BEQUAL has supported the Ministry of Education and Sports of Lao PDR to develop a new national primary curriculum with improved teaching and learning materials that promote gender equality and inclusive education. The revised curriculum is based on an improved teaching methodology that is student-centered and integrates active learning – engaging students in learning through activities, hands on experiences and practical application. The curriculum revision and development of associated textbooks and teacher guides has been led by the Research Institute for Educational Sciences (RIES) with technical assistance from BEQUAL. Implementation of the new curriculum in primary schools began in September 2019 with grade 1. A new grade has been rolled out year-on-year since 2019. The completion of the grade 5 materials signals the conclusion of the primary curriculum revision process with the materials for grade 5 in use in all schools nationwide from September 2023.

Following the rollout of grade 5, BEQUAL continues to work with RIES on curriculum management through:

The main activities include:

• Research and resource development to support teachers who teach in multigrade classroom settings,
• Scaling up the Spoken Lao Program to provide additional literacy development support for students who start primary school not yet able to speak Lao language,
• Finalisation and dissemination of the National Primary Curriculum Framework, and
• Revisions to the grade 1 and 2 Lao Language teacher guides in response to feedback from teachers.