Many colleges need extensive improvement, official says

Many colleges need extensive improvement, official says Vientianetimes Many colleges will need to undergo intensive improvement to meet certain criteria before the start of the next academic year in October, a senior government official has said. The Ministry of Education and Sports is launching an intensive assessment and improvement of both state and private colleges and universities in Vientiane in a bid to improve the quality of teaching and learning. There are more than 50 colleges and universities in the capital, which are currently being scrutinised. Director General of the National Education Standard and Quality Assessment Centre at the Ministry of Education and Sports, Mr Vanxay Noraseng, told Vientiane Times yesterday that officials in charge completed their inspection in April. “Many colleges will need to undergo rigorous improvement,” he said. He added that these colleges are afflicted by substandard teaching and inadequate learning equipment. Many lack proper laboratories and have insufficiently qualified teachers. The director said the details of the inspection will be made public soon, including the number of colleges that need to make improvements. “The findings will be tabled at a meeting of the ministry's leading officials before being announced to the public. For sure, the results will be made public.” The ministry's leading officials were scheduled to hold their first discussion on May 29 and the second early next month to discuss the matter before announcing the findings at a later date. Deputy Minister of Education and Sports Dr Kongsy Sengmany told the Vientiane Times recently that the ministry will launch an assessment and improvement drive in the provinces in the coming years after finishing the work in Vientiane. This process forms part of the national education reform strategy which was initiated in 2006. The standard criteria imposed by the ministry include the quality of facilities (buildings) and the number of regular and invited teachers and their qualifications. The ministry will also assess every single course run by these colleges and universities and those courses that fail to meet the set criteria will need to be upgraded. Critics and members of the public have complained about the low standard of teaching and learning in many colleges, which turn out poorly trained personnel who turn out to be incompetent and cannot carry out their professional roles as required. This poses a great challenge for Laos now and in the future, especially when the Asean Economic Community comes into effect in 2015. The free flow of foreign workers is expected to see outsiders take over jobs in Laos if the skills of local people are not competitive because of poor education standards. By Times Reporters (Latest Update May 24, 2013)