BEQUAL supports the Ministry of Education and Sports of Lao PDR to improve the teaching skills of primary teachers to achieve better learning outcomes for their students. BEQUAL works in partnership with the Departments of Teacher Education (DTE), General Education (DGE), three targeted Teacher Training Colleges (TTC), and the Research Institute for Educational Sciences (RIES) to build the capacity of in-service teachers, teacher trainers, and teacher pedagogical support providers.

In Phase 1, BEQUAL supported RIES and DTE with the roll out of nationwide in-service teacher training on the revised primary curriculum. The program also worked with DTE and TTCs to improve the primary pre-service diploma in alignment with the revised primary curriculum.

In Phase 2, BEQUAL is working with DTE to establish a new system for teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) that is school-based, relevant to teachers’ needs, systematic, flexible and inclusive of a variety of stakeholders at all levels. TTCs will play a leading role in the new system, working in close coordination with District Education and Sports Bureaus (DESB). TTCs will lead on the strategic implementation of school based CPD across their catchment areas with an emphasis on the capacity building of internal pedagogical support staff, while DESBs will be responsible for needs assessment, management, and quality assurance of teachers’ learning and professional development.