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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Laos
Index
Of the many ethnic groups in Laos, only the Lao Loum
had a
tradition of formal education, reflecting the fact that
the
languages of the other groups had no written script. Until
the midtwentieth century, education was primarily based in the
Buddhist
wat, where the monks taught novices and other boys
to read
both Lao and Pali scripts, basic arithmetic, and other
religious
and social subjects. Many villages had wat schools
for
novices and other village boys. However, only ordained
boys and men
in urban monasteries had access to advanced study.
During the colonial period, the French established a
secular
education system patterned after schools in France, and
French was
the language of instruction after the second or third
grade. This
system was largely irrelevant to the needs and life-styles
of the
vast majority of the rural population, despite its
extension to
some district centers and a few villages. However, it did
produce
a small elite drawn primarily from the royal family and
noble
households. Many children of Vietnamese immigrants to
Laos--who
made up the majority of the colonial civil service--also
attended
these schools and, in fact, constituted a significant
proportion of
the students at secondary levels in urban centers.
Post-secondary
education was not available in Laos, and the few advanced
students
traveled to Hanoi, Danang, and Hué in Vietnam and to Phnom
Penh in
Cambodia for specialized training; fewer still continued
with
university-level studies in France.
The Pathet Lao began to provide Lao language
instruction in the
schools under its control in the late 1950s, and a Laotian
curriculum began to be developed in the late 1960s in the
RLG
schools. In 1970 about one-third of the civilian employees
of the
RLG were teachers, although the majority of these were
poorly paid
and minimally trained elementary teachers. At that time,
there were
about 200,000 elementary students enrolled in RLG schools,
around
36 percent of the school-age population.
Data as of July 1994
Education Prior to the Lao People's Democratic Republic
Of the many ethnic groups in Laos, only the Lao Loum
had a
tradition of formal education, reflecting the fact that
the
languages of the other groups had no written script. Until
the midtwentieth century, education was primarily based in the
Buddhist
wat, where the monks taught novices and other boys
to read
both Lao and Pali scripts, basic arithmetic, and other
religious
and social subjects. Many villages had wat schools
for
novices and other village boys. However, only ordained
boys and men
in urban monasteries had access to advanced study.
During the colonial period, the French established a
secular
education system patterned after schools in France, and
French was
the language of instruction after the second or third
grade. This
system was largely irrelevant to the needs and life-styles
of the
vast majority of the rural population, despite its
extension to
some district centers and a few villages. However, it did
produce
a small elite drawn primarily from the royal family and
noble
households. Many children of Vietnamese immigrants to
Laos--who
made up the majority of the colonial civil service--also
attended
these schools and, in fact, constituted a significant
proportion of
the students at secondary levels in urban centers.
Post-secondary
education was not available in Laos, and the few advanced
students
traveled to Hanoi, Danang, and Hué in Vietnam and to Phnom
Penh in
Cambodia for specialized training; fewer still continued
with
university-level studies in France.
The Pathet Lao began to provide Lao language
instruction in the
schools under its control in the late 1950s, and a Laotian
curriculum began to be developed in the late 1960s in the
RLG
schools. In 1970 about one-third of the civilian employees
of the
RLG were teachers, although the majority of these were
poorly paid
and minimally trained elementary teachers. At that time,
there were
about 200,000 elementary students enrolled in RLG schools,
around
36 percent of the school-age population.
Data as of July 1994
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