Education and Nation-Building in Laos

Abstract

As one of the new states emerging from a colonial past, the Southeast Asian Kingdom of Laos, like a number of African and Middle Eastern states, does not fit in with concepts of the nation state. They possess something less than Emerson's characteristics of an ideal nation, i.e. a fixed geographic boundary, a cohesive ideology, a common ethnic group, a unifying economic structure, and a shared history and culture.1 Yet this small land-locked country, certainly outwardly the least-favored part of the former French Indo-Chinese complex, lacks all of these qualities with exception of a fixed geographic boundary to a marked degree. These indicators of unity and common experience have not increased greatly in degree since 1949, when independence from France was obtained. By way of illustration, a survey of the late 1950's demonstrated that the name of the late king of Luang Prabang, who had ruled for 56 years, was known by a relatively small proportion of the population.2 A public opinion poll conducted in the mid-1950's suggested that at that time less than half the population knew the name of their country.3 This monsoon land of varied climate and terrain ranges from the wet rice-growing valley of the Mekong River to the mountainous provinces of the north and east inhabited by tribally organized slashand-burn agriculturalists, ethnically distinct from the politically dominant valley-dwelling Lao. The population is overwhelmingly rural, with over 90 per cent of Laos' roughly 2,500,000 people estimated to rely on agriculture for a living. Industrial or commercial development has been virtually negligible, with what exists dependent primarily upon foreign aid. Cities are little more than small towns, the largest being Vientiane, the seat of government, which reported a population of 68,000 in 1959; the royal capital, Luang Prabang, had about 11,000; only three others, all provincial capitals, had populations in excess of 5,000. Transportation difficulties, which make overland travel difficult among many of the 16 provinces, help to explain the weakness of French colonial penetration into Laos as compared with Cambodia and Vietnam. Similar transportation and communication problems impede the Royal Lao Government's (RLG) effectiveness in implementing any sort of program on a national basis. Most provinces are cut off from the capital city, and small planes are the only means of conveyance. While the river system provides a natural transportation network, it is effective only in reaching the valley-dwelling Lao. In light of these and other factors, Laos is characterized by a low economic productivity aggravated almost since the nation's inception by a heavy military burden; despite considerable investments of foreign aid, principally from the United States and France, there continue to be serious doubts of the country's economic viability under the present circumstances. Not the least among the obstacles to national development is the fact that Laos has the highest rate of illiteracy in Southeast Asia, with estimates ranging between 80 and 85 per cent.4