[Tlc] L-teacher shortage

[justinm at ucr.edu]

FYI.
Best,
justin

2008-0109 - VOA - Laos Faces Serious Teacher Shortage

http://www.voanews.com/lao/2008-01-09-voa3.cfm?rss=topstories

Laos Faces Serious Teacher Shortage
By Songrit Pongern
09/01/2008

Songrit reports in Lao from Bangkok, 1.05 MB
Listen to Songrit reports in Lao from Bangkok, 1.05 MB

Laos plans to increase the number of academic years from 11 to
12, adding another year to junior high schools even though it
is facing serious teacher shortages across the country.

The plan, to be implemented in 2010, means that junior high
schools will be extended from 3 to 4 years, while elementary
and high schools will remain the same - five-year and
three-year long respectively. Laos will have to considerably
increase its educational budget, so that it can build more
schools and train more teachers to accomodate the increased
number of students.

Officials say there are currently approximately 56,000
teachers across the country, although more than 65,000 are
needed. Over 4,000 students graduate from teacher training
schools annually, but a majority does not take up the
profession they have learned because of low pay and
unwillingness to teach in rural areas. Therefore, teacher
shortages are more severe in remote areas and provinces.

Listen to our Laos Today report for details in Lao.

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu