| Strategy for Quality Assurance |
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The resolution of the 5th Party Congress lays out a broad policy on spheres of works in which human resource development work identifies that education development continues to be recognized as the center part of human resource development work…,and in order to meet the requirement of national socio-economic development as well as the need for linking our education system with the region and internationals step by step we need to carry out in a timely manner the national education system reform for higher quality and standard. Article 4 of the improved national education law on education policy specifies that state and societies actively conduct national education development for good quality and national education must be relevant to regional and internaltional educations. The quotation of the Prime Minister to the Annual Meeting of education administrators from across the county for year 2008 emphases: “ Continue the improvement of organizational apparatus and laws in the sphere of education for deliberateness alongside the improvement of the existing decrees, decisions, regulations considered irrelevant and development of the new ones as deemed necessary as well as the system for identification of education quality standard for both the state and private education sectors.’’ The resolution of the 2008 meeting of education administrators from accross the country has specified: "Develop quality assurance system for both state and private sectors so that they are relevant with national education reform plan and research and improve examination regulations for all grades and all education fields, admission regulations so that they are relevant, transparent and fair for all. Therefore, in order to assure that learners from any locality of the country can receive education with nearly the same quality there must be education quality assurance in place." Therefore, on 22 April 2008, the Minister of the Ministry of Education officially approved the establishment of Quality Assurance Center to perform the secretariat tasks for Ministry of Education in assessing the knowledge of learners, learning and teaching performance and assuring education quality for education institutes of all grades and fields for both state and private sectors in accordance with the standard approved by the Ministry of Education.
II. Purpose Education is an important tool in building good citizenship with education, knowledge, vocational skill, creative capabilities and enthusiasm in development of their own country as well as of themselves for good health, good sanitation, revolutionary morality, transparency in order to meet the development needs of the country for continuous prosperity in the new century. Education quality assurance is a systematic technical administration and mechanism for assessing learners’ performance against the standards, and assessing learning and teaching activities against the education quality standards and giving accreditation of education quality for education institutes of all grades and fields in both state and private sectors so that the education of the nation can be developed with improved quality to step up and reach regional and international levels.
III. Objectives
The 8th Party Congress set up target of removing the country from the state of least development, and acquiring fundamental factors for transforming the country into industrialization and modernization. To achieve the target mentioned above, the resolution affirmed that education is the central part of human resource development, and therefore, national education system reform must be carried out in a timely manner for meeting higher quality and standard. Therefore, there is a need to put in place the quality assurance system comprising inspecting, assessing and accrediting mechanisms for the promotion of education in difficult areas such as remote areas so that they have opportunities to improve their education quality to a higher standard level as of the towns’. It also builds confidence and assures that learners from all localities across the country receive education with nearly the same quality. The purpose of quality assessment for accreditation is not to find mistakes or to impose a penalty to education institutions, but to give them a reflection on their teaching and learning performance as compared to the endorsed standard and indicators for further improvement and maximum benefits for the learners. Therefore, assessment for quality assurance is the assurance of quality of the learners (products of education in accordance with the building purpose). Education quality assurance is a technical management and administration of regular teaching and learning activities carried out by education institutes to develop learners to acquire quality in accordance with the purpose of building. Education quality assurance is the system that is conducted by education personnels in education institutes and concerned work units alongside wth the inspection and assessment by outside agencies. Education quality assurance is therefore the key factor in the development of quality assurance system in order that nation education system can be continuously developed with better quality.
