Basic Education (Girls) Project (1998)
Lao PDR
Lao PDR's Institue of Cultural Research classifies the ethnic minorities into 47 ethnolinguistic groups. These groups are found in each of the country's 18 provinces with the greatest density in the provinces of Phongsaly, Oudomsay, Bokeo, Khammuanne, Saravan, Sekong, Xaisomboun, and Attapeu.
Ethnic minority's access to education varies, Phutai have the highest male and female literacy of 77 and 50 percent respectively. However, the Social Analysis indicates that female ethnic minority has disproportionately lower literacy rates compared with the majority population. Among the female Khmers, only 23% are literate, while among the female Hmong, only 8% are literate. Which is very low compared to the literacy rates among the Lao majority of 86% for the males and 65% for the females.
The low literacy rates among the ethnic minority population is attributed to poverty, poor retention rates at the primary level, poor transition rates from primary to secondary level, and poor accessibility of schools. The social analysis also attributes existing cultural practice as a significant factor in the very low literacy level among the female ethnic minority.
The project will establish multigrade and primary schools near the ethnic minorities in 425 villages. Most of Lao PDR's 4,000 villages without primary schools are in the mountains. In addition, the project will train 300 ethnic minority teachers, mainly women; 50 pedagogical advisers to support the ethnic minority schools; and 4,000 teachers and school principals in ethnic minority education and multigrade approaches.
Location:
Selected ethnic minority communities nationwide (Map)
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