In spite of the well-intentioned policies framed periodically to improve school education and high-sounding goals mouthed by officers and political leaders concerned, the situation on the ground betrays apathy.
Children in government, church and community schools in remote rural regions of Lesotho continue to suffer from glaring disadvantages emanating from manpower and infrastructural deficiencies vis-a-vis the big towns and cities. That this crucial sector is plagued by the same old problems year after year, and 55 years after independence, reeks of an abject lack of will displayed by the government and church owners alike, to break out of the vicious circle in which poor village boys and girls are condemned to an underprivileged life due to denial of equality in their learning tools.
Underscoring this stark reality are two latest stories: First, the construction of classrooms meant to accommodate learners in a conducive facility at Molatjeng Primary Schools at Semonkong, was abandoned midway by a contractor in 2010, forcing pupils to take turns to use a makeshift classroom. Secondly, a similar scenario of two few classrooms plays out at Ha Long Primary where the infrastructure leaves much to be desired; the school has only two teachers.
In store for the innocent unsuspecting youngsters deprived of proper schooling are adverse lifelong repercussions. Unlikely to be equipped to surmount the difficulties ahead, a fringe existence is likely to be their lot.
It is criminal that this inequitable distribution of resources, prohibited under the Right to Education section of the National Constitution, is allowed to recur in a sector that is mandated to be the nursery of a robust human resource.
Who is responsible for the below-par youngsters emerging in hordes annually from our educational institutions, the primary building blocks for the development of society? Has any teacher unduly seeking a prized posting been punished? Or, any official held accountable for succumbing to such pressure?
