Major Education Policy Thrusts

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to provide the reader with a basic understanding not only of current education policy (2017/2018) but also of its origins, the political directions that guide education policy, how and why it is changing, and how it is likely to change in the near future. Each section begins with a brief overview of the situation leading up to the beginning of the twenty-first century and continuing up to the present. A brief “long history” of education in Laos is provided in Chap. 1, Sect. 1.3. More detailed discussions are to be found in the respective subsector chapters and in Chap. 9 for crosscutting issues.

Annexes

2.1.1 Annex 1: ESDP (2016–2020) Performance Indicators

Table 2.4 Selected key performance indicators, ESDP 2016–2020

2.1.2 Annex 2: Notes on the 7th Five-Year Plan, Four Breakthroughs, and Three Builds

Notes to the Reader

In a concrete and literal sense, the Lao word boukthalu means “breakthrough,” as when a tree falls and breaks through a roof. Sometimes it is translated as “the four dynamics” or “the four priority areas,” but that obscures the level of urgency the Party is trying to communicate. Nevertheless, although “dynamic” is not an accurate translation of the word boukthalu, it does express the spirit of the 9th Party Congress and the 7th Five-Year Plan, NSEDP7 (MPI 2011). The Four Breakthroughs are described in NSEDP7 as “the four dynamic objectives.” The plan is intended to be flexible and dynamic, based on the actual situation at the time, and it is assigned high priority by the Party and the government.

In a figurative sense, the word boukthalu has an honorable history in the political context: it was used by Prime Minister Kayson to describe the renovation and the introduction of the New Economic Mechanism (NEM) in 1986. In the present public discussion, this reference to Kayson’s “breakthrough approach” with the introduction of the NEM has appeared several times in the public media. It appears that today, as in 1986, the sense within the Party is of an urgent need to break away from entrenched but ineffective ways of thinking and acting. It is more urgent than a simple priority, and it points to essential and significant changes in direction.

The Lao word sang has a range of meanings. It can mean “build” in a literal sense, as in “build a house”; it can mean “strengthen,” as in “body building”; or it can mean “develop,” as in “capacity building.” Taken together, the Four Breakthroughs point the direction, and the Three Builds allocate responsibility, as discussed below.

The 7th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015)

NSEDP7 places a stronger focus on human resource development than previous 5-year plans. Some excerpts from NSEDP7 (Sect. 2.2.1, Education and Human Resource Development) are given below (MPI 2011, pp. 110–111):

Educational development in this plan assumes high priority. Effort will be made to expand opportunities for accessing quality education continuously. Educational policies must be implemented with a clear vision to develop all levels of education, in close conjunction with national defense and social security (sic). It is important to build up human resources to serve the people, and bring about gradual modernization and industrialization in the country, closer to international standards. There is a need to continue with reforms in the national education system, uplifting its quality and widening access to opportunities for the people at large—in particular, ethnic groups, women and those deprived of opportunities by developing curricula, providing teaching and learning materials and providing training to teachers and other staff to increase children’s access to school and to promote gender equity in education (to achieve MDG goals no. 2 and 3) and also to ensure a balance in education between three areas: physical education, intellectual education, and behavioral education (for character building).

… Various skills must be developed among the people in accordance with actual demand in each field of work, to improve them as professional workers: technicians, engineers, management staff, supporting staff, etc. The purpose is to build Lao people’s skills at different levels so that they are qualified and skilled and have a healthy mind, and so that they can contribute to national development process.

Boukthalu: The Four Breakthroughs

At the 9th Party Congress (March 17–21, 2011), it was noted that the Party would insist on continuing the policy of innovation to exit the status of Least Developed Countries (LDC) by 2020 and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.¹³ Laos needed to change from a natural resource-based economy to a more commodity-based economy. A major theme at the Congress was the need for swift action in order to halve poverty and provide UPE by 2015.

To achieve the NSEDP7 targets, the Party and Government have introduced four “breakthrough” goals:

• 1. Breakthrough in thinking, to release and renew the unchanged, conservative mind, old stereotypes, recklessness, unfairness, dogmatism, and complacency

• 2. Breakthrough in human resource development in all areas, especially in development and building capacity of civil servants in various areas, according to the real situation

• 3. Breakthrough in solving the governance and management systems that are hindering commercial production and service delivery

• 4. Breakthrough in poverty eradication by seeking the source of funds and special promotion policy and creating social and economic infrastructure by setting priority on holistic development

These four breakthrough goals must be implemented together, not only one or two. The “Breakthrough Plan” is intended to be flexible and dynamic, based on the actual situation at the time, to ensure achievement of the planned objectives. Taken together the Four Breakthroughs and the Three Builds serve as major policy guides for the coming years.

Sam Sang: The Three Builds

To enhance the Four Breakthroughs, the Party adopted several innovative policy guidelines, including the Three Builds (Sam Sang). To achieve the aims of NSEDP7, closer coordination is needed between central and local administrative bodies. In important decision-making, consideration needs to be given to the roles and responsibilities of all levels. The Three Builds directive is part of the Politburo’s policy of devolution of responsibility to local authorities. Under the Sam Sang policy, Government will (a) build the provinces as strategic units, (b) strengthen the capacity of the districts in all regards and (c) build villages into development units, in some cases through merging villages into clusters (khumban ). Sam Sang is “a revolution for the new era,” to promote more active administration at the grassroots level and to drive development into a positive new phase.

Implementation focuses on management of delivery and the handling of responsibility between the administrations at central, provincial, district, and village levels. Implementation requires officials at central and provincial levels to coordinate with one another more closely. They must acknowledge in what areas provincial administrations and the local authorities are lacking and what responsibility each should undertake to rectify these shortcomings through capacity building.

According to Party guidelines, ministries and government agencies at the central level must focus mainly on management at the macro level, while agencies at the local level are responsible for the implementation of projects, specifically in relation to governance and socioeconomic management in accordance with Lao law.

The Four Breakthroughs, the Three Builds, and the Party Line

Following the decentralization that began in 1997/1998, the Ministry of Education (MOE) (now Ministry of Education and Sports, MOES) had limited direct control over the education sector expenditure, because the provinces had considerable discretion in budget planning and management. Although considerable progress was made in the education sector, as in other sectors, realization of the ambitious aims of the 9th Party Congress and the 7th Plan require a thrust in capacity development at all levels. The Four Breakthroughs, together with the Three Builds, represent such a thrust. It should be noted here that budget requests and budget allocations involve a “bottom-up-top-down” process, so that both local needs and central policy can be taken into account in the allocation process. Thus the Four Breakthroughs and the Three Builds represent a strengthening of the Party line from central level down to grassroots level, within the spirit of democratic centralism.

 Abbreviations Used in References

CPI: Committee for Planning and Investment

GOL: Government of Lao PDR

IEDWG: Informal Education Donor Working Group

MOE: Ministry of Education

MOES: Ministry of Education and Sports

MPI: Ministry of Planning and Investment

NA: National Assembly

RIES: Research Institute for the Education Sciences

UNDP: United Nations Development Program