据老挝《万象时报》3月22日报道，中国政府斥资2420亿基普（1亿人民币）来改善老挝远程教育中心项目。随着科技的不断发展，越来越多的人意识到，发展远程教育是缩小城乡教育差距的重要途径。远程教育项目可以让老师们利用电视，广播以及其他社交软件进行授课，对老挝偏远地区的教育提升意义不可估量。在新冠疫情期间，研究所创建“教师发展视频”频道，允许教师通过在家观看教学视频，对国内小学课程教育技能有效提升。这些视频展示最新的教学技术及实践，对教学过程中可能面临的挑战提出行之有效的解决方法。

China supports distance education in Laos

The Chinese government is supporting a project to improve the Distance Education Centre in Laos, at a cost of more than 242 billion kip (100 million Chinese yuan).

The project was outlined during a recent meeting of the Research Institute of Educational Sciences (RIES) of the Ministry of Education and Sports, and the Lao Asia- Pacific Satellite Co., Ltd. (LAOSAT).

The meeting discussed ways to ensure the project fulfils the planned goals and achieves the best results. Attendees reported on the progress made to date and reviewed the next steps in the project to improve the Distance Education Centre.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Director General of the RIES, Mr Khamchanh Latthayord, said “We first proposed this project in 2019, to be carried out through LAOSAT. We asked the government to request support from the Chinese government because this is a priority project and an appropriate way to advance Laos’ education system, especially in remote areas.”

“We need satellite transmission to deliver educational information to remote areas.” The Laos-China Cooperation Committee submitted a proposal on the project to the Chinese government on April 20, 2022. The Chinese government approved the scheme and will now support efforts to improve distance education in Laos.

According to the Ministry of Education and Sports, LAOSAT has facilitated pilot broadcasts of education and sports television programmes since 2019, which has proven beneficial for both sectors.

The programmes enabled teachers to deliver lessons using television, radio and social media and have been very helpful in advancing distance learning in Laos. It has been recognised that distance learning is an effective way to reduce the educational gap between rural and urban areas. The Research Institute of Educational Sciences and the Lao Asia-Pacific Satellite Co., Ltd. partnered to deliver educational television broadcasts during Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020.

During the Covid-19 outbreak, the Institute created the ‘Teacher Development Videos’ channel, which allowed teachers to watch from home and improve their skills in using the new national primary school curriculum. The videos demonstrated essential new teaching techniques and effective practices to apply to solve teaching challenges. All the videos featured real examples from educators using the new national primary school curriculum in classrooms.