DATE: 16/10/2017

QUESTIONS:

- Who was the colonizer of Laos?

- When and how did Laos became an independent country?

SUMMARY:

- In 1893, the French started colonizing countries in eastern Indochina. Laos was transferred from

Siamese to become a part of French Indochina by the treaty Siam made with France.

- Following from that, Laos was renamed as French Protectorate of Laos.

- In 1954, Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy. Civil war occurred between

royalists and the communist group, the Pathet Lao (Land of the Laos).

- Eventually, the royalists fled from Laos allowing the Pathet Lao to take over, and the Lao

People's Democratic Republic was founded on 2 December 1975.

ANALYSIS AND OPINION:

- Ive heard a few time that some parts of Laos once belonged to Siam, and King Rama V gave

some of the lands to France to keep most parts of our country under our control. It was also one

of the important events in Thai history. Most people say that we are very lucky that we had a lot of

great kings who can prevent Thailand from being colonized by the other colonial countries.

REFERENCES:

- Brief History of Laos. (2008, November 11). Retrieved October 16, 2017 from

http://www.na.gov.la/appf17/lao_history.html

- History of Laos - Lonely Planet Travel Information. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2017 from

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/laos/history#234881
DATE: 18/10/2017

QUESTIONS:

- What were the main events in Laos history?

SUMMARY:

- In 1941, the French fought with the Thais for Laotian territories. The Japanese forced an

agreement to stop fighting and parts of Laos were given to Thailand.

- In 1945, the bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought WWII to an end. During that time, the

Japanese forced King Sisavang Vong to declare Laos independence.

- After that, Prince Phesarath, the cousin of the king, headed a government called Lao Issara (Free

Laos), and became a prime minister of Laos. For the first time since the early 18th century, the

country was unified.

- However, in 1946, the French invaded Laos and were in control of the country again.

- Finally, in 1954, Laos gained full independence as a constitutional monarchy. Civil war occurred

between royalists and the communist group, the Pathet Laos (Land of the Laos).

- Eventually, the royalists fled from Laos allowing the Pathet Lao to take over, and the Laos

People's Democratic Republic was founded on 2 December 1975.

ANALYSIS AND OPINION:

- It seems that Laos had been through a lot of hard times before they eventually became an

independence country. However, even after they already gained freedom back, there were still

fights and civil wars between the Laotians. It must be very difficult for them to accept the events

that happened in the past. Nevertheless, there might also be some beneficial results from those

situations. For example, some of the French system, which could help improve the life conditions

of the people, were applied to Laos.

REFERENCES:

- Laos profile - timeline. (2017, June 14). Retrieved October 18, 2017 from

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15355605

- Lambert, T. (2007, August 30). A Brief History of Laos. Retrieved October 18, 2017 from

http://www.localhistories.org/laos.html
DATE: 28/10/2017

QUESTIONS:

- What was the basic information we need to know about Laos education?

SUMMARY:

- Education in Laos went through a lot of evolutions, from Buddhist teachings in the temple to the

period after Laos gained its independence from France.

- There are some policies from both Laos government and other international organizations trying

to help reduce the problems in Laos education.

ANALYSIS AND OPINION:

- Even though, Laos education had went through numbers of modification, there are still problems

that are needed to be solved. Not only the government who thinks the issues should be taken

care of, but also some international associations that consider the necessity of figuring the

solutions out. The problems might not be easily fixed without the help from every party involved.

REFERENCES:

- Walthouse, E. (2014, July 31). Evolution of Education in Laos. Retrieved October 28, 2017 from

http://www.borgenmagazine.com/evolution-education-laos/

- Education | Laos | Save the Children. (2013, December 18). Retrieved October 28, 2017 from

https://laos.savethechildren.net/what-we-do/education

DATE: 3/11/2017

QUESTIONS:

- How was the education in Laos at first?

- What was the problem they face?

SUMMARY:

- At first, the education in Laos was for boys only. Laos boys had to go to temple and learn the

Buddhist teaching. The temples were the only places where Lao boys could gain knowledge was

because it had a written language. There were no other groups with formal script that could be
 used for the teaching. Lao boys studied reading, writing, arithmetic and sciences, along with the

practices of Buddhism.

- When France colonized Laos in the time of imperialism, Laos adopted the education system used

in France. However, it wasnt a successful action. Most of the Lao people wasnt fond with the

system. The French system was developed for the higher class of the society but the population

of Laos was made up of the lower class, and it is still are. So only the higher class could afford

the education while the poor were still in poverty and there was no way for them to escape it.

