................................................................................................................................................17

3.2 Informant Interviews...........................................................................................................................................................17

3.3 Youth Survey ......................................................................................................................................................................17

3.4 Data Analysis and Triangulation.........................................................................................................................................17

3.5 Vulnerability Segmentation ................................................................................................................................................18

4. Limitations ...............................................................................................................................................................................21

KEY FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................................................................22

1. Youth Profile ............................................................................................................................................................................22

Individual Profile ........................................................................................................................................................................22

Household Profile ......................................................................................................................................................................23

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2. Youth Situation ........................................................................................................................................................................24

Education Situation ...................................................................................................................................................................24

Hardship and Livelihood Challenges ........................................................................................................................................29

Youth Values .............................................................................................................................................................................30

Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................................................34

Summary of Key Insights ..........................................................................................................................................................36

3. Youth Aspirations ....................................................................................................................................................................37

Aspirations For Education .........................................................................................................................................................37

Aspirations For Employment .....................................................................................................................................................42

Role Models for Youth ...............................................................................................................................................................45

Migration ...................................................................................................................................................................................45

Political Engagement ................................................................................................................................................................49

Aspirations for the Future ..........................................................................................................................................................50


4. Youth Perception of The Future .............................................................................................................................................53

Foreign Influence ......................................................................................................................................................................53

Optimism for the Future ............................................................................................................................................................54

Awareness of AEC Integration ..................................................................................................................................................55

Perception towards Lao PDR ....................................................................................................................................................59


CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................................. 63

RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 66

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................. 69

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LisT Of TAbLEsTable 1. Informant interview participants .......................................................................................................................................15

Table 2. Sample distribution of respondents in 17 provinces ........................................................................................................16

Table 3. Triangulation logic used throughout analysis ...................................................................................................................18

Table 4. Cross tabulation of vulnerable groups by income ............................................................................................................21

Table 5. Respondent profile ...........................................................................................................................................................22

Table 6. Size, income and socio-economic status of households .................................................................................................23

Table 7. Main activities of respondents’ parents ............................................................................................................................24

Table 8. Countries of choice for migration of Lao youth ................................................................................................................47

Table 9. Future aspirations of Lao youth .......................................................................................................................................51

Table 10. Youth perception on foreign influence, by countries ......................................................................................................53

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LisT Of fiGurEsFigure 1. Data triangulation process ..............................................................................................................................................18

Figure 2. Vulnerability factors ........................................................................................................................................................19

Figure 3. Segmentation by vulnerable factors ...............................................................................................................................20

Figure 4. Youths’ utilisation of their spare time activity and media use..........................................................................................22

Figure 5. The youths’ current educational level .............................................................................................................................26

Figure 6. Aspirations to complete higher education .......................................................................................................................26

Figure 7. Highest education completed .........................................................................................................................................27

Figure 8. Proportion of youth who have ever been employed and their current activities .............................................................28

Figure 9. The challenges faced by the youth ................................................................................................................................30

Figure 10. Five dimensions of the National Cultural Model ...........................................................................................................31

Figure 11. Statements in the National Cultural Model ..................................................................................................................32

Figure 12. Youth values based on the National Cultural Model .....................................................................................................33

Figure 13. Benchmarks of the National Cultural Model of Lao PDR with Thailand and Germany ................................................34

Figure 14. Youths’ intention to study in the future ..........................................................................................................................37

Figure 15. Subjects preferred for further study ..............................................................................................................................38

Figure 16. Reasons for the choice between university and vocational schools ............................................................................39

Figure 17. Preferred future employment, by sector and position ...................................................................................................42

Figure 18. Role models for the youth ...........................................................................................................................................45

Figure 19. Possibility and purpose of youth migration ...................................................................................................................46

Figure 20. Youth interest in political and social affairs ...................................................................................................................50

Figure 21. Awareness of foreign-funded projects ..........................................................................................................................53

Figure 22. Youth optimism towards own future and the future of Lao PDR ..................................................................................55

Figure 23. Youth awareness of AEC integration ...........................................................................................................................56

Figure 24. Youth perception of ASEAN integration ........................................................................................................................58

Figure 25. Youth perception toward Lao PDR ...............................................................................................................................60

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ACrONYMsAEC ASEAN Economic Community

AsEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

AYsA Adolescent and Youth Situation Analysis

DEb District Education Bureaus

EsDf Education Sector Development Framework

fDi Foreign Direct Investment

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GiZ Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

ifrC International Federation of Red Cross

LYu Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union

MLsW Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare

MoEs Ministry of Education and Sports

NEsrs National Education System Reform Strategy

NfE Non-Formal Education

NGO Non-governmental Organisation

ODA Official Development Assistance

PEs Provincial Education Service

sME Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

soQ Schools of Quality

sO Strategic Objectives

TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training

usD United States Dollar

VELA Vocational Education in Laos

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EXECuTiVE suMMArYsocio-cultural situation in society, in three aspects: 1) youth current situation; 2) youth aspirations; and 3) youth perspectives of future.

Methodology

A mixed-methods approach was adopted for the study with the objective to seek initial input from a desk review and qualitative research to feed into a national, quantitative survey with youth. The analysis of the study was triangulated from the survey findings, informant interview results and document review. The applied research instruments were consulted with stakeholders and pre-tested among the target population prior to fieldwork. The quantitative survey covered all 17 provinces in Lao PDR and 1,200 youth aged 10-25 years from urban and rural locales participated in the study.

Youth Situation

To understand the overall youth situation, factors affecting their current status were analysed. The document review found that certain conditions predispose youth to experiencing more risks or vulnerabilities when it comes to completing education and having gainful employment in the future, which ultimately affect their level of competitiveness. Vulnerability segmentation was therefore applied in analysing the situation of youth. The most vulnerable segments of youth were: being female, living in a rural location, belonging to an ethnic minority and having dropped out or never been to school. Findings from the study showed that youth who are subject to several vulnerabilities are the least likely to finish school or be productively employed. Half of the youth aspired getting a university degree. The

Background

The Lao youth are important agents of change in Laos. Their presence is becoming more and more important as Lao PDR anticipates increasing integration in regional markets, specifically in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community. The aspirations of these youth—what they want to become and achieve in the future in terms of education and employment—will profoundly shape the country’s development. With rapid changes anticipated, the country will need more professionals and skilled workers to fuel the growing economy. The government can support the promotion of vocational education as a way of addressing the skills gap that will be faced by businesses.

With limited resources, the country needs to prioritise development programmes to achieve sustainable, broad-based economic development. Critical to this are improvements in education quality, political and socio-economic environment and an emphasis on addressing the key concerns of the vulnerable segments of society.

Objectives

The objective of the study on the Aspirations and Expectations of the Youth in Lao PDr, especially in relation to Technical and Voca-tional Education, was to generate much needed evidence that could be used in the development of effective programmes in Lao PDR to mobilise their participation through sharing their talents, passion and commitment for their own develop-ment. The study was designed to investigate the Lao youths’ aspirations, knowledge, expectations and perspectives as to their economic, political,

8 Lao Youth

study considered education to be a big challenge, as one in every three youth was not studying at the time of the research. Among the dropouts, one in five attained only primary education level, a clear indication that future labour force entrants may have a very low skill levels.

