On 11th February 2013 the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) declared by decree (cp. MoES 2013) the standards developed by the Faculty of Engineering as binding for the education of vocational teachers at bachelor level in Lao PDR. Which development preceded the enacting of this important decree?

All stakeholders involved in vocational education agree that the quality of vocational training in Lao PDR matches neither the requirements of the Lao labour market, nor the requirements of a future ASEAN market. At the same time, there is agreement about the fact that the quality of the training depends most crucially on the teachers’ competency. As a direct consequence the Ministry of Education and Sports appointed the Faculty of Engineering, more specifically the relevant Vocational Teacher Education Department (VTED), to develop standards for vocational teachers.