The article seeks to present an overview of educational reforms in Lesotho dating back to the late 19th century. The reforms in the educational sector discussed in this article focus mainly on primary and secondary education. Colonial and post-colonial reforms in education it is argued are characterised more by continuities rather than discontinuities. The changes that have occurred have been mainly of a cosmetic nature. Even free primary education starting with the first grade introduced in early 2000 it is argued, is not a new innovation by the ruling democratically elected government. Free, but not compulsory, education was first introduced in the late 1920s by the colonial administration. A point worthy of noting is that for as long as education remained free but not compulsory it failed to bring all children to school. It is estimated that a third of Basotho school-going children are out of school. Past and present educational reforms and restructuring processes in Lesotho have had limited impacts on the school curricula and the educational delivery system. In an attempt to highlight successes and shortcomings of the reform processes in Lesotho it is argued that an active role needs to be assigned to the missing component, the Human Factor (HF) driven educational reform process. Lessons drawn from Lesotho's educational reforms in the past and present clearly show that the lack of the HF in education has produced an inappropriate system of education, which is failing to address the needs of the mass of the population. The one conclusion this article arrives at is that in order for structural reforms in education to succeed in developing persons and citizens who will play an active role in positively transforming Sotho society, the whole process including the structures of education should be anchored on the Human Factor.
This article presents an overview of the provision of education in Lesotho dating back to the 19th century. The contents of this article should enable us to understand the basic changes that have occurred within the education system of Lesotho. The causes, achievements as well as repercussions of such changes are examined. The discussion on the growth and changes in the Lesotho education system focuses on primary and secondary education levels. Developments in Lesotho’s education system fall into three periods namely the pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial phases. Of these three periods, not much will be said about pre-colonial education. The focus is on educational reforms during the colonial and post-colonial period often referred to as the post-independence period.
A brief account of pre-colonial Sesotho education serves as an important point in locating later developments. Pre-colonial Sesotho education was informal, mainly the responsibility of the elders, local leaders, and doctors of medicine (traditional doctors) in the villages (Task Force Report 1982:1). The Task Force Report (1982:1) observed that indigenous Sesotho education evolved around “the initiation schools that acted as informal institutions where learning actually took place. Boys and girls separately learned cultural values and philosophy, personal and family responsibility and duties to one’s clan and people”.
Indigenous education it seems was geared towards an education system that inculcated moral and cultural values and an awareness of one’s origins amongst the youth. At the same time, more emphasis was placed on the practical activities at home and in the field. The traditional informal education system intended to produce a person characterised by social responsibility and committed to serving one’s society and meeting family requirements (Matsela, 1982: 168). Pre-colonial education contributed significantly towards the cultural and personality development of individuals. A recasting of the past pre-colonial education system is useful if we are to understand the nature of developments during the colonial and post-colonial periods. The emphasis of this article, as already stated, is on the colonial and postcolonial educational reforms in Lesotho.
Missionaries played a central role in the provision of colonial education in Lesotho and continued to do so in the post independence period. During the early part of the 19th century, formal education replaced the traditional way of learning. French Protestant Christian missionaries dating back to 1833 introduced formal institutions where learning took place in the classroom. The arrival of the Roman Catholic missionaries in the 1860s saw an expansion of formal schools. Early education pioneered by missionaries became the standard form of education in Lesotho, such that even after the set up of a formal colonial administration in 1868 to administer the acquired colony of Lesotho, formal education was left in the hands of missionaries. Gosh (1973) acknowledges the role played by missionaries as forerunners of the colonial education system.
While Christian missionaries pioneered the formal education system in Lesotho, it is worth noting that:
The primary focus of the finest schools was the acquisition of literacy and the study of the bible, the spiritual values and teachings of the church, including religious observances and participation in the Christian community. European cultural values were also emphasised, the adoption of a biblical name, the use of European clothing, eating and living habits (Growth and Change in Lesotho, undated: 2).
Schools were designed to propagate Christian values and to develop Christian characters, capable of reading the bible. Teachers of the time, acted as role models in propagating Christian values. Schools were to produce Christians and teachers were to operate as facilitators. Hence the development and expansion of Christianity served the social interests of missionaries. The development of lifelong skills of an individual was not a primary responsibility of Christian education. In this regard, the rationale of reading and writing was to produce people who could read the bible. The syllabi that were followed were foreign and left little choice for adaptation to the local conditions.
However, Christian education seemed to be the direct opposite of what Bohloko (1982:2) thought the schools should have emphasised; schools operated contrary to the claims that:
The focus of education in the school and classroom should therefore be upon learners enabling them to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour that will give them full, successful life and continued personal growth and equipping them to participate effectively in a rapidly changing society.