Youth, particularly those from the most vulnerable segments, suffered from a significant gap in education quality. Quality gaps are a result of low teacher qualifications, limited teaching materials, limited availability of teachers, courses that were not up-to-date and non-integration of technology into the curriculum, among others.

Unemployment topped the list of hardship and livelihood challenges faced by the youth. Those belonging to vulnerable segments also had to struggle with limited access to basic education, and having an income that is not enough to buy food. Without educational opportunities that break this cycle of poverty, these youth will remain trapped in their current situation.

The Lao youth, who were generally optimistic about their own future, were characterised by having a culture of short-term orientation (taking a short-term view and favouring quick gains), high uncertainty avoidance (feel threatened and wanting to avoid uncertainty) and high power distance (accept that power may not be distributed equally). These values were similar to those of Thai culture.

Youth Aspirations

Youth aspirations were analysed by what they wanted to do with their lives in terms of education, work, migration and participation in political

decision-making. Results of the study showed that the youth who dropped out of school still aspire to continue with their studies. The intention to study decreased to some extent with the increase in the individual’s vulnerability.

The youth believed that vocational education al-lows the quickest way to find a job, whereas uni-versity education offers more prestige and better career opportunities in the longer term. Vocational skills training can be a stopgap measure to im-mediately equip youth with technical skills to gain employment. Long-term solutions to productivityissues would require more than offering vocational education, but instead also looking at broad-based approaches to poverty reduction. For a vocational education system to be effective, it should link training with placements of jobs that are in high demand, set up training centres across the country, especially in provinces, and utilise vocational education to prepare students prior to entering the universities.

Most of the youth aspired to land a job in the government sector and to have an office work position. There was a disparity in terms of what education courses youth liked to have with the type of job they wanted to have in the future. The mismatch between skills and employment aspirations, coupled with a mismatch with industry labour demands, could negatively impact on the youths’ future employment options if this issue is left un-addressed.

The family, particularly the parents and relatives, were seen to have the most influence on youth as role models in terms of what they wanted to become or achieve in the future.

9Lao Youth

Half of the youth considered the possibility of migrating (mostly within Laos) in the future, with the less vulnerable segments being somewhat more likely to migrate than the others. The primary purposes of migration were to study or to work. Only a few youth intended to migrate internationally.

Nearly all youth liked to know more about community decision-making and to participate in community groups and initiatives. They also liked to know more about social networks and Lao youth organisations.

Youth Perception of the Future

The youths’ perception of the future was analysed based on what opportunities youth see in the future, their level of optimism and their perception of changes in Lao PDR and ASEAN. As the country anticipates more regional cooperation, Southeast Asia was viewed to have the most influence in Lao PDR. In terms of foreign influence, there is limited awareness of the foreign-funded projects that are being implemented in Lao PDR. However, the youth viewed these projects as generally making a good contribution to the country.

The youth had a relatively high awareness of ASEAN and the AEC. It was seen to benefit the country as a whole and they also thought they would personally benefit from it through better opportunities in employment and education.

Businesses also agreed with the benefits of the AEC integration, with bigger markets to serve, but they had some concerns about the increasing competition this would create in the market. Their main concern was that if the labour force

is not competitive enough, or if the political and economic environment does not facilitate market expansion, entry of foreign workers and products could threaten the business sector. They hoped to become more competitive and to be ready to serve the bigger international markets.

Overall, the Lao youth had a positive perception when it came to future education and employment opportunities. They shared the view that the Lao economy is improving compared with previous years. However, despite visible progress, Lao PDR is developing slower as compared with other ASEAN countries, and in particular it lags behind the pace when it comes to technological developments. The main issues raised by SMEs as affecting their operations were: high cost of living in Lao PDR; unavailability of skilled workers, especially for technical jobs; access to capital funds to upgrade equipment and advanced technology; and, the relatively small size of the domestic market, preventing maximisation of production.

Recommendations

y Increase youth mobilisation and engage-ment. Almost all youth would like to receive information and learn more about different community engagement programs, and they want to be actively involved as well.

y Conduct needs assessment with employers. The country will benefit from having a thorough understanding of employers’ needs by being able to make informed decisions on what educational programmes should be promoted and made available to youth. This is crucial in order to be able to

10 Lao Youth

prioritise programmes and make valuable use of limited government resources. There is a need to increase the interest of youth in jobs that are in short supply to respond to market needs.

y Improve quality and access to vocational training. An effective short-term strategy for employment promotion will require further support for good quality, relevant, efficient and well-targeted vocational training. Youth held a perception that vocational training was cheaper, relatively easy to complete and resulted in relatively quicker employment.

Building on what is learned from the employer assessment would be a first step, as well as improving the competencies of teachers. In terms of access, one option to consider for the short term, for the promotion of provincial education, is to have a mobile training team that can approach communities. These improvement strategies could ultimately also help to improve the overall image of vocational training in Lao PDR.

y Provide scholarships to disadvantaged students. Access to education is one of the key factors that determines the future success or failure of youth. Scholarships serve as a complimentary solution both for vocational and university education.

11Lao Youth

PrOJECT bACKGrOuND

The 7th National Socio-Economic Development Plan 2011-2015 reiterates the government’s aim for Lao PDR to graduate from the ranks of the least developed countries (LDCs) by 2020. However, achieving this will require more than growth in GDP, with more focus on the quality and equity of that growth.4 There are yet a number of challenges to be tackled.

The macro-economic situation is still vulnerable, with limited domestic savings. Economic growth relies mainly on exploitation of natural resources, carried out in an unsustainable and environmentally unfriendly manner. The poverty rate was reduced to 23.2% in FY 2012-2013 (MOP 2015).5 Still, a quarter of the population still lives below the national poverty line, meaning that Lao PDR continues to be classified among the world’s least developed countries. For Lao PDR to reap the benefits of regional integration, it should achieve higher levels of economic development and higher levels of technology and infrastructure development to maintain its position in the upper tier of the regional value chain, where production of high-value goods and services are present. Only countries with systems, infrastructures

1. Context

As a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Lao PDR acceler-ates its integration into the regional and global economy. The Lao PDR is currently experiencing rapid economic development, marked by steady GDP growth rates and a steady increase in per capita income. This growth is one of the fastest in the region, with 7.3% in 2014 GDP growth1. GDP growth has been driven by ongoing foreign direct investment (FDI) in hydropower, mining and plantations, especially from Lao PDR’s three big neighbours (China, Thailand and Vietnam) with annual FDI building steadily from about USD 1 billion in 2008 to over USD 2.5 billion in 2013.2

Wage and skills of labourers were the main factors for attracting domestic and FDI. In 2012-13, Laos had 883 ODA-financed projects with a total value of USD 777.1 million, an increase of 10% from the previous year. The sectors considered drivers of growth and with employment potential are: construction, tourism (including eco-tourism), the processing industry, the financial sector and the nascent agro-industry sector (i.e. oil, rubber and coffee plantations). The majority of the labour force is in the agriculture sector but labour productivity is still low because machinery is seldom utilised.3

1 EIU, Lao Country Report, 1st Quarter 2015.2 Creak, Simon. Laos in 2013: International Controversies, Economic Concerns and the Post-Socialist Rhetoric of Rule, 2014.3 Ministry of Planning and Investment, Five Year National Socio-Economic Development Plan VIII (2016-2020) 5th Draft, (2015).4 UNDP, Country Analysis Report: Lao PDR: An analysis to inform the selection of priorities for the next UNDAF 2012-2015.5 National Economic Research Institute / Mr. Vanthana Nolintha, Mr. Saygnasak Sengaloun, Mrs. Dorkfa Siyotha, Macroeconomy in 2013 and

The Outlook in 2014 (2014).

