Collecting voices of the Basotho People to Transform Education

Lesotho much like many countries around the world is facing an education crisis that has been further impeded by the pandemic, reducing learning time and increasing dropout rates. To find solutions to education challenges, the UN Secretary-General has invited world leaders to the Transforming Education Summit (TES) in September to reflect on efforts made thus far post the pandemic, and ways to accelerate the implementation of SDG4.

To garner support in transforming education in Lesotho, the public was consulted through dialogue sessions throughout the country, with the UN supporting government to develop tools & methodologies for the consultations. For this process, the Office of the Resident Coordinator brought together expertise from UN agencies to support the Ministry of Education and Training. An interagency task team was established in support of a common cause, comprising UNICEF, UNFPA, UNAIDS and UNESCO. National ownership of the process was ensured with the Ministry of Education and Training leading the process through another task team of government officials and the UN.

A whole-of-government approach was used in consulting a wide range of stakeholders from the education sector including representation from national and district departments, teacher formations, school boards, principals, higher learning institutions, and faith based organizations.

Inclusion and leave-no-one-behind principles were fostered for all dialogue sessions by taking into consideration all marginalized and excluded groups, decentralizing the process, using inclusive methods of consultation, and employing all the official languages. The disadvantaged, marginalized, and excluded groups including Orphaned and Vulnerable Children, People with Disabilities, LGBTQI+ communities and Non-Formal Education Service Providers representing youth groups such as herd-boys, teenage mothers, Domestic Workers, Street Children and Sex Workers were consulted.

“As a person with disabilities, it has been difficult for me to access quality education in Lesotho, I feel there has not been enough investment and funding in education for people with disabilities, so this conversation is important and I hope to see a change after the summit”, said Marealeboha Lephoto at a consultation session for people with disabilities.

A total of 3288 persons were consulted; 73 % were females with 22 % youth and students (including children and adolescents); 15 % parents and caregivers. To increase public accountability and transparency, media involvement was used throughout the consultation process.

Finally, the dialogues were concluded with a report on the findings, which were validated at a high-level stakeholder meeting led by the Minister of Education and Training. "The findings are telling us that current education crisis might turn into a generational catastrophe especially for the vulnerable and marginalized groups, if we don’t act now for education," expressed the Minister of Education and Training Hon Mamookho Phiri at the meeting.

The Chief of Education for Primary Education, Thulo Ntsekhe-Mokhele highlighted some recommendations from the report that to transform education, Lesotho would need to focus on access to quality early childhood education, enhancing teachers ‘capacity for lifelong learning and adequate funding.

For continuity and sustainability, the TES is directly linked to the Education Plus Initiative; which aims to achieve gender equality in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as empowering adolescent girls and women through education.

It has become clear to the UN Country Team that the TES report will also be a key input into the Common Country Analysis that is currently underway to inform the next UN Cooperation framework in Lesotho for the next five years.

The power of partnerships and effective coordination and collaboration towards a common vision has yielded positive results before for Lesotho.

In 2020, in collaboration with the UN and Local Education groups, Lesotho was successful in its application for a US3.47 Million grant from the Global Partnership for Education to support the Government in its bid to reduce the risks of the social impacts of COVID19 on education. Through this funding the country was able to roll out free and open digital tools to schools, resulting in large scale remote learning and the provision of much needed water and sanitation facilities.

The TES should not be seen as a one-time event but a continued effort for the realization of transformative education for Lesotho.  The UN continues to support and engage with the government of Lesotho on its development priorities with are in line with Agenda 2030.