In Lesotho, missionary education was characterised by two distinguishing factors: first, it provided literacy to the nation. This was the acquisition of new social and professional skills, such as, communication through working and reading. Second, the missionaries indoctrinated the nation in terms of Christian morality. The introduced formal education in many ways undermined the indigenous Sesotho education system. The increased demand for literacy contributed further to the opening up of primary schools throughout the country. The literature further indicates that with the increase of numbers in school, it was necessary to produce helpers, half teachers, and half evangelists. This led to the establishment of the first teacher training institution introduced by missionaries, the Morija teacher training college (Task Force Report, 1982).
Although Lesotho became a British colony in 1868, the colonial government continued to support missionary education right from its inception (Institute of Education Documentation Centre, ED F6 / 006:3; Task Force Report, 1982:2). However, churches in Lesotho received grants from the British Colonial government to run the schools. The report of the Clark Commission (1946) emphasised the British Government’s intention to continue funding the schools, mostly the primary schools. The report noted:
all we here insist upon as something to be clearly understood and accepted from the onset is that .... there is a single education system of which the government is the final arbiter (p.6).
In order to streamline education in 1909 a central board of advice was established, consisting of a director of education and representatives of government. This was further followed up by the appointment of the education secretariat to function as a link between the schools and the government (the Clark Commission, 1946). It further brought up two important developments first it was the formulation of the comprehensive Education Act defining the role and responsibility of government and the churches in the management policy and the schools. The second was the establishment of the central and district advisory committees to provide for education policy for chiefs, churches and government. The revised framework of operations perpetuated the need for uniform syllabuses and a system of school inspection. It should be borne in mind that the new system of education which used uniform syllabuses brought about a new standard examination for primary and post primary schooling: The use of formal, standard qualifications and credentials. The credentials became the key for obtaining employment in the colonial civil service and the teaching force (Clark Commission, 1946).
Although there were some changes in the education system during the colonial period, these changes were of a cosmetic nature. The system of education was still not geared towards the betterment of the welfare of the Basotho nation. It followed then that:
training for Basotho was largely directed toward the limited opportunities for employment in government administration and in churches as teachers and catechists. There were few opportunities in trade and business and even fewer in commercial agriculture. The requirements for government and church employment was basically a knowledge of English and Arithmetic and examinations strongly emphasised these skills and neglected the development of technical and commercial skills (Task Force Report 1982: 3)
The preceding quotation compares with the one that follows. It explains further the interest of the British government in funding the education system.
with the setting up of the British administration in Lesotho, there was need to produce support staff in the form of literate police, interpreter and clerks .... the government also took upon itself to maintain standards in the schools through producing syllabuses, improving the setting up of new schools and conducting overall inspection (A case system to annual reporting on the status of the Lesotho education, ED /F32 / 004, undated).
These developments have contributed to the form of Lesotho’s education system today. The significance of the funding responsibility and the activities of the colonial government in the country required the staff of appropriate standard especially in the civil service. The instant need of the civil servants led to the establishment of the secondary schools. The annual report on the status of education in Lesotho, (undated) indicates that:
the need for the support staff of a high calibre by the civil service on the “protecting” British administration led to the establishment of the secondary schools .... in 1937 the British administration set-up a model high school, the Basotoland high school. It was to be the example of what to aim for in Lesotho senior secondary education.... Teachers in this school were classified as civil servants - the alternate in employment those days (p. 3).
It is important to mention that, in most cases, the curricula and subject content taught in Lesotho schools was modelled along the lines of the Cape Province of South Africa Department of Education. This model was meant to advance white supremacy and to serve the interests of a white minority, something that, to say the least, proved detrimental to the development of Basotho.
The question of improving the quality of education persisted, and by 1953, Lesotho planned its own education system independent of the Cape Province as South Africa was introducing the Apartheid-inspired Bantu Education Act (ED / F 32 / 0024). The change from the South African education system enabled the three countries, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, to come up with their own syllabuses for the Junior Secondary classes. But the senior classes followed the Cambridge overseas senior certificate, which still exists even at the present moment. While the weaning of Lesotho education system from the Cape education led to the development of syllabi, pupil’s books, teacher’s guides, for the primary and secondary schools, the content and form of education remained the same, inspired by missionaries and offering little in terms of routing the curricula toward Sesotho culture.
Churches still play a prominent role in the education system. As far back as the mid-1970s, the then Minister of Education and Culture (1975:1) observed that “the Lesotho government decided to continue to give the churches substantial powers over education and wishes to do so even in the future”. It seems the post independence governments have found it difficult if not impossible to disentangle Lesotho’s education system from church control.
The switch from colonial government to post independence government education system has produced little change in the sphere of education. Lesotho inherited the colonial education system and has since made little structural changes. As observed in the first Five-year Development Plan (1970:162):
In 1966 the first independence government of Lesotho inherited a school system, which was not only missionary inspired, but also unrelated to the development of the skills and aptitudes required to achieve rapid economic development and to improve the standard of living of the majority of the people.
