This book is organised into 16 chapters written by different authors concerning diverse themes on education in Lesotho, ranging from early childhood development to tertiary education. As narrated in the book, formal education started in 1838 in Lesotho after the arrival of the first group of missionaries the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society in 1833, followed by the Roman Catholic Church in 1862 and the Anglican Church in 1876. From the time they arrived, the three pioneer churches engaged in fierce competition and scrambled to establish their missions and schools across the country in order to expand their denominational territory. As a result, to this day, these mainstream churches operate the majority of schools in partnership with the state, which regulates and coordinates education. Lesothos educational arrangement is unique in the sense that the government runs public schools on private property; a situation that occasionally causes tensions between the two over the control of schools. Despite Lesothos long history of education, not much has been written on the education of the country. Therefore, this book attempts to fill that gap by chronicling the history of education, and the philosophical and sociocultural context within which education is provided. It explores the structure, organisation and management of education at different levels, educational policies and curriculum aspects. It also looks at early childhood development, which is not directly funded by the government, but has increasingly been recognised as a critical phase that readies the child for school and improves educational efficiency. The book also highlights that Lesotho is a low-income country, with unacceptably high levels of unemployment and poverty. Partly because of these and the skewed government priorities, the standard of facilities, and the quality of teachers and learning conditions in rural schools are generally poor compared to those of urban schools. These socioeconomic inequalities are manifested by the stark differences in achievement between the urban and rural schools, with the rural students generally falling behind their urban counterparts in the national examinations. In order to tackle this problem and provide educational access for all children, the government introduced Free Primary Education in 2000. However, this takeover by the government appears to have somehow diminished parental involvement and accountability in education. The book further acknowledges that Lesotho has experienced political tensions since its independence in 1966, and advocates the introduction of democratic education in schools in order to interrupt a cycle of social and political violence by nurturing a democratic culture from an early age. At the higher education level, the challenges revolve around low state funding that render higher education institutions unviable and uncompetitive and trigger brain drain, poor educational quality and a curriculum not aligned to the needs of the country and the labour market. Finally, although Lesotho is used as a context for this book, the style of discussion is scholarly and ultimately makes it relevant to an international audience.

The Kingdom of Lesotho is a mountainous enclave in southern Africa, and like mountain zones throughout the world it is isolated, steeped in tradition, and home to few outsiders. The people, known as Basotho, are respected in the area as the only tribe never to be defeated by European colonizers. Greg Alder arrives in Tsoeneng in 2003 as the village's first foreign resident since 1966. Back then, the Canadian priest who had been living there was robbed and murdered in his quarters. Set up as a Peace Corps teacher at the village's secondary school, Alder finds himself incompetent in so many unexpected ways. How do you keep warm in this place where it snows but there is no electricity? How do you feed yourself where there are no grocery stores let alone restaurants? Tsoeneng is a world apart from his home in America, but Alder persists in adapting. He learns to grow food, he learns to speak the strange local language, and he makes enough friends such that he is eventually invited to participate in initiation rites. Yet even as he seems accepted into the Tsoeneng fold, he sees how much of an outsider he will always remain-and perhaps want to remain. The Mountain School is insightful and candid, at times accepting and at times rebellious. It is the ultimate tale of the transplant.

Lesotho is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, surrounded by South Africa. The country has a population of approximately 2.2 million people, and is known for its mountainous terrain, which has earned it the nickname "The Kingdom in the Sky." Lesotho is also known for being one of the highest-altitude countries in the world, with the lowest point in the country being 1,400 metres above sea level. The country's economy is largely based on agriculture, with maize, sorghum, and wheat being the main crops grown. Lesotho also has a growing textile industry, which is largely supported by foreign investment. Despite the country's natural beauty and resources, Lesotho faces a number of challenges, including high levels of poverty and HIV/AIDS, which is one of the highest rates in the world. The government has made significant efforts to address these issues, but there is still a long way to go in terms of improving the quality of life for the people of Lesotho. Overall, Lesotho is a country with a rich cultural heritage and natural beauty, but also faces a number of social and economic challenges that must be addressed in order for it to thrive.

This nine-country study of higher education financing in Africa includes three East African states (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), five countries in southern Africa (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa), and an Indian Ocean island state (Mauritius). Higher Education Financing in East and Southern Africa explores trends in financing policies, paying particular attention to the nature and extent of public sector funding of higher education, the growth of private financing (including both household financing and the growth of private higher education institutions) and the changing mix of financing instruments that these countries are developing in response to public sector financial constraints. 'This unique collection of African-country case studies draws attention to the remaining challenges around the financing of higher education in Africa, but also identifies good practices, lessons and common themes.

Lesotho Business Law Handbook - Strategic Information and Basic Laws

This book reflects on more than two decades of adoption practices of inclusive education policy in Southern Africa. It is aimed at taking stock of the successes, challenges and achievements during this journey of making education inclusive and equitable. It responds to the educational needs of learners at all levels, regardless of their diverse needs, such as disability, gender, socio-economic status, race, ethnicity and language background. This book furthers the understanding and conceptualization of the notion of inclusion in education, and explores the challenges experienced during the operationalization and implementation of the process. It extends debates spawned by international and national policy mandates that sought to transcend exclusionary educational practices in order to realize inclusive societies and, by implication, inclusive classrooms. It offers a comprehensive conceptual framework for inclusive education in the Southern African context while drawing parallels from the regional and international experience. This book can be used as a reference or critical reading for scholars and researchers in the field of inclusive education. It will empower practitioners, administrators, teachers and school leaders, curriculum developers and planners, as well as policy makers with knowledge about theory and practice regarding inclusive education in the Southern African schooling system.

"Many countries all over the world are struggling to achieve for all. As part of such effort, they have strategized to provide universal primary education which normally refers to the enrollment of all school age children in primary schools, namely achieving one hundred percent of the net enrollment. While such efforts have been realized in many developing countries, it is a major challenge in most developing countries, especially in Africa following the attainment of independence. This book focuses on the influence of donor agencies in setting for the development of education in Africa leading to the preliminary interventions by different African English countries through the provision of free primary education. It is noted that most of the countries which introduced fee remission through free primary education experienced massive enrollments as many children from disadvantaged groups took advantage of the policy intervention to send their children to school. However, the push for it came to be identified with increasing deterioration in the quality of primary education right from the provision of physical facilities, teaching and learning materials, deployment of teachers, performance and transition from primary to secondary education. The quality of infrastructure and teaching and learning materials were in a deplorable state, especially in the rural areas, where such enrollments were well above the official recommended number of pupils per classroom. It proceeds to provide an interesting and easy to read accounts of the development of universal primary education in selected countries analyzing successes and challenges. Among the key challenges identified in the implementation of the UPE policy include; the lack of adequate planning, financing, inadequate infrastructure, and the HIV/AIDS scourge. On the basis of the above challenges, it is important that policy measures are put in place to improve the quality of primary education in many countries"--