Bangkok, Thailand | Merina Cahya Anggraeni: On 8 September, the Ministry of Education and Sports, Lao PDR, officially joined SEA-PLM 2024 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the SEAMEO Secretariat. H E Dr Sisouk Vongvichith, Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, Lao PDR, and Dr Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, signed the MoU during the official ceremony held in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

The event, attended by distinguished officials from Lao PDR’s Ministry of Education and Sports, and UNICEF Lao PDR, indicates the wide-reaching impact of SEA-PLM in the country. Lao PDR’s participation in SEA-PLM 2019 has influenced specific education reforms in the country. Dr Sisouk Vongvichith corroborated SEA-PLM’s sphere of influence in assessing learning that has inspired dialogues among policy-makers to improve the learning quality of Laotian primary school students through evidence generated from SEA-PLM 2019.

In her speech, the SEAMES Director pointed out that cooperation was of utmost importance to achieving better learning outcomes —to guarantee the success of SEA-PLM 2024—and recover from the learning loss because of the pandemic shock.

During the first assessment cycle, Lao PDR received substantial assistance and capacity-building support from education policy and assessment experts. SEA-PLM 2024 will continue to provide more opportunities and support to participating countries through collaborative initiatives with regional and international partners to advance system and school-level policy and practices concerning basic education in Southeast Asia.