Comments about this Report

guest

As a parent with a child in Year 10 at Kiettisak, I have read this and the previous review with interest. I doubt this review was written by a parent. We have been in Laos for 6 months now. When we arrived, my husband and I investigated a number of schools as our son was half way through year 10 in Perth. The first school we looked at was VIS, but we found the fees to be exorbitant. We also felt pressured to enrol on the day - together with a $1000 non refundable enrolment fee. It was not a good feeling. When we expressed some doubts we were told well, "We teach the IB", as if this was the be all and end all to education. I taught in Australia before my husband secured his position here. In fact this was a bit of a turn off; a number of schools in Australia which have taught and embraced the IB have now decided to go back to the State education system. The IB and in particular the PYP have proven to be costly and to offer few educational benefits. We looked at Kittiesack. The reason I doubt whether the above review was written by a parent is that there are many inaccuracies and blatant untruths. We spoke with all of my son's teachers. All of them are highly qualified and have many years of teaching experience. Whether they are well treated or not, I cannot say, but some of them have been at the school for 10 years plus. About 60% of the students are Lao and I think it is an excellent opportunity for my sonto learn about other cultures. The school is accredited, by the way, and offers the IGCSE and will offer A levels next year. These are highly regarded international qualifications and supported by Cambridge University. My son is sitting for IGCSE exams in May. Yes, the campus is not as fancy as that of VIS, but that is not surprising when the fees are only one third of those of the latter. I wonder whether this review stems from a long standing basketball dispute between the two schools. Regardless of who was to blame for this, Vientiane International School behaved shamefully in attempting to bribe - literally - the basketball association to exclude Kittiesack I.S. This unconscionable behavior backfired when the Lao Ministry intervened. My son was in the basketball team and was disgusted at the actions of VIS.

guest

This parent obviously had a negative experience. I must disagree with the comments. This school is not too bad. I have known some teachers and parents and they have nothing but positive things to say about it. Check out their web site.

guest

I agree entirely! I have taught at this school before and it's a mess. The director is not a people person and treats the teachers very badly. She devisive and a trouble maker! She has a terrible reputation. It was an unbelievable experience for me. The low moral of teachers rubs off onto the students. It was a very negative place to be. I'm so happy not to be there now!

guest

To the guest who contributed on April 10th I still teach at this school and I and others are very glad that you are no longer there - and you very well know why!

guest

The degree to which some people feel the need to defend Kiettisak speaks volumes. Everyone in Vientiane knows the school's reputation and that many teachers are not qualified (are able to teach in proper school back in their homeland). There is really no caparison between Kiettisak and VIS, and they rarely have to fight for students. Most VIS students are there because the parent's company pays or the parent's can see the benefit that a quality International education gives. In fact VIS is bursting at the seems and has a waiting list because it is growing so fast. A new building is due to be built next year to accommodate this growth. The basketball comment is a disgrace - everyone know that the dispute began because the Kietisak coach was unable to control their temper (VIS were not even playing) and then the Kiettisak administration refused to communicate with VIS when the new Vientiane basketball league was being created. You didn't want to be a part of it. Check your facts.