IV. Principles
Education quality assurance is a systematic inspecting and assessing mechanism of educaion quality for accreditation. Standards of Education institutions will be inpected and assessed agaisnt different quality standards specified in the Quality Assurance System as to find out whether they can meet the standards or not, and at what level they are and what standards they cannot meet for further improvement before acquiring accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Standard Assurance (government level). Quality Assurance System (QAS) consists of internal and external quality assessments: - Internal Assessment is a process of control, inspection and quality assessment of the education institutes and the owner work units by themselves against the standards and indicators in order that their own education has quality in accordance with the purpose of building. - External Assessment is a process of the inspection and quality assessment of the education intstitutes by outsiders that can be used as the base for offical - declaration to be of an approved education standards for all grades and fieds in both state and private sectors. Education accreditation in quality assurance system is a building of trust to society on the quality of education institutes. It is also a support factor for Lao education development to step up to the quality at regional and international levels. Education standards and indicators of quality assurrance at all grades and fields in both state and private education sectors must be relevant to national education reform and the education standards of the region and internationals, focusing on learning and teaching process, diversifying learning activities and emphasizing on learner-centered teaching for education quality assurance. Therefore, standards and indicators will be identified in accordance with education quality as follows : Education quality assurance focusses on education quality at all grades and fields in both state and private education sectors in accordance with the updated education law such as: - Early childhood education - General education(Primary-secondary education) - Vocational education(Lower-medium-higher vocational education). - Higher education(including teacher training of all levels). - Informal education. General education focusses on 3 aspects : - Standards and indicators for lerners: Learners’ performace will be assessed in accordance with the 5 aspects of education development set up by the Party (Moral, intellectual, vocational, physical and art educaion). - Standards and indicators for factors and facilities: Focus on teachers, school administrators, curriculums, learning and teaching materials, equipments, experiment equipment, school buildings, locations and budgets. - Standards and indicators for Process: Focus on learning and teaching process, teaching methods relevant to target groups, administration process, school management and participation from communities and societies. Vocational and higher education focus on: - Roles and function and purpose of building of the Ministry of Education. - Organization and school and education institute management. - Education curriculums. - Education movements, learning and teaching process. - Administrators, personnels, teachers. - Learners(students). - Management on learning results, graduates. - Scientific Research, application of technology, development and dissemination. - Learning and teaching materials, libraries, experiment equipment and other basic education resources. - Budget (financial administration, technical operation), financial utilization and management. - Relations and cooperation between schools and societies, communities and other organizations.
1. Identifies standards, indicators, norms and different methods in order that education quality assurance be accurate, transparent, fair and approved by the Acting Prime Ministor of Education before implementing in accross the country. 2. Assess learning and teaching achievement, test the knowledge level of learners in general education line and issue examination/test items; collaborate with other concerned parties to conduct final examination in general and informal education line of both state and private sectors and prepare entrance examination tests for state vocational and higher education lines. 3. Conduct the inspecion of education quality standards at all grades in both state and private sectors to submit to higher levels for accreditation; assure better education quality accepted at national , regional and internal levels. 4. Internal quality assessment is an assessment, evaluation, monitoring and inspection of education standards of educaton intitues by the internal units of the education institutes, techical department, Provincial Education Service and District Education Bureau responsible for such education institues. 5. External quality assessment: is the assessment, monitoring and inspection of quality education standards of education institutes by local and international agencies, experts, intellectuals, administrators invited by Ministry of Education for transparency, fairness, accuracy and acceptance by society and communities that can be gradually linked with the region and internationals. 6. Education quality assurance has a system and mechanism for the control, inspection and assessment of education quality versus the specified indicators and standards as to build trust on quality of education of the institutes to the concerned people and society. 7. Accreditation of Quality standard is mainly based on the summary of internal and external assessment. The accreditation for education quality will be consdered and approved by National Quality Assurance Agency. 8. Educaion institutes of all grades and lines in both state and pivate sectors must have their own internal quality assurrance unit in compliance with the standards approved by the Ministry of Education. 1. Develop guideline for the inspection of leaving examination in general education, guideline for entrance examination in state higher education and university and guideline on quality assurance for all grades, all lines including state and private sectors. 