Primary Education
The Laotian government has universal education in mind for all its citizens, and has embarked on a national program for building primary schools where pupils learn for 6 years. The quality of the facilities (and of the teachers too) may still leave much to be desired in certain rural areas though, which is encouraging the continuance of a two-tier society.
Secondary Education
Cultural and language minorities are under-represented at secondary schools, as are girls too. This is perpetuating a self-fulfilling prophesy of structural discrimination. The secondary education program comprises two periods of 3 years each, with an additional year added in 2010. Generally speaking, only students going on to tertiary education complete the second phase.