The post independence government had aspirations of developing education as an instrument for development. But it was faced by deficiencies in ideas, and a limited number of experts who could fulfil the aspirations of the government. During the independence era, drastic changes were anticipated, changes for the better, and changes that would bring a difference from the colonial type education. The government wished to restructure the education system in order to respond to the development theory-education for national development (Lesotho Five-Year Development Plan, 1970). This theory suggests, “promoting education and training as a means of creating skills and aptitudes must therefore be a focal point in Lesotho development strategy” (Lesotho Five-Year Development Plan, 1970).
According to Hartwell, (1981:2) it is the responsibility of the government to provide economic and social services so that all citizens can attain a minimum level of well-being. As in Kenya, “the idea of education was inspired by human capital theory which held that education is a productive investment at the level both of the individual and of society as a whole” (Rharade, 1997:164). Thus, in the case of Lesotho, education had to be organised in such a way that every individual would benefit. This idea of organisation was prompted by the 1978 external factors that influenced the discussion of the education system. In this forum, it was recommended that there should be a change and expansion in the education system in order to promote the economic and social development. The Lesotho third five-year development plan Vol. 1 1975 / 76 - 1079 / 80 introduces the section on education with the following words:
Lesotho’s primary resource is its people whom the national effort is designed to benefit. The educational system, which includes both formal and non-formal activities is the basic means by which the quality and productive capacity of the population is affected. Literate, trained manpower is the end product of educational activities, and turn the driving force in successful development (p. 168).
The intention of the government was to increase the primary schools to cater for every Mosotho child even in the rural Lesotho (Growth and Change in Lesotho, undated: 6). However, it came to the government’s notice that there was need to increase the secondary schools because the numbers of the primary school graduates that needed secondary education had increased. Secondly, primary learning certificate could no longer be an employment certificate, in either social of economic sectors.
Soon after independence, the system of education reflected much of the colonial structure of education. The eight-year primary schooling period was initially retained. However changes were implemented later in the years of independence. The colonial type structure was modified and a seven-year structure in the primary school was introduced. Secondary school consisted of five years, which was divided into two sections: three years of Junior Secondary and two years at High school level. Not much happened in the area of curriculum development.
However the government soon realised that there was a mismatch between the type of education provided and employment opportunities for secondary school leavers (Task Force Report, 1982:63). According to the Task Force Report, in order to solve the problem of unemployment, the government introduced a new policy - education for self-reliance and education with production. This was to allow an individual pupil to leave school with an idea of basic skills, such as those required in agricultural production, animal husbandry, home management, trade and marketing and innumeracy. This self-reliance approach in education was meant to enhance the self-employment strategy so that individuals could lead a decent life outside formal employment (Bohloko, 1982:5- 10).
Post independence Lesotho has been characterised by internal inefficiencies in some areas related to the delivery of educational resources to the community. According to Ishumi (1994) Lesotho rated poorly in terms of availability and distribution of teaching materials, physical facilities and equipment, a ratio of 81:1 in terms of enrolled pupils to a classroom was reported, a class size or teacher-pupil ratio of 1:53, and teacher supply and performance in the classroom. Lack of practical skills, restricted entry into secondary schools, delinquency and truancy are some of the problems in the education system of many eastern and southern African countries including Lesotho (Ishumi, 1994). As late as 1986, 91% of secondary schools in Lesotho were financed and managed by various church missions (Ishumi 1994:41). Policy and general curriculum directions are supposed to be in the hands of government, even this area remains uncertain. Lesotho has approached the question of curriculum diversification rather cautiously and as a result not much has been achieved in this area.
There is a tendency to overload the curriculum especially at secondary school level with too many subjects. This leaves little room for pupils to acquire productive skills and an education for lifelong living. A core curriculum needs to be developed with emphasis on development of the HF content. As noted by Machobane (2000) the situation in terms of delivery and provision of education did not change much with independence in 1966. Educational reforms—these were of mainly in terms of Africanising the syllabi and were not politically contentious—introduced in the 1970s did not disturb the status quo. The first major attempt at reforming the system of education was in 1978, followed by the 1988 and 2000 attempts. The first two cases were characterised by failure. Two key issues are at the heart of reform attempts, first an effort on the part of government to create conditions for consolidation of schools and government taking command or control of education, and second, an attempt by government to give direction in education. Church proprietors have long resisted albeit successfully any attempt at vesting control away from their hands as far as schooling is concerned.
