(KPL) The ceremony was presided over by Mr. Saisamone Ngamsy, Acting Head of the Department of Technical and Vocational Education under the Ministry of Education and Sports, and Mr. Souliya Paxay, Director of the Lao-German Technical College. It was attended by college board members, representatives of technical, agricultural and vocational colleges from Khammouane, Bolikhamxay and Vientiane provinces, technical staff and students.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Souliya outlined the development of the college’s two campuses. The main campus in Vatnak Village, Sisattanak District, covers 26,180 square metres, while Campus 2 in Xiengda Village occupies 20,000 square metres.

Established in 2015, Campus 2 was developed to accommodate the college’s heavy machinery and agricultural machinery programmes. The project received a grant of €1.1 million from the German Development Bank (KfW), supplemented by 15 billion kip from the Lao Government.

The campus is equipped with workshops for heavy machinery and agricultural machinery, a two-storey classroom building and a workshop for cooperation with the private sector. It also has separate dormitories for male and female students, with accommodation for up to 300 students annually.

The college currently has 73 staff members, including nine administrative personnel and 64 teachers, and enrols 1,687 students, of whom 69 are female. This academic year, 986 students entered their first year, including 908 enrolled in long-term courses and 78 in short-term programmes.

The heavy machinery and agricultural machinery departments have six teaching staff and 234 students, including 130 first-year students.

Although classes began at Campus 2 after construction was completed, the formal completion of administrative arrangements and installation of the official signboard were delayed by budget constraints. The college subsequently allocated funding to complete the signboard, allowing the campus to be formally inaugurated.

The ceremony concluded with a ribbon-cutting and the traditional striking of a gong nine times, symbolising prosperity, unity, good fortune and lasting stability for the college.

The development of Campus 2 is expected to strengthen the college’s capacity to provide specialised technical training and help prepare skilled workers to meet the needs of the Lao labour market.

KPL