Open and Distance Education in Lao PDR

Systematic distance education in the Lao PDR has not yet been institutionalized, in spite of a geographically scattered rural population that cannot be reached efficiently by formal education.  However, the Ministry of Education has tested a limited number of educational newspaper, radio and television program by the Information Unit.

1. Distance Basic Education
The Department of Non-formal Education, Ministry of Education, in cooperation with UNESCO, as a part of ‘Global Action Program on Education for All’ has initiated the project of distance basic education in support of rural development in central Lao PDR. This project is based upon experience gained with the Norwegian funded ‘Women’s Literacy and Basic Skills Training’. It results from a previous feasibility study carried out in the overall framework of technical support services (TSS-1).

UNESCO, support from UNDP, which conducted this study on "Non-formal Distance Education in Support of Sustainable Rural Development in the Central Region of the Lao PDR". After presentation the study’s positive results to the Committee for Planning and Cooperation, UNESCO was requested to establish the present project.

2. Objectives

1. To build/or to improve capacities of provincial staff to develop and manage distance basic education media.

2. To develop high quality learning materials and programs and to test them in a limited geographic area.

3. To deliver full- scale non-formal basic education at a distance in three provinces. The target group will be young women in the 15-35 year range with some literacy skills, other interested family members, and ethnic minorities.

The project started in January 1997, and has developed a multi-channel learning system to deliver non-formal basic education. This involves the combination of several learning channel mainly radio, printed materials, audiocassettes and "traveling facilitators".

The target group is primarily young families in the rural part of the central region of Laos, with a broad area of 10 districts; 105 villages; 60,000 families; and 220,000 persons with 110,000 women.

3. Expected Output

The expected major achievements of the project will be as follows:

1. Establish an alternative mode of delivering basic education. As a result, there will be greater access to basic non-formal education and better understanding of rural development means and objectives. The distance education provided will primarily target young people, belonging to disadvantaged groups, such as women, ethnic minorities and people living in remote areas.

2. Capacity building. Competency and skills in delivery and administration of distance and non-formal education will be improved.

3. Provide a regional non-formal education center with equipment and skilled staff. This centre will function as a resource centre facilitating the implementation of distance education to other areas of the Lao PDR.

4. Program

1. Radio: The broadcasting-time is based on the needs of the learners   hat:
   1. In the morning from 7:30 to 8:00 of Monday to Friday each week. One facilitator helps each group of learners.
   2. At the same time on Saturday/Sunday each week, the organizers provide additional information on the importance of the Distance Basic Education Project to the village leaders, the parents and the learners themselves.
2. Cassettes: Radio-cassettes are prepared in the station, then sent to the learners, as the same programs of the broadcasting-radio, so that the learners call learn additionally as they want according to their work commitments.
3. Other Printing Materials:
   1. Newspaper "Ban-hao" means "our village" has been printed and disseminated monthly to each group of learners (1,500 copies).
   2. Posters, flip charts, additional reading booklets, have been printed/disseminated quarter-yearly to the learners with the amount of 300 copies per each learner.

5. Accreditation

The Non-Formal Education Department has elaborated the definition of "Literacy level" as those who can be provided with understanding both reading and writing a short simple statement on his/her daily life and can calculate using the four operations: adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing at several level.

6. Problems/Difficulties

1. Lack of qualified personnel for the project management.

2. At the beginning the project determined literacy level.

3. Under qualified technical staff for all implementing activities.

4. Weak coordination among the central and local level.

5. Low participation from the villagers.