12 Lao Youth

and industries already in place are expected to reap the benefits of the economic integration of ASEAN.6 Some reports have pointed out that the effectiveness of the government’s socio-economic development management is relatively low, and discrimination against ethnic minorities and reli-gious minorities still exists.7

The increasing integration of Lao PDR in its regional markets may bring opportunities for the country, but it could also pose substantial challenges to its relatively small economy. Following the advent of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at the end of 2015, Lao PDR is in need of professionals and skilled workers to develop competitive products for the domestic and international market. As the movement of skilled labour is liberalised, the workforce of Lao PDR must be prepared for the pressure of increasing competition from neighbouring countries if it is to benefit from the growth of the Lao economy.

The Lao Government has set itself an ambitious target to change the country’s development status by 2020. As part of Lao-German development cooperation, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Inter-nationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH supports the Lao Government with Technical Cooperation projects in different sectors to achieve this goal. The government wants to invest in the youth8 of Lao PDR to maximise their potential to become

productive citizens and contribute to the devel-opment of the country. Improving youth competi-tiveness can be a major contributor in helping the country achieve its goals to becoming a middle-in-come country by 2020. The youth labour force participation is high: for young people aged 15-19 years it is 48.9% and for 20-24 year olds it is 83.7%.9 The percentage of currently employed females is higher than the percentage of currentlyemployed males in the 15-24 year age group. Unemployment rates in this group are higher than among their older counterparts and much higher in the urban areas. The unemployment rates for young people aged 15-24 years are 2.5% for women and 3.5% for men. A majority (70%) of the workforce is engaged in the agricultural sector followed by the services sector (23%) and industry and construction (7%). However, challenges abound with the mismatch in skills learned from schools versus labour market demand: parents have low regard for vocational skills; there is limited access to quality education and vocational training; there is limited employment for skilled workers; there are insufficient resources to operate training institutions; and, entry to labour force is based on associations and not skills, among others.

The successful implementation of a develop-ment-oriented intervention that motivates the engagement of youth requires an understand-

6 IBON International. ASEAN Community 2015: Integration for Whom?. A Policy Brief. April 2015.7 Lao Movement for Human Rights, Implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination

(ICERD): Situation of the ethnic and religious minorities in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (2005).8 There is no universal definition of youth stemming from policy frameworks, but the biggest youth organisation, the Lao People’s Revolutionary

Youth Union (LYU), uses the age-range of 15-30 years for its membership.9 Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union, Adolescent and Youth Situation Analysis Lao People’s Democratic Republic “Investing in young

people is investing in the future.” Prepared for the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, Lao PDR (2014).

13Lao Youth

ing of the youths’ expectations and perspectives on how they see themselves now and in the future, and insights into how they see their country. This will help to highlight what types of interventions or programmes are needed to ensure that they will achieve their full potential as productive members of society. In order to succeed in terms of education, employment and participatory decision making, young people need to have life goals that can guide them into appropriate choices about education, obtaining appropriate qualifications and aiming for career routes that are suitable for them. This study attempts to describe the broad aspirations of Lao youth. The perceptions of youth represent the reality that the Lao Government and Development Partners need to address and act upon.

2. Objectives

The objective of the national study on Expecta-tions and Aspirations of the Lao Youth was to generate much needed evidence that can be used in the development of effective programmes in Lao PDR, to mobilise youth participation while at the same time harnessing their talents, passion and commitment for their own development.

Due to the young average age and high number of young people in Lao PDR, there is a need to understand their expectations and perspectives as to the economic, political, socio-cultural aspects

of society, their values, education and knowledge, their social and economic situation and, especially, their orientation (aspiration) towards vocational or university training, so that future development may be anticipated more accurately and may be considered in future planning.

A number of specific objectives were set out as follows:

1. To uncover factors that impact on youth vulnerability and identify vulnerability seg-ments.

2. To determine current education status and future aspiration for education.

3. To establish expectations and perspectives amongst youth regarding their aspirations for the future.

4. To gain an insight into youth values and how this may help to improve youth-directed communication.

5. To uncover their work experiences, role models and aspirations to migrate for work or study opportunities.

6. To determine their level of knowledge about their country’s situation in general and re-garding ASEAN and the AEC specifically.

It is anticipated that the findings of this study can serve as evidence for policy and programme development directed at generating more skilled and competitive workers in the workforce, which over time could improve the human resource competitiveness of Lao PDR.

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EVALuATiON DEsiGN, METHODs & LiMiTATiONs

y In-depth interviews were carried out during the month of August 2015. A total of 40 interviews were completed among youth leaders and key influencers such as employers, NGOs, government representatives, journalists and academics.

y The national survey with youth aged 10 up to 24 years was carried out during September 2015. A total of n=1,200 youth respondents were interviewed from urban and rural areas across all provinces in Lao PDR.

y Another stakeholder workshop with VEDI and a donor meeting were held on 17 November, 2015, whereby key findings were presented for feedback and to explore input for recommendations. Further input was gained during two workshops conducted with GIZ staff during the annual GIZ Technical Staff Meeting on 19 November, 2015.

2. Data Collection Methods

The research used primary and secondary data to analyse youth expectations and perspectives. Primary data was collected through quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, specifically surveys among the youth and key informant interviews among selected stakeholders.

1. Evaluation Design

A mixed-methods approach was adopted for the study with the objective to seek initial input from a desk review and qualitative research to feed into a national, quantitative study with youth. The study was carried out according to the following milestones:

y Desk review and assessment of relevant project documents, like past research reports, past project reports, press articles, internal donor documents, relevant peer-reviewed studies and other secondary sources.

y A stakeholder workshop was conducted in June 2015 with staff and key officers from VEDI and GIZ, to receive briefing on the project, clarify key evaluation criteria and receive input on methodology and scope.

y A donor meeting was also held in June 2015 with representatives from the German, French, UK and Swiss Embassies, and an EU Delegation to review the proposed topic list developed for the questionnaire, to ensure all key topics of interest were covered in the survey.

15Lao Youth

2.1 Document review

A document review was undertaken in order to provide a sound basis for the development of research methodology and tools, as well as to allow for cross-referencing the results of the national youth study.

