"Progressive Promotion": - Dropout Issue in Lao Primary Education and the Misplaced Policy

The primary school dropout issue has been the major issue in Laos as shown in the low survival rate at the primary school level. It stayed slightly above 50% from 2000 to 2007 and only reached 67% in 2008. To address the problem, in 2009 the Ministry of Education introduced a "Progressive Promotion" Policy to allow students to proceed to higher grades automatically. Initially the survival rate increased from 67% (2008) to 85% (2009) but later fell to 70% (2012). One finding shows that approximately 80% of the dropouts return to school (the returnees) but are placed in more advanced classes, thanks to this policy. However, the returnees fail to catch up with the lesson and are discouraged to stay on at school, finally these students quit for the second time and this time they are not coming back again. This paper concludes that the progressive promotion has damaged the interaction of students in education and the school system credibility. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.