Prime Minister Thongloun Joins in Celebration of National Teacher’s Day

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Over 1,000 teachers in Vientiane Capital celebrated the 22nd anniversary of National Teacher’s Day on October 7 at the National Culture Hall.

The celebration was held last Friday in the presence of Prime Minister Mr. Thongloun Sisoulith and relevant officials.

At the ceremony, Minister of Education and Sports, Ms Sengdeuan Lachanthaboun highlighted the achievements made in educational development over the past years.

The Ministry of Education and Sports improved its curriculum and added another year in general education, increasing from 11 to 12 study years, according to Ms Sengdeuan.

The enrollment rate of pre-school children aged 3-5 years is currently 49% or 10% greater than the number planned.  The enrollment rate of primary school children is 98.5%, lower secondary school has stood at 82.2% and the upper secondary school is 47.8%, surpassing the goal of 43%. The enrolment rate for general education has increased slightly.

“The ministry also announced in 2015 the nationwide achievement of the Primary Education Equivalence Programme and successfully implemented its Secondary Education Equivalence Programme in 45 districts with Xayaboury Province announced as the first to have declared its achievement.  The following year of both Xiengkhouang and Vientiane Capital announced their achievements,” she said.

Although the enrollment rate for children aged 3-5 beat expectations, when compared to neighboring countries in the region and internationally, we still need to do better, Ms Sengdeuan added.

Education has been continuously expanded and developed, however some rural and remote areas are still lacking in educational opportunities, especially in pre-education and vocational education, she went on.

The Ministry of Education and Sports has set a vision for 2030 to provide all Lao people with equal access to quality education.  If we can achieve our vision, our human resources will be able to compete in regional and international labour markets.

The Lao government has set the ambitious plan to declare the education level of the Lao population to be at the lower secondary school level by 2025 and at the upper secondary school level by 2030, according to Ms Sengdeuan.

The strategy of education and sports development by 2025 focuses on general education, improving the quality of teachers, and further developing labour, physical education, and administration.

At the ceremony, Prime Minister Thongloun asked teachers to work harder to transfer knowledge to students based on the standard of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Mr. Thongloun said that the government has always prioritized educational development and its importance.  It has also taken advantage of domestic and foreign investors in the education sector and mobilized funds for education from ASEAN and non-ASEAN countries to develop its human resources.

Mr. Thonglound highlighted the history of Mr. Kham who graduated from a pedagogical school, was recognized as the first Lao teacher, and was the inspiration for National Teacher’s Day.

 

Source: Vientiane Times