Lao People's Democratic Republic : Second Strengthening Higher Education Project

Education / Tertiary

Links between higher education services and socioeconomic needs strengthened

Quality of higher education services improved

Quality and relevance of higher education services (teaching, research, extension) enhanced

Access to modern higher education programs introduced

Governance and management of HEIs strengthened

Output 1:

1a. On track to meet target. Four participating universities developed curriculum for blended learning per selected disciplines aligned with the COE areas in June 2020.

Workshops in preparation of blended teaching and learning materials with 4 universities were competed in January 2021. Universities intend to roll out the new curriculum this school year.

1b. Completed. A total of 705 faculty and staff, including 259 women, have been trained on pedagogy and instructional methods for university academic staff. A total of 13 workshops, to date, have been conducted to provide continued upskilling support to improve quality and relevance in teaching and research.

1c. Completed. As of July 2021, all 115 scholarships (55 masters (local), 33 masters (international), and 27 doctorate (international) degrees) have been awarded.

1d. On track to meet target. A total of 15 proposals have been awarded related to traditional lao culture, employment preparation, project-based learning, and community development in 2020. A second-round selection process will award 20 IFECA grants across universities starting in Q3 2021.

Output 2:

2a. On track to meet target. CW1, the first phase of SKU civil works comprising construction of linguistics and engineering faculty buildings and related MEP infrastructure, was awarded on 1 Apr 2020. The construction progress as of July 2021 was 42.4%. CW1 is expected to be completed by June 2022.

CW4 ($8.5 million) includes a faculty building (IT), Tech cluster, student dormitory, landscaping for both core and non-core campus areas, miscellaneous facilities (covered walkway), and MEP infrastructure. Package was awarded in January 2021. Progress as of July 2021 was at 11% completion. The contract is estimated to be completed by May 2023.

2b. On track to meet target. Construction of dormitories will be included in the CW4 package, which has been awarded in January 2021.

2c. On track to meet target. As of AY2020/2021, 2,088 (57.87%) out of 3,608 students enrolled in SKU are female.

Output 3:

3a. On track to meet target. Visiting scholars have been onboarded online due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The scholar for Governance and Management submitted a plan for a series of online training for 200 senior managers, MOES staff and academic leaders of participating universities.

3b. Completed. As of July 2021, 23 DHE and university staff were selected to undergo master's and doctoral studies locally and abroad. Of this, 16 or 70% are female.

3c. On track to meet target. HEI contract signed 5 June 2020. Draft Final Study received in November 2020. Final study submitted in Q2 2021, being reviewed by DHE.

3d. Completed. University-level tracer studies/employer surveys completed in November 2020.

3e. On track to meet target. LUMS modules are being developed and will be completed in 2021.

The project is supported by consultant services recruited through five modalities.

1.The Project has engaged a firm to provide 139 person-months of consulting services (52 person-months international and 87 person-months national), using quality-based selection method, in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2013, as amended from time to time) to provide technical support for the project as well as building longer-term local capacities for planning, management, research, and delivery of higher education. Consulting services will span a broad array of expertise, including (i) strategic planning, project management and monitoring, (ii) curriculum and textbook development, (iii) excellence building and research capacity development, (iv) ICT-based teaching and learning, (v) higher education software development, (vi) gender and social development and (vii) procurement.

2.The Project engaged the consortium of Coelacanth and Associates (C+A) that prepared the original schematic designs during the PPTA using Single Source Selection (SSS) to provide the detailed design development and construction drawings, material specifications and any other documents required for bidding for the civil works component.

3.The Project has engaged a firm to provide technical supervision for the civil works component of the project at SKU. The third firm will also be selected using the simplified technical proposal and quality- and cost-based selection method, in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2013, as amended from time to time). The quality- and cost-based selection weighting will follow the standard quality-cost ratio of 80:20.

4.International scholars (a total of 44 person-months) will be invited as short-term consultants on an individual basis to assist participating universities in developing academic and research programs and in teaching support.

5.The Project locally recruited administrative assistants and accountants on an individual basis as needed to assist the PIUs in project administration, accounting, and other tasks including reporting.

All procurement of goods and works under this project will be undertaken in accordance with ADB's Procurement Guidelines (2015 as amended from time to time). All consulting services shall be selected and engaged using the ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2013 as amended from time to time), following the selection methods and review procedures specified in the Procurement Plan.

The D-PIU will be responsible for all procurement, and will liaise closely with the SKU-PIU for civil works, equipment, and furniture at SKU. Procurement of goods such as computers and laboratory equipment will use international competitive bidding procedures if over $1.0 million, national competitive bidding if $1 million or less but more than $100,000 equivalent, or shopping if less than $100,000 equivalent. Civil works will use international competitive bidding if more than $2.0 million, and use national competitive bidding if less, but more than $100,000. Prior review will be used in the procurement processes.

Before the start of any procurement ADB and the Government will review the public procurement laws of the central and provincial governments to ensure consistency with ADB's Procurement Guidelines.