Five decades since its establishment, Son La College has become a training centre supplying officials and teachers for not only the northwestern mountainous province of Son La but also eight northern provinces of Laos.

From the initial 26 staff, at present, the college now has 370 lecturers, including two doctorate degree holders and 140 masters, providing training courses in over 30 majors.

A total of almost 20,000 students have graduated from the college over the past 50 years to become teachers and researchers, while nearly 2,000 working officials have attended refresher courses at the school.

According to the dean of the college’s international faculty, Nguyen Thi Huong, the school has signed many memorandum of understandings on cooperation in training with Lao localities, including Xieng Khouang, Udomsay, Luang Namtha, Bokeo, Houaphan, Phongsaly, Sayabuli and Luang Prabang, since 2001.

Under the MoUs, almost 800 Lao students have attended courses in the Vietnamese language and other majors at Son La College.

The college’s rector Vu Ngoc Nui said the school will continue to update its training curricula to meet the requirement of development trend in the country, the region and the world.

It will also pay more attention to expanding links with other education establishments nationwide, while further promoting cooperation with Lao localities in the field, he added.

On the occasion of the 50 th anniversary of its establishment (October 1963-October 2013), the Son La College has been awarded the Independence Order, third class, for its contributions in the education and training field.-VNA