guest

The word “Kiettisack” translates as “honor”. Exactly how honorable conditions at this institution are, you may wish to decide for yourself. When inspecting this or any other school it is highly recommendable to approach the teachers. Being employed by the school they will generally avoid problematic issues. But ask them about the student numbers of their classes. This will give you a rough indicator of the school’s priorities. Are “Children the future” (K.I.S. slogan) or are they the most direct route to your Dollars ? You decide ! Having worked at the school as a foreign staff member for a number of years, I’m sorry to say that the shortcomings of Kiettisack International School described in some of the previous contributions are mostly accurate and unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg. As already mentioned, K.I.S. is first and fore most a business and second a school. It’s run by the Valakones, a Lao-national director=owner, her sister-in-law, as well as the family clan surrounding them. It is frequented mostly by the Lao elite and newly rich. Depending on how you’d count mixed-nationality children, I’d estimate Lao children comprise roughly 80-90% of the student population. The teacher-student ratio is twenty-five to thirty students to a class. Of the foreign teachers only about 80% are native speakers. It’s school policy to accept every new and paying student, if in any way possible and all year around. If there’s no room in the appropriate classes, newcomers have been accommodated in inappropriate year levels. Compared to other schools around town the tuition fees may seem low, but not included are a number of ‘hidden’ charges, on all of which the school makes a profit. These include the school lunches, uniforms, books, the school bus service and field trips. MEALS & HYGENE For lunch the school serves local cuisine, which (I can confirm this) is indeed prepared on the kitchen floor, situated next to the main toilet area. Students have a choice of either a plain local-style meal containing meat or a vegetarian choice. Depending on the weekday, this may be a rice or noodle dish or often merely a bowl of soup. Everyone queues up at the distribution tables which are open to all sides. All students and staff members have to bend over the open pots and bowls to be handed their daily rations. Especially younger learners invariably cough and sneeze over the food. K.I.S. meals have little nutritional value and are generally prepared in a poorly seasoned manner. Usually the amount of food prepared is not sufficient, letting children who arrive late go hungry. Also located on the school grounds are three kiosks which specialize almost exclusively in sweets and fatty foods. One of these is owned by a Valakone. EDUCATION & RESOURCES The elementary classes loosely follow the official New South Wales Curriculum, which prescribes themes by subject and school year. It doesn’t include specific text book titles. So teachers have no choice but to piece together a puzzle of the sparse and usually grossly outdated materials found in the disorganized resource room. At the end of every school year the management reshuffles teaching staff and year levels, often regardless of the teachers’ preferences, qualification or experience. Thereby, teachers regularly find themselves facing a new level and aren’t able to develop and refine their grade-specific strategies and resources. Furthermore, original text books are a rarity at K.I.S. Books are photocopied, often in the 2nd or 3rd generation and sold for a profit (check local copy prices). This is not only illegal, and serves as a bad example for the learners, but the quality of the copies are poor, words are cut off, images unrecognizable etc. As mentioned above, no paying students are rejected. The management accepts students with learning disabilities or diagnosed mental handicaps, fully knowing that they won’t get the specialized support they need. Many of these stay back in the English as a Second Language (ESL/ESC) Program year after year, slowing the general learning pace. The advertised purpose of the ESL/ESC program is to prepare newcomers for the English level of the regular mainstream classes. But since the mainstream is mostly over occupied, they are kept back in the Second Language programs even though their proficiency of English would permit them to move on. I can also confirm that K.I.S. is an international school by name only. The language of instruction in the morning program is English. But the overall language abilities of the students in the mainstream are relatively poor, so that some regular program teachers have found it appropriate to resort to Cutting Edge (ESL) textbooks. Pupils addressing one another in- and outside of the classroom predominantly use Lao. STAFF Most Elementary and Second Language classes are granted a Lao assistant teacher. But much of the office and library staff and even some of the assistant teachers speak little to no English. Many of them are part of the management family. The librarian’s literacy for example doesn’t seem to extend much beyond palm reading. That’s not her fault, but nonetheless she’s found employment at the school and has since transformed the tiny library room into a DVD cinema. The foreign staff members are mostly dedicated and approachable, and manage the big classes to the best of their abilities. The school hires applicants with university degrees (any degree). There has been at least one instance where a foreigner didn’t fulfill this requirement, but was hired nonetheless. He’s the son of one of the manager’s business partners. What’s more, no police record checks are conducted. In recent years, there have been a handful of teachers inflicting disciplinary measures through physical abuse on their pupils. Of these, one teacher spoke very openly to other staff members about his mistreatment of the children. This was immediately reported to the management, which in turn was slow react. The accused teacher was permitted to keep his employment for another three years, despite repeated and ongoing complaints by the foreign staff. SCHOOL FACILITIES Some of the classrooms have rather thin-longish dimensions, ill-suited for lessons of any kind. The students’ wooden tables and chairs are locally manufactured and of very poor quality. Often bits of the furniture break off, leaving dangerously sharp edges and protruding nails which cut into clothes and skin. Despite its many faults, more and more uninformed parents send their children to K.I.S. In the past school year (2010-11), well over six-hundred children were enrolled. That’s an increase of more than a hundred compared to the previous year. In order to maximize profit a three- and a two-story building were recently added, cutting down the recess play area significantly. Students go to and from their classes using open, balcony-like walkways with poorly secured steel railings. Fortunately, nobody has fallen down yet, but books and other objects do occasional plunge onto students standing below. Furthermore, the three-story building housing around 150 students has only a single set of staircases. Should a fire breakout on or near these then fatalities are unavoidable. More buildings on the same grounds are to be constructed. STUDENT ISSUES The fact that more and more students are compacted into an increasingly smaller space has lead to a higher risk of student injuries. But for quite some time now there’s been no qualified nurse employed. Instead the injured are mended by the office staff or ferried to a local hospital. With increasing student numbers, these incidents are becoming more frequent and serious. Additionally the student density has a negative effect on the pupils’ personal-social well-being. Gangs and bullying are on the rise. Also alarming is the fact that students and teachers have no choice but to share the same toilets. It goes without saying, that this opens the door to all kinds of sexual harassment and/or malicious accusations. Many of the cubicles have open ceilings and students have been caught taking picture with their phones of the children in neighboring toilets. This problem has repeatedly been brought to the management’s attention by foreign staff members, to the effect that the single cubicles now have teacher/student and male/female signs. These are generally ignored by the students. Suspicious students have been singled out for drug testing. Of these, a few where found to be positive. But not all drug users were immediately expelled, as is the school’s policy. Foreign staff members have noticed that especially students from families, who have more than one child enrolled, are often treated with more lenience by the management. Also students from more prestigious family backgrounds seem to be favored. In addition, it is standard management practice to promote students who have failed throughout the school year. TEACHER-MANAGEMENT RELATIONSHIP The situation for the foreign staff members is dire. Many have difficulties making ends meet. The starting monthly salary is round about $1000. Even though tuition fees have increased significantly over the last few years, this has not been reflected in staff wages. A mere payment rise of $50 was granted two or three years ago which doesn’t even make up for the ongoing Dollar-Kip depreciation. At the same time, housing- as well as all other day-to-day living costs have risen due to local inflation. On the other hand, the school management boasts with lavish spending for unnecessary luxuries, such as exorbitantly priced office furniture, huge private estates and sports cars. Foreign teachers’ opinions, suggestions and especially constructive criticism are generally not welcomed by the management. Staff has been fired as a result of speaking up about issues. Additionally, teachers are given no incentives to develop themselves professionally. Moreover, the manager has a rather blunt sense of discretion. Intimate matters concerning foreign staff and parents are tactlessly passed on to other unconcerned parties. Confirming what was mentioned in previous postings, the clan running the school has no background in education. Nonetheless, the manager has recently made an effort to obtain a Master’s Degree in Education from the National University of Laos. Foreign staff was coerced into writing the thesis. For the ‘help’ at least one was promised a bonus payment. Judging from my years of work at the school, it has become obvious that the manager’s avarice to increase profits has made her turn a blind eye on the quality of education, staff matters, facilities, hygiene, and safety. One doesn’t need fortunetelling abilities to see that K.I.S. is a major accident waiting to happen. Further comments are appreciated.

