The first 100 students who pass this year's university entrance exams will receive a living allowance, free accommodation and other privileges, under a revised university entrance policy, according to education officials.

The Minister of Education, Professor Dr Somkot Mangnomek, reported last week at the National Assembly that his ministry would cut university places for ‘quota' students exempted from exams by 20 percent this year, and instead give these places to students achieving the highest scores in the upcoming entrance exams, to be held on July 11-12.

According to an official from the Vocational Education Department of the Ministry of Education, some 500 students each year are exempted from the exams and given priority placements at the National University of Laos, Champassak University and Souphanouvong University in Luang Prabang province, as part of a special quota system.

But the change in the ministry's policy will mean that the quota will allow for only 400 students to be given places at the universities without sitting the entrance exam.

Also, the 100 students with the highest marks in the exams will receive a living allowance of 70,000 kip per month and free accommodation at the universities, as well as similar privileges to those students who have received priority placements.

The Director General of the Vocational Education Department, Dr Kongsy Maniseng, said yesterday that the change in policy is to recognise those students with outstanding results in the entrance exams.

He explained that it would still be the responsibility of provincial education departments to select the best students for priority placements.

But, he added, in the past the provincial education departments frequently selected students who did not meet the requirements for study in the country's universities, and did not do well in their studies, while many outstanding students missed out on this special treatment.

Dr Somkot said the ministry's decision would not require extra funding from the government, because the ministry would simply shift the funds from one group of students to another group. In fact, the ministry would be paying the same amount in student allowances, but some of these students would have actually sat the entrance exams.

He said his vision was to have a more equal system in which all students throughout the country would have to sit the same entrance examinations to secure a university place. In the long term, this would mean a better education system overall, he said.

But National Assembly members expressed concern that the change in policy would reduce the number of students from the provinces attending universities. They also warned that fewer university-educated officials would choose to work in rural areas.

Dr Somkot maintained that he would enforce stricter regulations for quota students to return to their home provinces after graduating.

He said quota students would be required to sign an agreement with provincial education departments to return to their birthplaces and contribute to development there, using the knowledge and skills they had gained at university.

He said that, ideally, he would like provincial educational departments to require quota students to return to their provinces to work for at least three years after graduation, before moving to other areas if they wished.

He added that he would raise this issue again during a meeting with heads of provincial education departments around the country in July, to discuss how to enforce this regulation.

By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
vientianetimes