2.2 informant interviews and survey

Tools Development

The development of the interview and survey tools was done in cooperation with key stakeholders including VEDI, GIZ and other donors. The initial stakeholder workshop and donor meetings helped to further fine-tune the initial topic list. The outcome of the initial meetings was a well-defined topic list of key issues that were used in developing the qualitative discussion guide and survey questionnaire. The tools were shared with stakeholders for final input before being signed off by GIZ. Following translation by a professional translator and back translation, the tools were pretested among sample target groups prior to actual fieldwork.

Informant Interviews

Individual in-depth-interviews were the chosen method to ensure flexibility in setting up appointments with busy stakeholders and to ensure unbiased and open information. Two experienced local moderators conducted the interviews (see profile in Project Team section) with a total of 40 selected key informants (Table 1) including employers, teachers and other relevant professionals, local leaders and non-government organisations.

Table 1. Informant interview participants

Target No. Interviews LocationSME Employers 5 Bangkok, ThailandSME Employers 15 VientianeSchool Teachers 4 VientianeUniversity Professors 4 VientianeNGOs 4 VientianeYouth Leaders 4 VientianeLocal Leaders 4 Outside Vientiane

TOTAL 40

Being in regular contact with Lao youth, they provided insights into the needs and aspirations of Lao youth as well as their own perspectives regarding the future role of youth in Lao PDR. Interviews were also conducted with five SME employers in Thailand to understand the perspectives of those who hire Lao youth who migrate overseas.

Survey Sampling Methodology

The target group for the national youth survey was youth aged between 10 and 24 years. They were selected from all 17 provinces of Lao PDR with a 50/50 quota for urban and rural areas as well as for male and female respondents. Quotas were also used to ensure representation from the following age groups (10-13, 14-17, 18-21, and 22-24) in each selected target areas. The total sample achieved was n=1,200 respondents, selected from a total of 50 villages in the country and with representation of n=300 youth from each age band.

16 Lao Youth

The sampling distribution across provinces was done using an adjusted population proportion to size (PPS) sampling method. Within each province, equal numbers of urban and rural villages were selected using a systematic random sampling. Within each village the random walk

10 Each cluster was represented by n=24 interviews resulting in a slight over sampling of smaller provinces. To correct for sampling bias, corrective weights were calculated taking into consideration the total population distribution and the distribution of the provincial population by urban and rural areas. From these data a population matrix is constructed (Provinces x Urban/Rural). For each cell, the “expected” value for the sample will be computed and compared with the “actual” sample value for that cell. For each cell a weighting factor is calculated which is: 1.0000 if “actual” equals “expected; ” >1.0000 if “actual” is smaller than “expected;” and, < 1.0000 if “actual” is greater than “expected.” All respondents in the same cell received the same weight factor.

method was used to randomly select households, skipping every third occupied dwelling. The final sample was weighted to ensure better representation of the youth population10. The final sample distribution and result of the weighting procedure can be seen in Table 2.

Table 2. Sample distribution of respondents in 17 provinces.

Location

Population Unweighted Sample Weighted Sample Urban Rural

Total (n)Urban n= 600 (%)

Rural n= 600 (%)

Urban n= 358 (%)

Rural n= 842 (%)n % n %

Vientiane Capital 502,722 8 226,005 4 728,727 6 6 8 4

Phongsaly 24,994 < 1 141,641 2 166,635 2 2 < 1 2

Luangnamtha 33,904 1 125,176 2 159,080 2 2 1 2

Oudomxay 52,587 1 228,852 4 281,439 2 2 1 4

Bokeo 30,055 1 128,836 2 158,891 2 2 1 2

Luangprabang 142,675 2 270,490 5 413,165 4 4 2 5

Huaphanh 33,659 1 254,628 4 288,287 2 2 1 4

Xayabury 104,902 2 255,285 4 360,187 2 2 2 4

Xiengkhuang 66,996 1 191,746 3 258,742 2 2 1 3

Vientiane Province 121,505 2 334,230 6 455,735 4 4 2 6

Borikhamxay 74,740 1 172,816 3 247,556 2 2 1 3

Khammuane 96,704 2 260,538 4 357,242 2 2 2 4

Savannakhet 218,730 4 653,429 11 872,159 8 8 4 11

Saravane 34,107 1 324,654 5 358,761 2 2 1 5

Sekong 21,636 < 1 76,845 1 98,481 2 2 < 1 1

Champasack 183,781 3 447,087 7 630,868 4 4 3 7

Attapeu 31,706 1 94,945 2 126,651 2 2 1 2

Total 1,775,403 30 4,187,203 70 5,962,606 50 50 30 70

17Lao Youth

All data collection was done face to face and the length of the survey interview was approximately 30 minutes. To ensure data quality, 30% of each interviewer’s workload was audited either through direct observation in the field or through respondent call back. Representatives from VEDI also witnessed part of the fieldwork as quiet observers. To avoid possible bias their role was not disclosed to respondents.

3. Data Analysis

3.1 Document review

Several pieces of secondary literature that presented the different factors that may directly or indirectly affect youth aspirations and expectations, which in turn would impact on the competitiveness of the youth, were reviewed and analysed. The desk review covered three key areas relevant for this study, looking at youth aspirations and goals, the current state of education and the socio-economic environment in Lao PDR. All findings from reviewed documents were included and analysed along with the findings from other methods.

3.2 informant interviews

For each interview conducted, responses pro-vided by the informants were summarised into an analysis template, categorising key themes, issues and recommendations raised by the infor-mants, as well as any key findings identified by the interviewers. The interviewers completed the analysis template and senior project staff provided

input for clarification where needed, referring back to the voice recordings to ensure key points were captured. Key findings were then identified across the key topics covered in the interview.

3.3 Youth survey

An established Lao PDR-based research company was contracted to conduct face-to-face surveys with youth. The Project Team was responsible for field quality and data entry data monitoring to ensure data quality before submitting the final data file. Rapid Asia carried out independent quality checks of the data file before weighting the data. The quantitative data was then analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) statistical software. Findings were first summarised in charts and tables to be presented in the subsequent workshops and meetings with stakeholders (see Appendix) before being included in the final report.

3.4 Data Analysis and Triangulation

The multilevel combinations approach was used to ensure proper triangulation of the data.11 First, data from the desk review, informant interviews and survey were analysed separately and key findings were identified and agreed within the Project Team. Secondly, all key findings were linked back to the key objectives. Finally, triangulation was accomplished by examining the key findings across the different information sources. When reconciling the data and selecting the most important findings, the Project Team applied the following logic (Table 3):

11 USAID, “Conducting Mixed-Method Evaluations,” Technical Note, June 2013.

18 Lao Youth

Table 3: Triangulation logic used throughout analysis

Triangulation Logic

Findings found to be supported by one or more data sources Prioritised and included

Findings not supported by other data sources but not contradicted Included if the source was deemed reliable

Findings found to be contradicted by other data sources Not included

The triangulation process is illustrated in schematic Figure 1.

Figure 1: Data triangulation process

Identification of key findings from

each data source

Desk Review

Informant Interviews

Youth Survey

Key findings inked back to key objectives

The key objectives did not lend themselves as

survey questions so had to be encoded when developing the survey

tools. Hence, each key finding had to be

decoded and linked back to the correct objective.