guest

To the last poster. Thank you for clearing up some things for me. I have been offered to work there three times and it was always the money that held me back. $1000 dollars a month is nothing and I make a little double that now. I have three licenses to teach in three countries, a degree in Education and majors in elementary education/English/Reading and can teach all subjects grades 1 - 8. I was interviewed three times and it was always the lead teacher I had to go through. He did not want to answer questions, show me policy (no indication of transparentcy), or anything else. In fact, he acted like he was sort of an owner. His background is not in Education either. I also detected an immediate wall of defense when my credentials where presented. I personally liked the school very much but the unknown, unspoken and avoidance, plus the take it or leave it attitude now makes sense to me. The school obviously did not want a person like me with over 30 years teaching, I own a house in Vientiane (so I am in for the long haul), even wanted to send my son and daughter there. Not now. I did find out that the teachers are mostly retired older persons with an income to suppliment the salary paid. Last I heard the school was building a new campus and wanting to expand. For my money I am wanting to send my children to Panyathip.

KorpJai

These posts are hilarious. or the record, Kiettiesack is only the second International School in Vientiane and therefore in Lao to have accreditation from the Lao MOE. VIS is also an International school. There are other schools such as Panyathip that use the term "International" in their title but are technically not allowed to do so. VIS charges about $14,000 pa, Kiettisack about $3000. Despite comments by some previous disgruntled staff who have been sacked for incompetence, the standard of tuition at KIS is excellent. I personally know a number of the teachers in the senior secondary area - all of them have degrees in their subject areas. The current Deputy Director is probably one of the most experienced teachers in the Lao PDR, and is an excellent teacher as well. No, I don't teach at the school. Yes, I do have a child there. Yes, the school is overcrowded and that shows that people are clamouring to get their kids in. No, there is NO way that I would consider sending my child to VIS to do the IB and pay those exorbitant costs, particularly as I know for a fact that not all VIS teachers are qualified in their subject areas. As an aside, one of the guest posters does appear to be functionally illiterate - it is no wonder he/she did not get employment. The other guest appears to have no knowledge of punctuation whatsoever; it is no wonder that KIS sacked him/her. By the way, there other reasons into which I shall not go.

guest

I must say that I am very satisfied with KIS and the management. I have also been talking with them over the past couple of years and have seen them growing and build. I find very few parents that are not happy with the school but I have never seen a school that had 100 percent love ratio. It is a parent thing. I recently interviewed for a job and found that the owner is truly interested in the welfare and placement of the students in the correct learning level. It is also a fact that failing children are required to attend summer school and if they can not bring up their grades then they can be retained one time in grades 1 through 6. Every student I met and talked to liked the school. Lunches are what they are and you can not please everyone. As for the location of the kitchen it is being addressed. I felt it was clean and even though it is near the toilet most homes also have a toilet in or near the kitchen. Some older students do bring their lunches or order out. No big deal. The owner is very approachable but very busy. The school is going through an expansion program adding new rooms and campuses. This requires focusing both on existing and future progress. The Assistent Director is also approachable as is all the teachers I met. If they were as bad as the comments I have seen here then I doubt they would be in the position they are now. It is a good school and fine staff.

guest

It is wrong to say that the teachers are non qualified and inexperienced. All teachers have to prove their teaching qualifications before they are employed and in my experience the farang teachers are very experienced and capable. The school takes educational progress and exam preparation to international standards, very seriously, and students with poor English are weeded out and taught separately. As to the attitude of the owner towards the teachers. Yes, a great deal of improvement is necessary here, but the owner has no contact with the students.

guest

A lot of the teachers are qualified and experienced - but all the rest is true; it's badly run, disorganized, and exists for profit in spite of the crap the owner spouts.

guest

One of my children went to this school for 11 years, and the other one for 8. I know the school and the owner very well. There isn't much choice in Vientiane if you don't get school fees paid by your employer and can't pay the extremely high tuition at VIS; but if you do have a choice, don't choose this place.