Education system overview
The formal education system consists of general education, vocational and technical
education, and higher education. General education includes preschool (childcare for
children up to 2 years old and kindergarten for children aged 3–5) and 12 years of
primary and secondary education combined – divided into primary (five years of
schooling for children aged 6–10), lower secondary (four years for children aged 11–14)
and upper secondary (three years for children aged 15–17).
Basic education is defined as primary and lower secondary school, and comprises nine
years of education. Due to lack of infrastructure and an inadequate pool of qualified
preschool teachers, many primary schools include a pre-primary class to prepare young
entrants for Grade 1. Primary education is compulsory and free by statute.9
Vocational education programmes are available for students completing Grade 9 or
Grade 12 and typically offer up to three years of study. This includes training for
preschool through lower-secondary-school teachers, for which there are several paths.
To become a preschool teacher, completion of upper-secondary school plus one year of
teacher training is required. All teacher training institutes are under the authority of the
Ministry of Education. Only one teacher training institute, located in Vientiane, provides
preschool training.
To become a primary-school teacher, there are two main options: a three-year teacher
training programme upon completion of lower-secondary school, or a one-year training
programme upon completion of upper-secondary school.10 Training is available at seven
teacher training institutes located across the country.
Higher education is available for students completing upper-secondary school; courses of
study range from four to seven years depending on the subject. For upper-secondary
teachers, the course of study is four years. Private education has an increasingly
important role in the education system, particularly at the secondary and tertiary levels
and in urban areas. But there is no private teacher training degree programme available.
A non-formal education system provides literacy and continuing education for out-ofschool
children and adults as well as vocational training for adolescents and adults.
Management and administration: The education administrative structure consists of
three levels: the central Ministry of Education, a provincial education service for each of
the 17 provinces, and a district education bureau for each of the 143 districts. The district
bureaus have direct responsibility for primary schools, whereas provincial education