2. Conduct the assessment of learners’ knowledge for the consistency with the curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education in particular in primary education level (grade 3-grade 5), lower secondary education (year 1-year 4), upper secondary education (year 5-year 7). 3. Develop tools to assess local education quality, promote education in remote areas to have the same quality as in town. 4. Develop examination resources for leaving exam in general education line and for entrance exam for higher education line of state sector. 5. Develop assessment system of learners’ learning achievement, leaving exam methods, entrance exam for higher level both inside and outside the country, exam of excellent students at national, regional and international levels as the reference base for education quality assurance. 6. Develop standard system, indicators, norms, education assessment methods for general education at all grades and fields, in both state and private sectors for submission to Acting Minister of Education for promulgation approval. 7. Develop standard system, indicators, norms, education assessment methods for vocational and higher education at all grades and fields, in both state and private sectors for submission to Acting Minister of Education for promulgation approval. 8. In collaboration with education institutes, business locations in both state and private sectors, promote internal quality assurance and conduct inspection of external education quality standard in different education institutes and then submit to higher level for accreditation and social acceptance. 9. Build regulations for quality inspection and assessment units, organization and external evaluators to help the inspection and quality accreditation. 10. Develop and build network system of internal inspection and quality standard evaluation units at provincial and district levels and in education institutes both in state and private sectors. 11. Collaborate with concerned organizations in both state and private sectors, international organizations both inside and outside the country in the development of assessment system of learning and teaching achievement, inspection, examination and education quality assurance to link with international standard step by step. 12. Organize training courses on knowledge of inspection and organize both external and internal education quality assessment at central, local levels, education institutes of both state and private sectors. 13. Develop information and database and use technological achievements in the sphere of inspection, examination and systematic education quality assurance for reliable quality. - Build legislature to recognize education quality assurance system. - Improve school management regulations for all schools of fifferent lines to assess quality. - Build and develop tools for inspection and assessment of education quality. - Develop guideline on the dissemination of quality assarance system and implentation methods. 2. Strategy of effective implementation and administration - Organize education quality assurance for general education at the institution where there is readiness. - Organize education quality assurance for vocational and higher education. - Organize education quality assurance for teacher training schools, informal education. - Develop network system of education quality assurance. - Develp quality assurance personnels. - Develop database for quality assurance. 3. Strategy for improvement of leaving axamination system and entrance examination in state education sector. - Develop exam resources for leaving exam in lower and upper secondary levels and for entrance exam in higher education of state sector. - Develop structure and standards of exam test. - Develop magazines for IT and technology mathematics - Develop exam resources for excellent students at national, regional and international levels and also develop exam test items at olympic level. - Promote excellent students to participate in the exam for excellent students at different levels both inside and outside the country. - Promote the recognition and transfer of credits among institutions both inside the country and in the region. - Carry out the assessment of education in remote districts to conduct the improvement. - Promote all concerned parties in education quality development in remote areas.
In order to achieve the directions, outputs identified in the strategic plan and plan of action for education quality assurance, all the parties concerned must firmly collaborate and responsibilities must be demarcated as below: 1) Educatin Quality Assurance Center collaborates with the parties concerned to draft an order on education qality assurance and a draft guideline and disseminates the order and guideline on the implementation of this strategic plan. 2. Departments and related centers under Ministry of Education, Provincial Education Services, Capital Education Service, District Education Bureaus, both state and private education sectors are assigned to carry out the tasks of developing this strategic development plan and plan of action into detailed plan at their own level in accordance with ther duties and scope of authorities. 3. State and private education institutions have the roles to develop school development plan to improve their own education quality in accordance with the mechanism for internal quality assurance and allow for external assessments in order to acquire accreditation. 4. The Ministry of Education collaborates with the Ministry of Information and Culture in the dissemination of legislature, regulations and principles as well as information and documents related to this strategic plan, making sure of social recognition and acceptance of the real contexts and methods of national education quality assurance. 5. The Ministry of Education has the role for guiding, monitoring, inspecting and assessing the implementation of the strategic plan for education quality assurance to promote and appreciate the organizations, education institutes and individuals who have outstanding achievements. 6. Fund for implementation of strategic plan and action plan for education quality assurance is resourced from the state budget, technical incomes in quality assurance, contribution from private sectors, society, international organizations, grant aid from abroad. |