To have a more manageable set of

key findings to work with for triangulation, the initial set of key

findings was narrowed down by first sorting the findings and then combining those that

were similar.

For triangulation the multilevel combinations method was used. Key

findings found to be supported by more than one source was included Findings not supported

but not contradicted were included if the source was

seen to be reliable.

Sorting and combining

key findingsTriangulation

3.5 Vulnerability segmentation

Results of the desk review pointed to the importance of understanding the vulnerability factors that prevented youth from becoming competitive or achieving their full potential as productive citizens. Vulnerability has been used by IFRC in disaster management and can also be applied to youth competitiveness. It is defined as “diminished capacity of an individual or group to

anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural or man-made hazard. People differ in their exposure to risk as a result of their social group, gender, ethnic or other identity, age and other factors.12” In this case, hazard or risk can be applied as not being able to complete education and not obtaining decent employment in the future.

12 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, “What is vulnerability?,” http://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-management/about-disasters/what-is-a-disaster/what-is-vulnerability/ (accessed Oct 1, 2015).

19Lao Youth

UNIFEM has also identified segments in the population where youth tend to be more vulnerable in terms of experiencing risks and failures in education. These were:13

y Low population density and remoteness that make the provision of cost-effective and sustainable education services difficult in some rural areas.

y Low quality of teaching and learning, and cultural beliefs that place a low value on girls learning in school.

y The disparities between different sub-groups (male/female, urban/rural, Lao-Thai/non-Lao-Thai, and poor/non-poor) which become even wider at secondary level.

y The lack of teachers is particularly acute in remote areas where ethnic groups live and especially in poor districts.

This shows that certain conditions predispose youth to experiencing more barriers when it comes to completing education or obtaining decent employment. Based on the evidence from the literature, the following four vulnerability factors were identified:

(1) being female; (2) living in a rural location; (3) belonging to an ethnic minority (4) having dropped out or never been to school.

The vulnerability situation of youth was deter-mined by looking at the four vulnerability factors described above. Vulnerability segments were in

turn developed to determine whether vulnerabili-ty had an association with future aspirations. As shown in Figure 2 below, of the four factors being studied the most common vulnerability is attribut-ed to living in rural areas (70%), followed by being female (51%), belonging to an ethnic group (27%) and has dropped out from school or have never attended school (18%).

Figure 2. Vulnerability factors

51%

70%

27%18%

Female Rural Ethnic Drop out / Never be in School

Base: All participants (n=1,200)

The vulnerability factors were combined to form three vulnerability segments classifying youth into those that can be considered LESS, MORE and MOST vulnerable. Consequently, youth were grouped according to sex (male/female), resi-dence (urban/rural), association with ethnic groups and school attendance (currently studying/drop out from school or never been in school). Based on the desk review, these factors were known to influence the youth in terms of school participation and employability.

13 UNIFEM/Inthasone Phetsiriseng, Gender Concerns in Migration in Lao PDR - Migration Mapping Study: A Review of Trends, Policy and Programme Initiatives (2007).

20 Lao Youth

Figure 3. Segmentation by vulnerable factor


The segmentation that is illustrated in Figure 3 has been used throughout the report to determine in what situations vulnerability plays a role and should be considered for future programming. Based on the vulnerability segmentation, almost half of the youth belong to the LESS vulnerable segment (45%), those characterised of having up to one vulnerability factor only. Over one-third of youth (37%) had two vulnerability factors and were classified into the MORE vulnerable segments, while the MOST vulnerable segment (18%) was associated with three or four vulnerability factors. It should be noted that very few youth were found to be associated with all four vulnerability factors and hence, those having three or four vulnerability factors were combined to form one segment.

To validate the vulnerability segmentation, a cross tabulation was conducted with household income. The underlying hypothesis was that the more vulnerable youth would be associated with an average lower household income (Table 4). This hypothesis was confirmed, as shown in the table below, where 73% of the MOST vulnerable youth have a monthly household income of less than 2.5 million Kip compared to 65% and 45% in the MORE and LESS vulnerable segments, respectively.

Most,18%

Less,45%

More,37%

Less Up to 1 Vulnerability factor

More 2 Vulnerability factors

Most 3-4 Vulnerability factors

21Lao Youth

Table 4. Cross tabulation of vulnerable groups by income.

Monthly Household IncomeLESS Vulnerable

n=542 (%)MORE Vulnerable

n=438 (%)MOST Vulnerable

n=220 (%)

Below 2.5 million Kip 45 65 73

2.5 – 4.5 million Kip 39 26 21

Over 4.5 million Kip 16 9 6

Total 100 100 100

answering such questions, new questions also come to the fore, for which there are no answers. As far as possible, we have tried to confirm results with the help of the desk review, but, ultimately, further studies may be needed to fully understand some of the key findings of this report.

Given these limitations, some caution in interpreting the data should be taken, especially when generalising results relating to ethnic minorities for whom we did not have full representation in this study. The recommendations made have taken these limitations into account.

4. Limitations

Whilst the survey was national and covered all 17 provinces of Lao PDR, the sample was not fully random. To ensure more efficiency in data collection, due to budget constraints and the fact that data collection was carried out during rainy season, the capital of each province was selected as the main urban area, and rural areas were selected outside of the capital. As such, data collection was not done in the more remote parts of Lao PDR and this resulted in lower representation of ethnic minorities. Knowing this limitation beforehand, an effort was made to include villages that were known to have larger groups of ethnic minorities.

The desk review revealed that many good studies have been done to identify what is lacking in terms of youth support, including barriers to education and lack of work opportunities. The aim of this study was to focus specifically on the future aspirations of youth, as opposed to replicating what has already been done. The main objective was therefore to answer questions to which we did not already know the answer as opposed to verifying old results. But in the process of

22 Lao Youth

KEY fiNDiNGs This section presents the main findings of the study. The study was designed to investigate the aspirations, knowledge, expectations and per-spectives of Lao youth, in relation to their econom-ic, political and socio-cultural situation. It has been structured into four separate sections: 1) youth profile; 2) current situation of youth; 3) youth as-pirations; and, 4) youth perspectives of the future.

1. Youth Profile

Individual Profile

Table 5 and Figure 4 below show the profile of the weighted, representative sample according to sex, ethnicity, spare time activities and media use. Almost equal proportions of male and female respondents were recruited for the study, which demonstrates that the field interviewers followed the set quotas. However, there is some under- representation of ethnic minorities.

Table 5. Respondent profile

Profile %

Sex

Males 49

Females 51

Ethnicity

Lao 73

Khamu 12

Hmong 8

Singsili 3

Others 4

In Figure 4, the majority of Lao youth used their spare time for meeting friends and hanging out (60%) and playing sports (58%). Looking at media usage, the majority (84%) watch television, and more than half (55%) use smart phone/internet/social media. However, relatively few youth read magazines (17%) and newspapers (4%).

