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How to support education in Laos

		Promoting education is an initial step to further development of the Lao PDR. The education system in Laos is still weak and insufficient. Limited resources and skills are barriers that hinder agencies to meet the demand of a fast growing youth population. Every year schools are only capable of accommodating a limited numbers of students. National University of Laos (NUOL), the only university of Laos, is only capable of accommodating about 5000 students while others have to seek enrollment in more expensive private colleges.
		The NUOL is still the only university in Laos PDR that offers a bachelor degree. It is comprised of different faculty scattered throughout the city of Vientiane including the Faculties of Agriculture, Architecture, Economic, Education, Engineering, Forestry, Law, Letters, sciences, social sciences, Foundation studies, and Medical sciences. Students from all part of Laos who want to attend university must move to Vientiane. While some provinces have post-secondary institutions for teacher training or vocational skills they do not award bachelor degrees. There is a great need for the development of institutes of higher education throughout Laos. Recently, another university was established in Champasack, a southern province, however to finish a bachelors degree students must transfer to NUOL in Vientiane.
		Needless to say in lower education institutions, from Kindergarten to senior secondary school, public schools still accommodate a huge numbers of students in one class. Some public schools even have to divide the students into morning and afternoon sessions, putting more demands on the limited number of trained teachers. Furthermore, rural areas usually lack resources and manpower that are committed to education. Schoolteachers and students have few incentives to go to school. Today, there are many organizations working to promote education in Laos. This includes supporting human resources, providing resources, and training teachers. Many NGOs also work to promote education in Laos both in urban and rural areas. This support also includes scholarship for students to study abroad such as the Fulbright, Humphrey, AusAID, JICE, and ADB scholarship programs. Agencies and individuals are welcome and encouraged to support education for Laos through the following methods: Volunteer in any state or public educational institutions to teach English or technical skills. You can directly contact the institutions you are interested in working with or contact Susan Hammond at shammond@ffrd.org for suggestions. Coordinate directly with the Ministry of Education, Department of International relations, to donate resources, funds, or provide scholarships for students to study in different fields domestically or abroad. Donate to designated areas through USLAOSNC or one of the NGOs supporting education in Laos. Support directly one of the educational institutions to conduct a project.