Early childhood care and education
The 2021-2025 Sector Development Plan and Innovations for Disadvantaged Children
Executive Summary, Early Childhood Education ECE is essential to prepare children for school with attendance rates for 35yearolds increasing from 49 to 62 in Lao PDR from 2016 to 2021 However almost half of primary grade 1 students start without any ECE experience particularly nonLaoTai ethnic children from remote communities that struggle with access and limited language skills Inequality of ECE access is also evident among different ethnolinguistic groups and wealth levels Challenges in ECE quality include infrastructure equipment teacher training and teaching methodsThe 20212025 Education and Sports Sector Development Plan ESSDP aims to reduce disparities in education by enhancing learning outcomes and prioritizing effective resource management Strategies include scaling up proven innovations for 35yearolds such as the Summer Preprimary programme SPP by Plan International Laos and Community Child Development Groups The feasibility of implementing these programmes in the 40 most disadvantaged districts is a key study focus The SPP model aims to close the educational gap for disadvantaged children without ECE experience building on successful results from the genderresponsive summer preprimary model tested during the LEARN Project
Lao People's Democratic Republic -