Figure 4. Youths’ utilisation of their spare time activity and media usage

Media Use

Television

Smart phone/Internet/Social mediaRadio

Regular mobile phoneMagazine

Newspaper

84%

55%35%

29%17%

4%

Spare Time Activity

Meeting friends and hanging outPlaying sports

Reading booksShopping

InternetChatting with friends on social media

TravellingReading newspapers

60%58%

45%35%

32%30%

16%7%

23Lao Youth

Household Profile

Nearly half of the households (47%) in which youth are staying have four to five people and an equal proportion (47%) have six or more people (Table 6) living together. Over half of them have a monthly household income of less than USD 300 (2,430,000 Kip) and for just about one third, this means that money is sometimes not enough to buy new clothes or food.

In over 90% of youth households the father is working and in 72% of households the mother is working as well. Table 7 shows that agriculture, forestry and fishing are the main activities of the respondents’ fathers (37%) and mothers (39%). Other activities cited for the fathers’ main activities include working for the government (19%) or construction (10%), while mothers are often doing home duties (23%) or working in retail and wholesale (21%).

Table 6. Size, income and socio-economic status of households

Number of people in housechold %2 - 3 64 - 5 476 - 7 308 - 9 1110 or more 6

Household Monthly Income

Below 1,500,000 Kip 21

1,500,001 - 2,500,000 Kip 37

2,500,001 - 3,500,000 Kip 18

3,500,001 - 4,500,000 Kip 13

4,500,001 - 6,500,000 Kip 7

6,500,001 - 8,500,000 Kip 2

Higher than 8,5 Million Kip 3

Note: Exchange rate 1 USD = 8100 Laotian Kip

Socioeconomic Status of Household %

Money is sometimes not enough to buy food 14

Money is enough for food, but sometimes not enough to buy new clothes 16Money is enough to buy food and new clothes, but not enough to buy a new home appliances,television or new tools or mac

27

Money is enough to buy home appliances, but we can’t buy a new car 26

Money is enough for everything but not to buy a house or apartment 10

We could afford to buy a house or apartment if we needed 4

24 Lao Youth

Table 7. Main activities of respondents’ parents

Main Activity Profile %

Working Father Mother

Agriculture, forestry and fishing 37 39

Construction 10 0

Retail and wholesale 8 21

Community and social services 2 0

Personal services 4 2

Government 19 7

Other 6 3

Not working

Home duties 0 23

Unemployed 5 3

Retired 2 0

Decease 7 2

Total 100 100


The profile findings show that the study has captured youth from a broad cross-section of different households, including those worse off and better off.

2. Youth situation

Education situation

Lao PDR follows a 5+4+3 system, or a 12-year curriculum, where the first five (5) years are considered primary, the following four (4) are lower secondary and the last three (3) are upper secondary.14 The Ministry of Education shares

its responsibilities for general education with the Provincial Education Service (PES) and the District Education Bureaus (DEB). Each PES is responsible for secondary level institutions and vocational institutions, while each DEB is in charge of pre-primary, primary and non-formal education institutions within its own area. While preschool education is offered in primary schools, it is not compulsory.

The Lao PDR Education Sector Development Framework (ESDF) 2009-15 proposed measures for better harmonisation of external assistance to the sector and a shared commitment to mobilising the necessary resources for reducing funding gaps. It was directed towards the implementation of universal primary education by 2015 and a gradual expansion of secondary education. Immediate priorities included expansion of classrooms nationwide, recruitment of additional qualified teachers, and ensuring that education officers are available to provide support services. The ESDF priority action focused on Lao PDR’s 47 poorest districts.15 It was also targeted towards improving the quality of curricula for grades 1 to 12, to bring it in line with international standards, with well-defined learning outcomes. The UNESCO Education System Profile of Lao PDR (n.d.) provides a good overview:

y Net enrolment rates in Lao primary schools rose from 80% in 2001 to 91.6% in 2009. It is important to note that while the number of schools increased, approximately 10% of all villages had no primary school within a reasonable commute.

14 Ibid.15 Ministry of Education (MoE) National Education System Reform Strategy 2006-15. (2008)

25Lao Youth

y Almost 57% of all primary schools, and an estimated 70% of primary schools in the poorest districts, did not offer the full five grades of primary education.

y Between 2005 and 2009, the net enrolment rate was 39% for boys and 33% for girls.

y The survival rate to grade 5 was 67% (2007) and the percentage of repeaters at primary level was 17%.

y Dropout rates were 13% in grade 1 and 7% in grade 2.16 At secondary level, the dropout rates were 14% for males and females in grade 6, and 15% for males and 12% for females in grade 9.

y Literacy rate of population above 15 years old reached 95%.

Past literature pointed to a number of challenges in keeping the youth in school.17 Results from this study showed that one in three (37%) youth are not currently studying. Results from interviews with employers and youth influencers highlighted the limited access to educational institutions. This means that there are a limited number of slots available to aspiring students. “…Many students could not continue their study.” (Male employer, handicraft business, Xienngeun Village). A lot of students are denied entry to universities and, as a result, “…many students were upset…” (Female employer, agriculture, Vientiane Capital).

On the other hand, the government’s move to close sub-standard private educational institu-

tions has brought some benefits. “The MoE has improved education system by eradicating private school institutions that did not meet the national education standard. This helped the Lao educa-tion to improve a lot.” (Female employer, agricul-tural industry, Vientiane Capital). For other lower education levels where private schools operate, most of them are still not accessible to the ma-jority of the poor population because “…school fee is expensive. It is hard for poor students to attend these schools” (Male employer, furniture and wooden products business, Chanthaboury District, Vientiane Capital).

Access to educational institutions is even more challenging for students from remote rural areas. Apart from the limited resources in schools, students have difficulty with transportation due to the lack of road infrastructure. A school teacher from Chanthaboury District enumerated their specific challenges as follows: lack of access roads to the school; lack of qualified teachers; lack of books, equipment, and materials for teaching; parents cannot pay for books and uniforms for their children; and lastly, the level of salary supplements for teachers is very low, which makes it difficult to attract teachers to work in remote areas or in more difficult settings.

Of the 63% of youth who are currently studying, current education levels of students are mostly in secondary school (69%) followed by primary school (14%).

16 Save the Children n.d.17 Lao Youth Union/UNFPA, 35.

26 Lao Youth

Figure 5. The youths’ current educational level

Base: All participants (n=1,200) Base: Currently studying (n=755)

Almost half (48%) of the youth currently studying aspired to complete a university degree (Figure 5). This was true across vulnerability segments (LESS: 49%, MORE: 43% and MOST: 53%) and shows that vulnerability does not appear to modify aspirations for higher education. Some 27% intended to complete secondary education, and 22% vocational education. However, within the MOST vulnerable segment, intention to complete vocational education was significantly lower at 12%. High technical colleges may be less popular or youth may not be aware of them, as only 1% of youth intended to graduate from such an institution.

Figure 6. Aspiration to complete higher education

Base: Currently studying (n=755)

Current Education Level

University

High technical college

Vocational Education

Secondary school

Primary school

6%

1%

11%

69%

14%

Not studying,37%

CurrentNot studying,

63%

Intended Completion Level

University



Secondary school

Primary school

1%

48%

27%

22%

0%

27Lao Youth

Not Currently Studying

Of the 37% of youth not currently studying, the majority (65%) stopped school during or after secondary level of education (Figure 7). The number of students who dropped out at the primary school level is relatively high, at 18%.

