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7Xvirkxlirmrk ,Mkliv )Hygexmsr Erh 6Iwievgl Mr 7XVIRKXLIRMRK,MKLIV)HYGEXMSR ERH6IWIEVGLMR0ESW =ZIW&SYVHIX SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AGENCY Department for Research Cooperation, SAREC Contents Executive summary ....................................................................................... 3 1. Introduction............................................................................................ 4 2. Higher Education and Research: Lagging Behind....................................... 5 3. Government Strategy and Policy .............................................................. 7 4. The National University of Laos and Beyond ........................................... 10 5. Structural and Institutional Constraints ................................................... 15 6. Strengthening Higher Education and Research ........................................ 18 References ................................................................................................. 21 Tables and figures ....................................................................................... 23 List of persons interviewed .......................................................................... 27 Appendix A: Terms of reference ................................................................... 28 STRENGTHENING HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN LAOS 1 Strengthening higher education and research in Laos Author: Yves Bourdet, Department of Economics, University of Lund, Sweden The views and interpretations expressed in this report are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida. Commissioned by Sida, Department for Research Cooperation, SAREC Copyright: Sida and the author Registration number: 2000-003080 Date of Final Report: April 2001 Printed in Stockholm, Sweden 2001 2 STRENGTHENING HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN LAOS Executive summary This report presents a descriptive and analytical overview of the development and structure of the higher education and research system in Laos. In doing so it also examines the various structural and institutional constraints faced by the development of higher education and research, and explores how Swedish assistance can contribute to relaxing these constraints and strengthening research potential and activities in the country. The achievements of Laos in terms of higher education and research are poor in a regional perspective. Some progress can, however, be noticed following the regrouping of various institutions of higher education into a single structure, the National University of Laos (NUOL) in 1995. The critical shortage of qualified staff and the weak academic qualifica- tions of the teaching staff are the main constraints faced by the development of research activities at NUOL. Other contributory factors are the fragmentation of teaching and research activities, the lack of adequate financial and technical resources, and an incentive structure that alas does not encourage research activities. Swedish assistance can mitigate these constraints by focusing on capacity-building projects related to ongoing assistance projects, like Sida support to teacher education, but also by initiating and monitoring long- term co-operation between Swedish universities (and faculties) and selected faculties at NUOL. STRENGTHENING HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN LAOS 3 1. Introduction* The opening up of the Lao economy in the late 1980s and eventually the acceleration of economic growth, concentrated in the sectors of industry and services, have unveiled serious shortages of skilled labour in Laos. The Lao government launched a reform of higher education in the mid-1990s in order to improve the skill levels of the population and to better match the skill-mix demanded on the labour market. Sustained economic develop- ment in Laos is greatly dependent upon the development of higher education and a signifi- cant expansion of the number of tertiary educated in Laos. But long-term development also requires the building up of research capacity in the country because this is necessary to better absorb new technologies, to increase labour productivity and to secure a steady growth of real wages. The purpose of this report is threefold. The first purpose is to provide an insight into the policy of the Lao government regarding higher education and research and to describe the current structure of higher education and research with particular emphasis on the National University of Laos. The second purpose is to examine the various structural and institutional constraints faced by the development of higher education and research in Laos. The third purpose is to explore how Swedish assistance can strengthen higher education and research in the country. * Thanks are due to Sara Monaco and Inga Persson for valuable comments on a preliminary version of this report and to all the officials at NUOL and the Ministry of Education who devoted time to informing me about higher education and research in Laos. Thanks are also due to South Kongvongsa for valuable assistance during my stay in Vientiane. 4 STRENGTHENING HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN LAOS 2. Higher Education and Research: Lagging Behind Laos is poorly and geographically unevenly endowed with tertiary educated people. Accord- ing to the 1995 Population Census only two percent of the population (6 years and above) had a higher education (not always completed). This is illustrated in Table A1. There is a gender bias with the percentage of higher educated being somewhat higher for males than for females. The situation varies enormously across space with less than one percent of the population having a higher education in the northern provinces and more than seven per- cent in Vientiane Municipality (see Table A2).1 The distribution of individuals with higher educational attainments across the country mirrors the very poor achievement of some provinces in terms of literacy and primary education attainment. One historic reason for the very small proportion of the population equipped with higher education is the departure of many educated from Laos following the change of political regime in 1975. Another reason is the low priority given to higher education by the Lao government after 1975. The small share of the Lao population with higher education reflects the relatively limited number of students attending institutes of higher education in the country. This is best illustrated by comparing Laos with neighbouring countries (Table A3). The number of students enrolled in tertiary education is significantly lower in Laos than in neighbouring countries, with the exception of Cambodia. The number of students enrolled in higher education (per 100,000 inhabitants) is less than half that for Vietnam, which has a similar level of income per capita. Gross enrolment ratios provide further evidence of the poor achievements of Laos (Table A3) in a regional perspective. These are still poorer if one takes into account the fact that no less than 59 percent of the Lao students belong to the first stage of tertiary education not leading to a first university degree (see Table A3). In Laos the first level of tertiary education (ISCED 5 in Table A3) corresponds to the School of Foundation Studies, which is a form of remedial training whose main purpose is to bring students up to the minimum entry standards for higher education. Also note, in the case of Laos, the absence of students belonging to ISCED 7, which is the educational level that opens the door to advanced academic research. Another striking difference between Laos and neighbouring countries concerns the distribu- tion of students by field of study. Higher education systems in the world tend to converge towards the same distribution: one third studying in the science fields (natural sciences, engineering and medical sciences) and two thirds in education, arts, social sciences and law.2 Laos differs substantially from this common pattern with half of the students enrolled in the science fields (Table A4). Note, however, that some neighbouring countries such as Singapore and the Philippines show similar patterns. Another difference, worth noting, between Laos and neighbouring countries concerns the relatively small percentage of students in humani- ties, law and social sciences (20 percent all together). The reason for the pattern observed in Laos is not that clear, but it probably reflects the priorities of the government and the fact that the legal and regulatory system is rather underdeveloped in Laos. 1 For more detailed information at the district level, see Sisouphanthong and Taillard (2000), p. 66. 2 See e.g. UNESCO (2000), pp. 7172. STRENGTHENING HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN LAOS 5 The limited number of students in tertiary education reflects the meagre resources devoted to the educational sector and the preferences of the Lao government. Public expenditure on education accounted for 2.5 percent of GNP and some 10 percent of government expendi- ture in 1996. This was significantly less than in the great majority of neighbouring countries (see Table A5). The Asian crisis and changed government preferences (lower priority given to the education sector) led to a significant contraction of the resources devoted to education in the late 1990s, with public expenditure on education dropping to less than 2 percent of GNP and 8-9 percent of government expenditure. A look at the distribution of spending across levels of education reveals that Laos devotes but a minor share of
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