Political content in the form of Lao nationalism and revolutionary rhetoric had a central position in educational curricula at all levels in the years after the proclamation of the Lao PDR (Brown and Zasloff 1986: 239). In line with the revolutionary spirit, mass-education was regarded an important vehicle for bringing the young population into state spaces (Scott 1998), just as has been the case in western Europe (Cunningham 1995) or closer afield in Thailand (Keyes 1991).
In the post-socialist era the Lao educational curricula may have lost most of its
revolutionary rhetoric. Yet, this is certainly not the case with the nationalist dimension.
Evans (1998: 167) thus elaborates that ‘it has been through the school system that the majority of young people alive in Laos today have first come in contact with the state’. He continues that it is in school that these children first participate in state rituals like saluting the flag and singing the anthem. It is also in school that these children first see pictures of their national leaders and a map representing the Lao nation. Evans admits that due to numerous weaknesses and imperfections in the school system, all this may not amount to more than ‘general impressions’, however, he concludes nonetheless that, ‘these are enough for them to clearly identify themselves as Lao’ (Evans 1998: 167).
Table 5.2 above has illustrated that sending children to school, for at least some years, is in a village like Baan Naam not just a legal obligation, it has become part of the normative framework of reciprocal relations of rights and responsibilities between children and parents (see also Kabeer 2000a). However, partly due to enrolment at a rather late age not all children complete primary education. Primary school teachers observed further that particularly in the transition from primary four to primary five students tend to drop out, something that is also illustrated in Table 5.4. Table 5.4 shows, however, no overall gender
33 In everyday speech the formal term dek is seldom used, but rather the colloquial term dek noi. The suffix noi means ‘small’. The colloquial term dek noi thus carries stronger connotations of dependence, immaturity and incompetence than the formal term dek.
difference in enrolment rates at primary level, although this changes at secondary level. At lower secondary level female students are overrepresented, whereas the opposite is the case at upper secondary level. Furthermore, the steady decline in overall student numbers at each subsequent year into secondary school shows that secondary school participation, let alone completion, cannot be taken for granted even in the relatively few villages like Baan Naam where full secondary education is within physical reach.
Table 5.4: Enrolment rates primary and secondary school Baan Naam (2007-08)34 Level/Grade Total number of
students
Gender ratio (male: female) PRIMARY
Preparatory primary 28 0.65
Primary 1 50 0.79
5.5.2.1 Schools as a disciplinary arm of parents and the state
The utility of spending a certain number of years in mass-education systems is generally beyond discussion, something that is reflected by its inclusion in the Millennium
Development Goals and in the UN-CRC. This dissertation does not wish to question the many positives mass-education systems may contribute to, whether this relates to a
Freirean process of empowerment, to straight-forward economic growth (Bils and Klenow 2000), or to processes of nation building discussed in the previous section. However, a dimension that has received relatively little attention is the role of school in
inter-generational power struggles, between the state and its young population but also between parents and their children.
34 Note that the primary school enrols children from Baan Naam and one neighbouring village (2km away) only. The secondary school draws students from a total of 10 villages (Baan Naam included) within a range of about 10km.
Murdoch (2002: 29) observes in this respect that Lao parents regard ‘the institution of the school as an important and trusted partner in looking after their children’. This observation is easily supported by data from Baan Naam. Parents, for example, fully supported a policy imposed by the secondary school which meant that the area in which students parked their bikes and motorbikes would remain locked till the end of the school day. This policy was implemented as a means to address an apparent problem of students skipping afternoon classes without their parents’ and teachers’ knowledge and approval. It also meant that students whom, for several reasons, spent their lunch break at home had to make this journey on foot in the heat of the day as they were not allowed taking their bicycles or motorbikes out anymore, much to their dislike (RD, 4/1/2008).
Another school-imposed measure which received approval of parents but was unpopular amongst students was the practice of fining students (30,000 Kip) when they were seen by teachers participating in lamvong dancing at local village festivals or at neighbouring village festivals (RD, 8/4/2008). Other disciplinary measures which are generally more popular amongst students’ parents than their children on whom it is imposed include a prohibition for boys to wear their hair long and for girls to wear it short, and a general prohibition on dying hair during term time. Although students are occasionally punished (by losing marks) for inappropriate hairstyle, and also for inappropriate dress, this seems to have little effect and appears to be a battle already lost (RD, 5/12/2007).
A clear example of the disciplinary function of school in relation to the Lao state is found in Lao school uniforms. Like the case with hair-dress described above, Lao school
uniforms are modelled on adult dress and particularly in relation to girls school uniforms are directly related to government attempts of preserving culture (Phonesavanh
Sangsomboun 2008). As shown in Picture 5.7, boys wear trousers and shirts, and only some boys in pre-primary or early primary may be seen wearing shorts.35 Girls wear from a young age and without exception the traditional Lao (long) skirt (siin) and a blouse.
35 Note though that photos in Evans (2009: 394, picture 14.3) from the pre-communist era display school-going boys who seem to be of secondary school age wearing shorts.
Picture 5.7: Lao national school uniforms (Baan Naam Secondary school, 2007; photo taken as part of auto-photography method by Secondary 6 students)