Further analysis of the 65% who dropped out in secondary level showed that 37% completed upper secondary level (or grades 5, 6 or 7) while 27% stopped after completing lower secondary level (or grades 1, 2, 3 or 4). According to the UNESCO Education System Profile of Lao PDR (n.d.) there are several challenges faced by Lao youth making them vulnerable to failure in completing their education.18

Figure 7. Highest education completed

Base: Not currently studying (n=447)

As supported by literature, the proportion that is not currently studying is significantly higher in the MOST vulnerable segment. The highest educational attainment among the dropouts was secondary level at 59% (41% lower secondary and 18% upper secondary) followed by primary level (30%).

The lack of personal resources and finances (e.g. school supplies, books, clothing, transportation cost for going to school), infrastructure (e.g. access roads) and support to pay for services (e.g. teachers’ salary) affect the motivation of students to complete schooling. The literature also supports this claim.19, 20 Further, the Adolescent and Youth Situation Analysis (AYSA) Report points out the gender divide in accessing education. “For girls, particularly those from ethnic minorities in rural and rural off-road settings, there is no opportunity to attend school beyond a primary education due to cultural resistance to sending girls away to school, and the perceived lack of benefit to their families and communities of further education.” 21

Survey data showed that half of those who stopped schooling have never been employed (51%) while the other half have, at one point in time, had a full time (36%) or part time (13%) job. This half of the productive proportion of youth was not able to keep their jobs as only 31% were found to be gainfully employed, either in full or part time work

18 Survival rate of primary school students, repetition and dropout rates still increased, in particular at primary school levels 1 and 2; Enrolment rates in lower and upper secondary education were far lower, despite significant expansion over the last decade; Shortage of primary and lower secondary teachers was observed due to limitations placed on the quota of new teachers that can be recruited each year, inefficient deployment, limitations of provincial allocations and teachers leaving the profession for reasons such as low salary and late payments of salary.

19 Lao Youth Union/UNFPA, 35-36.20 UNESCO, Education System Profiles.21 Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union (LYU)/ United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) (2014). Adolescent and Youth Situation Analysis Lao

PDR: “Investing in young people is investing in the future.

Highest Education Completed

University



Secondary school

Primary school

0%

4%

65%

12%

18%

28 Lao Youth

(21%) or through self-employment (10%). This means that two out of five youth who previously had work were currently unemployed.

A significant number of youth were found to be unemployed and actively looking for work (42%) while others were engaged in home duties or subsistence farming (13%). With a high number of youth looking for work, this can mean that there are insufficient jobs available to take them in or they have insufficient skills to fill in the available positions in the job market (Figure 8).

Employers and youth influencers interviewed per-ceived that high educational achievement does not guarantee landing a decent job. “A thousand students graduated from the National University of Laos but they do not get jobs while a few of the graduates had been recruited by the Lao govern-ment to work in Vientiane capital” (Male employer, handicraft business, Xienngeun Village).

Education is improving but the quality is low in comparison with other Asian countries. The government has been carrying out major reforms in recent years. For example, the government updated and adapted the Lao education system to be in line with most other countries. The number of school grades has been increased in high school from 11 to 12, and in the university system from five years to four years. Another improvement is the introduction of English into the curriculum. “The government has introduced English into the curriculum from the third grade of primary school to allow Lao children the chance to study the language” (Male university professor, Dongdok campus).

The view of having a low education quality was shared by all employers interviewed, including Thai employers, and is supported by the literature

Figure 8. Proportion of youth who have ever been employed and their current activities

Base: Not currently studying (n=447)

Current Main Activity

Unemployed looking for work

Working full time, part time,Seasonal or piecemeal work

Home duties

Subsistence farming

Self employed

21%

42%

13%

13%

10%

Ever Been Employed

51%36%

13%

Yes, full time 8 hourper day or moreYes, full time less than 8 hour per dayNo

29Lao Youth

that was reviewed for the study.22, 23, 24 While the education system has improved over the past few years in terms of net enrolment rates, the quality is still not on par with other Asian countries. Other employers mentioned that Lao education is good but that the implementation is not. Some of the reasons cited for the low quality are the low wages and low qualifications required for hiring teachers, limited teaching materials and teachers, courses that are not updated and non-integration of technology in the curriculum.

“The world today is influenced by technology, but technology is not applied in Lao education. Education facilities in Lao PDR are inadequate. There is lack of school building, teachers, instructional materials, and course were outdated.” (Male employer, paper factory, Bangkok).

“If I compare Lao education system with other Asian country, Lao has a good system; but we need to focus more on the quality of education, not just the quantity. We need to be strict in exams and crack down on the process of buying certificates as part of producing qualified graduates to compete with those in other ASEAN countries” (Female NGO worker, Chanthaboury District).

One youth leader also shared the accessibility of libraries in other countries compared to Lao PDR. “When I was a student in high school I visited Vietnam library. The library is equipped with millions of books available for researchers to support and learn by themselves. In Japan also, their library is open 24 hours for every group that is interested to access it” (Male youth leader, Saysettha District).

To counter this, schools conduct various activities to motivate students to continue with their education and see what they want to become in the future. Schools organise talks and conferences with alumni, successful working individuals, including “…Lao youth union, health and safety, technician school and NGO who come to explain the importance of occupation so students get more choice when they continue to study in university and vocational institutions” (Male school teacher, Chanthaboury District). They share the value of education and experiences at work, including those who are able to get scholarships abroad.

Hardship and Livelihood Challenges

Youth reported many challenges in life that they or their families faced (Figure 9). The most significant of these were unemployment (38%), smoking (27%) and no or limited access to basic education (25%).

22 World Bank, 50-52.23 VELA, 5.24 UNICEF (2009), 9-11.

30 Lao Youth

Figure 9. The challenges faced by youth

Base: Youth aged 14-24 (n=900)

For the MOST vulnerable segment, the main challenges were unemployment (49%), no or limited access to basic education (35%) and income not enough to buy food (32%). The World Bank Group25 stresses the importance of early childhood education on a person’s employment productivity later in life. The survey results demonstrated that dropping out was even more common if the youth had difficulty in accessing education. A lack of basic literacy, essential to learning more complex skills, is a barrier for young people finding employment and, therefore, an increased risk factor for poverty.

Insights from the qualitative interviews pointed to the youths’ concern that unemployment was a major issue, supporting the result of the survey. Local leaders were concerned about unemployment, which could lead youth to commit crimes (e.g. stealing, human trafficking) to raise

money. Drug addiction was also mentioned as an issue, not only in villages but throughout the country. Drug addiction was “… a reason for dropping out of school. Young males in the 15-19 year age group are most vulnerable to this, and the decision to drop-out may either be related to selling drugs to make money” (Male local leader, Sikhottabong District).

The unlimited access to information through the Internet was seen to be beneficial for youth development. Some argued that use of technologies like the Internet would for the most part be advantageous but could be damaging if youth were exposed to wrongdoings. “Lao youth today has opened their minds to technology; technology enables them to access information from the Internet…. Youth can find the information to develop their skill or use the Internet to do wrong things” (Male youth leader, Chanthaboury District). Another concern raised by one local leader is that the youth needs avenues for self-expression, and that there are ways to positively influence them. “Supporting positive interaction for young people through sports, music, dance etc, and open the opportunities young people have for self-expression” (Male local leader, Chanthaboury District).

