Laos
Grant Aid for Community Empowerment
The construction of 91 primary and lower secondary schools in "the Project for the Improvement of School Environments in Champasack and Savannakhet Provinces"has completed!
The handing-over ceremony was implemented.

The Government of Japan has ever provided official development assistance (ODA) focusing on the basic education area such as the construction of primary schools and teacher trainings to support the development of human resource which contributes to the future of the Lao PDR. In line with this policy, in 2008, the Government of Japan decided to implement "The Project for Improvement of School Environments in Three Southern Provinces" under the Community Empowerment scheme - which aimed at construction of primary schools and supply of school furniture utilizing local corporations and people - first time in this country. In this project, 74 schools with 290 classrooms were built in Sekong, Attapeu and Saravan Provinces, as a result, enabling 9,280 students to take classes in a better learning environment.

However, the area near the borders of Cambodia and Vietnam still has a high poverty rate and many children are not attending school. Also, there are many primary schools which cannot provide five-year compulsory education because of the shortage of classrooms. Some primary schools still conduct lessons in dilapidated and/or temporary classrooms requiring urgent repair or rebuilding. In addition, due to the changes of the lower secondary school's education period from three-year to four-year in 2010, it has become urgent to increase the number of classrooms in the lower secondary schools.

Under the above circumstance, on June 15, 2010, based on the request from the Government of the Lao PDR, the Government of Japan decided to implement "The Project for the Improvement of School Environments in Champasack and Savannakhet Provinces" which aims to construct total 91 (later, adding 4 more schools) primary and lower secondary schools in both provinces.

In this project, JICS assumed the role of a procurement agent for the Government of the Lao PDR and managed the implementation of the project as a whole by employing a Consultant, selecting and contracting construction companies, procuring school furniture as well as monitoring the project fund.

Recently, the construction of 91 schools has completed and on 25 May, 2012, with the presence of H.E. Dr. Phankham Viphavanh, Minister of Education and Sports of the Lao PDR, H.E. Ms. Junko Yokota, Ambassador of Japan to the Lao PDR and Mr. Masato Togawa, Chief Representative of JICA Laos Office and many other parties concerned, a handing-over ceremony was held in Paksong Lower Secondary School located in Songkong District, Savannakhet Province. H.E. Dr. Viphavanh and H.E. Ms. Yokota were greeted joyously and warmly with the applause from the students and others under the watery sky. After their arrivals, the ceremony was started by the welcome song and dance performed by the students of the school. During the ceremony, H.E. Ms. Yokota referred to the importance of the assistance from Japan in her speech and mentioned "hopefully, the students attending new schools built under the Japanese grant aid will play a significant role in the growth of Laos, as well as in the enhancement of the existing friendly relations between Japan and the Laos PDR in the future". H.E. Dr. Viphavanh, in response, expressed his heartfelt thanks by stating "I would like to thank the Government of Japan and all the people in the country".

As a token of Lao side gratitude, H.E. Dr. Viphavanh presented H.E. Ms. Yokota and Mr. Togawa with special gifts, and the ceremony warmed up.

Following the ceremony, the luncheon hosted by H.E. Dr. Viphavanh was held in the government facility. Those who participated in this luncheon had a worthwhile time to deepen ties between both countries.

Currently, additional 4 schools are under construction by utilizing the remaining budget. In total, 95 primary and lower secondary schools will be constructed in the end, and 14,824 students will be able to take lessons in a much improved environment.

There have been no other projects ever to construct many schools as this one in this country. The students, teachers, related public servants as well as local people were pleased by these clean and beautiful school buildings. We hope that the schools constructed under this project will contribute to students' future and strengthen the friendship between Japan and the Lao PDR.

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