Three classroom blocks at Vientiane 's long-established Anou School are being demolished to make way for the construction of a new five-storey building, which should be ready for use in the upcoming semester.

The Deputy Director of the Vientiane Education Department, Mr Khamphouang Choummaly, said the school now provides education at the kindergarten, primary and lower secondary levels, and once the new building is complete, with 30 new classrooms, it will also include upper secondary classes.

“Our students will then be able to continue at the same school with their friends once they've finished their lower secondary schooling here,” he said.

“This is part of our plans to reduce student numbers in classrooms at Vientiane Secondary School .”

T he construction project is being supported by the Japanese government, with funds of US$1million.

One building will be preserved, and 100 of the school's 400 students are using this while construction proceeds.

The 100 students are those in kindergarten and primary school, while the other 300 are studying at a school in Khualuang Neua village, arranged by the Vientiane Education Department.

Mr Khamphouang said overcrowding in secondary schools had become a chronic problem in Vientiane , and few additional schools were being built to ease the situation.

At present it is common for 60 or more children to study in the same classroom, making it difficult for them to concentrate on what the teacher is saying. The new Anou School will go some way towards relieving the problem.

Vientiane authorities plan to build 200 classrooms in the coming years, which will cut the number of students down to 40 to 45 per class.

“It's always a challenge when large numbers of students move from the provinces to Vientiane ; we keep building more classrooms, but the numbers keep increasing,” he said.

“We expect the number of primary schools to decrease in the next three years as more people consider family planning and have fewer children.”

Anou School is one of the oldest in Vientiane , built in the 1940s. It is named after the last Lao King of the Vientiane dynasty of the Lane Xang Kingdom , who led his people to rescue their country from the hands of Siam in the 19 th century.

By Somsack Pongkhao
Vientianetimes