Youth Values

To understand the underlying factors that motivate youth, it is essential to understand youth culture and the key values they hold. To determine what values were important among the youth, the National Cultural Model was used as a basis in designing specific questions.

UnemploymentSmoking

Limited access to basic educationIncome not enough to buy food

Crop failurePoor quality housing

Natural disasterSerious illness in the family

Unable to pay back debtFamily split up or divorce

Drug addictionLoss of land

Other

27%25%

38%

14%16%

20%

11%9%

5%3%2%2%

11%

25 Ibid.

31Lao Youth

National Cultural Model

The model of national culture referred from Professor Greet Hofstede26 consists of five dimensions.27 The cultural dimensions represent independent preferences for one state of affairs over another that distinguishes countries (rather than individuals) from each other. These five dimensions are characterised and explained in Figure 10 below.

26 “National Culture.” http://geert-hofstede.com/national-culture.html. 27 The original theory proposed by Hofstede included four dimensions (individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and

masculinity-femininity), which he used to analyse employee values by IBM between 1967 and 1973. He added later a fifth dimension, long-term orientation, to cover aspects not discussed in the original paradigm. In 2010, Hofstede added a sixth dimension, which is indulgence versus self-restraint.

28 Note: Normally four statements are used for each dimension but due to limited space in the questionnaire only two statements were used. Hence, the results should be viewed as indicative rather than absolute.

Figure 10. Five dimensions of the National Cultural Model

TimeOrientation

UncertaintyAvoidance

PowerDistance

Masculinity

Individualism

Long Term versus Short Term - The extent to which people show a pragmatic or future-oriented perspective rather than a normative or short-term point of view

High versus Low - The extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and try to avoid such situations

High versus Low - High: the dominant values in society are achievement and successLow: the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life

High versus Low - High: people only look after themselves and their immediate family Low: people belong to in-groups (families, organizations, etc.) who look after them in exchange for loyalty

High versus Low - The extent to which the less powerful members of society accept that power is distributed unequally

Using the model described above, two statements were formulated for each dimension consisting of two opposite statements, where respondents asked to determine which statement they agreed with more, and to what extent (Figure11)28. The questions asked were as follows:

32 Lao Youth

Figure 11. Statements in the National Cultural Model

TimeOrientation


PowerDistance

Masculinity

Individualism

SHORTTERM

• I prefer predictable information• I value stability

LONG TERM

• I can accept contradict information• I value constant change

LOW

• Society has very few rules I need to follow

• It is ok to show feelings in public sometimes

HIGH

• There are some rules and customs that all people must follow

• It is not good to express feelings in public

LOW

• A good quality of life is important for both men and women

• I have sympathy with those who lose and I feel jealous of winners

HIGH

• Men should be focused on material status and women must be concerned with the well being of the others

• I admire winners and don’t care about those who lose

LOW

• People in my community influence what I do

• I am concerned with what others think about me

HIGH

• I decide for myself what I want to do• I am concerned only with my own thinking

LOW

• Children should be taught to NOT take things for granted

• Children should be taught that their opinion is as important as their parents

HIGH

• Children should be taught to only accept the authority of older people

• Children should be taught to never question their parents authority

Results from the National Cultural Model showed that the values of Lao youth can be described as having a short-term orientation, high uncertainty avoidance and high power distance (see Figure 12.) In other words, Lao youth tend to hold a short-term view, feel threatened by uncertainty and many accept as fact that power in Lao society is not always distributed equally. Based on existing

benchmark results, the cultural values of Lao youth are quite similar to those of Thailand. The implications are straight forward. To some extent this explains why so many migrants from Lao PDR choose to migrate to Thailand. Not only is the language similar, but, culturally, the two countries are very close and workers may find it easier to fit into the work environment.

33Lao Youth

Figure 12. Youth values based on the National Cultural Model


Lao youth culture has been influenced by exposure to Thai media and Internet. The implication of these results are that Lao youth may be attracted to short term solutions and offers that do not leave anything to chance. Relatively few youth may be expected to follow an entrepreneurial career path, and secure employment would probably have a stronger appeal to them. Vocational training, which has been found to be associated with quicker employment prospects, may therefore be a good fit with current youth values.

Figure 13 below shows actual benchmarks from the National Cultural Model for Thailand and Germany and with a proxy comparison to this study for Lao PDR. It can be seen that Lao youth are very similar to Thailand but quite different to Germany with the exception of uncertainly avoidance. Germans score high on all dimensions except power distance whereas Lao youth score high only on uncertainty avoidance and power distance. Lao youth score a bit higher on masculinity and individualism compared to Thais. This would suggest that Lao youth may be a bit more concerned about looking after themselves and their future career.

TimeOrientation


PowerDistance

Masculinity

Individualism

49%40%

27%

61%

40%

35%

38%

50%

35%

55%

60%

65%

26%

45%

56%

42%

36%

50%

37%

31%

Short term Long term

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High

High

High

Low

Low

Low

34 Lao Youth

Figure 13. Benchmarks of the National Cultural Model of Lao PDR with Thailand and Germany

recommendations

Recommendations to Improve Education

Quality

There are many things the Lao government and society can do to improve education quality. Priority should be given to increasing the education budget and awarding more scholarships and incentives to students with potential. On the supply side, educational institutions should improve quality of education to better respond to market needs, ensuring that they are globally competitive. On the demand side, it is essential to communicate the value of obtaining higher education and training for employment opportunities in better paying skilled jobs. Moving youth from agricultural or low-skilled work to better paid jobs is essential for the country to achieve economic development. A number of suggestions were given by the informants as follows:

y Modify the education curriculum to become streamlined and more receptive to market needs. Curriculum should be designed to provide the skills needed by the market, like technical skills. It should build the capacity of Lao youth by introducing higher-level skills. Students can benefit from internship programmes where they can gain hands-on experience in working in real workplace settings. “If Laos want to improve quality of Lao youth, government and enterprises should have a cooperative system and send students to be trained in the real work place” (Female employer, garments industry, Bo Be, Thailand).

Value Dimension Lao Youth Thailand Germany

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High High High

Med Low High

Med Low High

High High Low

Time Orientation

Uncertainty Avoidance

Masculinity

Individualism

Power Distance

35Lao Youth

y Design educational modules to develop specialised agricultural skills. The need for greater agricultural expertise was highlighted in a World Bank Group report29, which recommends the improvement of agricultural productivity as one of the three key programme areas that Laos needs to achieve in order to achieve broad-based growth and poverty reduction.

y Improve the quality of teaching. This will require improving the certification method for teaching, increasing teacher benefits to motivate them to teach in hard-to-reach rural areas and modernising teaching in-struction through integration of technology. “Efforts could be channelled into modernis-ing the pre-service and in-service teacher training curricu

study on the expectations and aspirations of the lao youth · youth awareness of aec integration...

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