- In 1954, power was transferred from the French rulers to the Royal Lao Government. Two

different education systems were implemented in the areas controlled by the Pathet Lao and the

RLG following the Laotian Civil War.

- To unify the country, the Pathet Lao made serious efforts to establish Lao as the national

language by starting to teach Lao in school. The gap between primary and secondary education

is still large as the inconsistency of Lao vs. French schooling resulted in enormous dropout rates.

ANALYSIS AND OPINION:

- Education issues found in Laos can be related to both the gender inequality and the poverty

issues. Each issue affects and influences one another. The cycle of these issue will continue

repeating over and over, unless the government and the local communities of Laos, along with

the international organizations collaborate together to find a solution to the problems.

- A system that is successful in a place might not also be successful in another place. It depends

on many factors such as the people, the resources, and the geography of that particular location.

REFERENCES:

- Walthouse E. (2014, July 31). Evolution of Education in Laos. Retrieved November 3, 2017 from

http://www.borgenmagazine.com/evolution-education-laos/

DATE: 16/11/2017

QUESTIONS:

- What has Lao done to solve the problem?

- What were the effects of those solutions?

SUMMARY:

- In 2009, the Ministry of Education and Sports collaborated with Save the Children, an

international organization, to create programs that will help reaching the MDG goal. The projects

are called School Quality Improvement (SQIP) and Early Learning in Primary School (ELPS). The

aim for the projects is to increase the chance that the children in the poorest areas of Laos will

get to the basic education they need.

- The projects help expand the opportunity of the children in rural areas to gain access to pre-

primary schools by working with the local communities to build more schools and train teachers to

educate the children. Due to the SQIP and the ELPS projects, about 2270 children in Laos got to

study in pre-primary school and nearly 3000 children continue to attend primary school.

- With a goal to accomplish from the UNICEF, the Ministry of Education and Sports implemented

the School of Quality plan to improve access and quality in the countrys education. The plan

focus on creating an appropriate environment for the students learning. One of the most effective

methods that was already applied on some of the schools is the School Feeding Project. The

students who received snack from the schools claimed that the snacks they got help motivate

them to go to school because they made them healthier. In addition, students who werent

allowed to school are also sent to school by their parents due to the availability of snacks from

School Feeding Project.

ANALYSIS AND OPINION:

- The programs and the projects that Laos government and the other agencies had done to try to

solve the problems seemed to work pretty well. There might be some more methods and

solutions that can be applied to help speed up the process. It might not be easy to accomplish the

goal in a short time, but with the help from everyone, Laos would be able to reach their goal soon.

REFERENCES:

- Education | Laos | Save the Children. (2013, December 18). Retrieved November 16, 2017 from

https://laos.savethechildren.net/what-we-do/education
 - Zeck, J. (2016). Education in Laos (Part I) The beginning of a formalized school system.

Retrieved November 16, 2017 from http://www.thelaosexperience.com/2016/06/11/education-in-

laos-part-i-the-beginning-of-a-formalized-school-system/

- Schools of Quality in Lao PDR: an Evaluation 2009. (2009). Retrieved November 23, 2017 from

https://www.unicef.org/eapro/Evaluation_of_SOQ_in_Lao_PDR_December2009_small_size.pdf

DATE: 23/11/2017

QUESTIONS:

- Which city has the worst education in Laos?

SUMMARY:

- The city with the worst education in Laos is the Saravane province. The percent of total schools in

the Saravane city is 9.35%, comparing with the other provinces with at least about 12% to 48%,

making it the province with the least percentage of total schools. It is one of the overpopulated

areas of Laos, but that isnt the only reason why its education is the poorest. There are also

problems with the minority groups of people living in the high mountains, difficulty of

transportation due to the geographic features of the province, the insufficiency of materials and

personnels from the lack of funding which is one of the results from the problem of poverty.

ANALYSIS AND OPINION:

- I think the problems in Saravane education system should be solved one by one, from the

smallest part to the bigger parts. If we look at each problem separately, we might get the idea of

how to fix them faster than if we look at them as a whole. After we can solve one problem, the

other ones would not be too hard to be handled.

REFERENCES:

- Schools of Quality in Lao PDR: an Evaluation 2009. (2009). Retrieved November 23, 2017 from

https://www.unicef.org/eapro/Evaluation_of_SOQ_in_Lao_PDR_December2009_small_size.pdf