Education ministry addresses low standards in primary schools

The Ministry of Education and Sports is holding its annual education administration meeting this week, with discussions centering on poor student performance at the primary and lower secondary school levels. 
Currently there are a large number of students at these levels who are unable to pass their exams, which affects their progress in the education system and may even end it altogether. Many primary school children get low scores in Lao language and maths, and this weakness holds them back in secondary school.

Another common problem is that children at these levels are not motivated to study and show little interest in their lessons. 
The education meeting is taking place from February 6-7 and is attended by the Minister of Education and Sports Mrs Sengdeuane Lachanthaboun, deputy ministers, senior ministry officials and representatives of provincial education and sports departments.
Education officials are concerned about the low standards at many primary schools because early education is the foundation for progress and success in later life.
The minister asked each province to pay more attention to education, adding that provincial authorities would try to provide a larger budget for districts where the standard of education was low. She said district education authorities would also provide more support for schools where students were underachieving.
Meeting participants provided comments on the reasons for poor student performance and suggested possible solutions.  
Mrs Sengdouane said the ministry would work to resolve problems around budget allocation and tackle the issue of poor quality teachers. The ministry acknowledges the challenges and will address the situation in the long and short term.
The Ministry of Education and Sports is currently drawing up a five-year development plan for 2021 to 2025 and reviewing the progress made under the current plan for 2016 to 2020. Previous meetings have also addressed the matter of poor student performance in primary schools and in July last year ministry officials took on the task of improving local education infrastructure.

By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
(Latest Update February 7, 2020)