The Deputy Speaker of the Lao National Assembly says the overall poor quality of his nation's educational and health care systems is hindering national development.
Mr. Saysomphone Phomvihane adds that 45% of Lao youngsters are not able to attend junior high school while 65% cannot make it to high school.
Healthwise, Laos has only 127 town and districts hospitals in all of its 17 provinces, and 726 health centers serving over 10,000 villages throughout the nation, with 11,326 healthcare providers - of whom only some 300 are university-graduated.
For more details, listen to our Laos Today report.