PART II. NATIONAL EDUCATION
2.1. EDUCATION SYSTEM IN LAO PDR:
The formal education system of LaoPDR comprised pre school education 3 years; primary education 5 years; lower secondary education 3 years (will be change to 4 years in 2009); upper secondary education 3 years; bachelor degree 5 years; master degree 2 years and 3 years for doctorate degree.
The main policy of educational development of Lao government from 2000 to 2020 focus on the
following priorities:
Universalization of basic education at primary level and continued expansion of participation
at lower secondary level, ensuring that all people have the opportunity to apply their education
to serve the socio-economic program;
Eradication of illiteracy, thus providing poor people with a means of helping to improve their
quality of life;
Expansion of vocational, technical, and higher education to meet the demand of the new labor
market and improve economic rate of return on human capital investment;
Training skilled workers, technicians, professionals, and intellectuals to have the capacity
to apply modern science and technology to serve the needs of socio-economic development;
Gradual improvement of the quality of the national education to international standards;
Establishment of education as a core of the human resource development and the planning and
management of appropriate invest in education; and
Establishment of education as a right and responsibility of all people in the society.