BEQUAL is supporting the Ministry of Education and Sports of Lao PDR, particularly at the subnational level, to improve policy, planning and coordination of activities that directly influence the quality of teaching.

During Phase 2, BEQUAL is working with the Department of Teacher and Educational Administration Development (DTEAD) to strengthen the capacity of 30 District Education and Sports Bureaus (DESBs) to plan for, manage, and monitor the implementation of inclusive school-based teacher continuing professional development (CPD). This includes support for school-level internal pedagogical support providers and school principals to ensure that teacher CPD is planned and delivered regularly. At the system level, BEQUAL is helping DTEAD explore ways to better align teacher performance and management policies to the National Primary Teaching Standards and CPD systems to ensure improvements in teaching quality are recognised.

During the Phase 2 extension, BEQUAL support continues with a focus on:

• Strengthening of target DESBs to support school leadership and create an enabling environment for CPD at the school level
• Capacity building for target DESBs for planning, management and monitoring of responsive CPD delivery, with a focus on ensuring systems sustainability
• Policy alignment for primary teacher performance and CPD needs assessment with the National Primary Teaching Standards