Laos is a landlocked country situated on the southeast side of the Asia continent. Laos capital is Vientiane and Mekong river flows through. The country is famous for its mountainous terrains. The main attractions are French colonial architecture, Buddhist monasteries, and settlements of hill tribes.

In this article, we are going to discuss education in Laos. Education in Laos is compulsory, free to 5th grade but high fees, shortage of books, supplies, and limited teacher force preventing children from getting the education. Various ethnic groups differentiate between boys and girls in education. Opposing the government policy of compulsory education, some groups did not allow girls to have education in Laos as they did not seem it necessary or beneficial.

The school enrollment rates of girls in Laos schools are lower than boys which results in a lower literacy rate of girls compared to boys. The education quality of Laos is improving but still in rural areas traditional education to boys and men are provided by Buddhist temples. Without support from the government education in Laos is rudimentary.

Laos government spends very less on Education that is only 3.3 % of its GDP. Laos GDP is low but the government is trying to increase the quality of education. In this process, they had opened some universities in major cities of Laos. We had tried to provide you information on all universities in Laos in the below paragraphs.

Universities in Laos are:

1. National University of Laos

The national university of Laos is also known as “NUOL”. By merging higher studies institutes working under the supervision of different ministries into the one university under the ministry of education, this university was established on 9th June 1995.

NUOL has five campuses in its area providing education in various fields. One is a central campus, engineering campus, agriculture campus, law campus, and water resource campus. Other than campuses the national university of Laos has 2 institutes, one in human resource development and the other is the institute of Chinese Confucius. It also has a central library and a small hospital.

NUOL plays 4 major roles in Laos:

•          Providing higher education in areas where social and economic development is needed

•          Executing research in the field of social science and natural resources

•          Conserving the nature, art, and culture of Laos

•          Providing service to society in the field of academic

The first academic year of NUOL was in 1996 with the student’s strength of 8053 which increases to 40000 in the academic year 2009-10. Since then, the government has changed the policy and the main emphasis now is on vocational training. At the current time, the acceptable strength of students in the national university of Laos is 23000. NUOL is one of the main and important organizations providing various programs in the field of education and providing degrees in bachelor’s, master’s, and also in doctorate.

Laos is trying to modernize its universities and has taken steps in the direction by establishing an IT cell in NUOL in 2002 under the direct supervision of the president of NUOL.

2. Souphanouvong University

Souphanouvong university is situated in Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos and currently the 4th largest city of Laos. It is one of the five universities of Laos and also known as SU. This university was established on the 3rd of April in 2009. SU is a national educational and cultural center serving under the ministry of education of Laos. The university of Souphanouvong provides education in various fields and prepare specialists in research, scientific study, and promoting & protecting culture & arts. University has two campuses; the main campus is in the area of 110 hectares and another campus is in 2 hectares.

Souphanouvong University in Laos has 20 various programs in bachelor’s degree all completing in 4 years. In total, the university is divided into 6 faculties education, economics and tourism, forest resource and agriculture, engineering, architecture, and languages. The administration of the university is done by 9 administrative offices.

3. Champasack University

This university of Laos was established with the purpose of providing higher education opportunities to people of Laos residing in the southern provinces. The purpose of the government in establishing this university is to promote Champasack as the center of education, academics, and research. Trying to educate people in promoting and preserving the art and culture of Laos. University offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 6 faculties like engineering, economics and management, forestry and education, natural science, and law.

4. Savannakhert University

Also known as SKU, this university of Laos was established in 2009 on 27th March. It was inaugurated by the prime minister of Laos and it offers 38 programs in bachelor’s degree and 2 programs in master degree. SKU is tasked with the development in the social and economic field of three regions Savannakhet, Khammouane, and Bolikhamaxy. Access to education is equal for all peoples in this university irrespective of rural or urban areas.

SKU has some roles to follow like collaboration with foreign partners and international organizations to get financial aids, shared technical and academic cooperation, adapting international cooperation level at university basis, Preparing the meetings, memorandum, and agreements between university partners, coordinating with international donors and approval for staff and students and welcoming the foreign delegation.

5. University of health science

The University of Health Science is one of the top universities of Laos and is exclusive in providing health professional training in-country. Also known as UHS Laos, it is established in June 2007. University consists of a total of 6 faculties. The UHS Laos is part of the CHIPU complex hospital institute project university. University does not have a hospital on its campus but is affiliated with 5 hospitals in Laos.

 Other than five universities, there are colleges and institutes providing education to the rural and urban population. Laos is a small and developing country trying its best to improve the education and social life of its residents. Main points and information are taken from Laos official websites.