The conference dubbed “Educational Dialogue” was convened in Maseru, Lesotho’s Capital, in 1978 amidst mounting economic problems. There was a general feeling that government, together with all other stakeholders, needed to refocus education in terms of the ethos of ‘education with production’ and ‘training for self-reliance’. As the then Permanent Secretary of Education, the late Odilon Mofo Seheri quoted by Machobane (2000:49) noted “the prime concern of any national educational system ought to be the bolstering of the national tenets of the people it is intended to serve. Unless this is done such education will destroy the very roots on which it is based”. The First National Educational Reform forum had set out to achieve nine objectives. Amongst these objectives was the commitment that children were to be taught practical subjects and the spirit of self-reliance; emphasis was to be on the development of a spirit of patriotism, respect, self-discipline and self-sacrifice. Religious and health education as well as the fostering of scientific attitudes was to be emphasized. The First National Educational Reform conference was a total failure as churches, the actual proprietors of schools, snarled against government proposals. Churches were not prepared to let go their control of schools in Lesotho. They interpreted the proposed changes as undermining their authority and hence were not prepared to cooperate.
In June 1988 another big national conference on education was held. Its aim was to usher in an era of transformation and restructuring of the education system. Government wanted to achieve school control and implementation of an appropriate education system that would respond to the needs of the nation. This conference, in addition to transforming school governance, emphasized self-reliance. Like its predecessor in 1978, the conference failed despite donor support by agencies, such as World Food Programme, USAID and World Bank, and good morale within the Ministry of Education. Church proprietors simply refused to cooperate and specially-designed legislation had to be aborted at the last minute. This was yet another missed opportunity as far as restructuring of Lesotho’s education system is concerned. Since then not much has changed.
At the beginning of 2000, the Lesotho Government announced, amidst opposition from Churches and the political opposition, that free education was to be effected starting with the first grade at primary level. Yet even this positive attempt at reform, which did not change the nature of Lesotho’s education, was met with opposition and generated a lot of huff and puff from churches.
It is therefore worth noting that, despite the fact that Lesotho has the longest history of formal education in Africa, huddles are many, and little progress has been made. The education system remains firmly in the hands of Church proprietors and few structural changes have been introduced since independence in 1966. We can therefore conclude that not much in the area of HF growth and development has occurred. The sections that follow attempt to link developments in Lesotho’s education to issues pertaining to the development of the positive HF.
There exists a growing body of literature on the role of the HF in the development process (Adjibolosoo 1999, 1998, 1995, 1994, 1993, Chivaura and Mararike 1998, Afori-Amoah 1998, Adjibolosoo and Afori-Amoah 1998). The central argument of the HF literature is that qualities such as responsibility, accountability, trustworthiness, integrity, motivation, commitment, emotional maturity, honesty, love, tolerance, loyalty and personal caring hold the key to all forms of development. The underlying assumption put forward by Cherif, Gialamas and Ofori-Amoah (2000) is that these appropriate HF can be taught in schools and need to be made an ideal part of the education enterprise. As Cherif et al (2000: 91) notes, “no social, economic, political, and institutional reform or program can be expected to achieve its objectives without the support of people with the appropriate human factor characteristics. When the appropriate human factor qualities are absent, lawlessness, anarchy, mismanagement, embezzlement, bribery, corruption, and misery abound.”
The HF is therefore considered the linchpin for success in any development effort. The HF encompasses personality characteristics and every other dimension that has a bearing on individual and group performance in every other human endeavour. The HF is critical to the humanity of every individual member of any given society. In this paper the HF is discussed in relation to the changes, developments and growth of education in Lesotho. This is identified as the missing component in Lesotho’s educational system and yet the acquisition of the HF is critical to Lesotho’s success. In order to locate the discussion of the role of the HF in the development of Lesotho’s education a case presentation based on Adjibolossoo’s (2000) analysis of the experience of Singapore is included. The Singaporean case helps in focusing the discussion on the HF and developments in education in Lesotho.
Nation building and citizenship development are two issues considered critical in the formation of the Republic of Singapore. Hill and Kwen Fee (1995) cited by Adjibolosoo (2000) regarded citizenship as:
involving much more than the mere possession of individual (human) rights and privileges. It refers to one’s rights, privileges, duties, and responsibilities as a member in a community. That is, one does not only belong to a society, but must also contribute to societal integration and nation building. It requires extensive personal loyalty and commitment to trust in a common and/or shared historical civilization (p.15).
Lee Kuan Yew felt that the Singaporean education system had to produce good citizens who are “robust, well-educated, skilled, and well-adjusted.” In a sense, in Singapore, emphasis is on education for life and good citizenship. In order to enhance positive developments in terms of nation building, there was a deliberate focus on subjects such as civic education, history, geography, and one’s mother tongue and traditional Asian values. The Singaporean curriculum of education emphasised the “development of the virtue of hard work, commitment, integrity, trustworthiness, responsibility, dedication, loyalty, and self-respect” (Adjibolosoo 2000).
Adjibolosoo (2000) quoted Lee Kuan Yew’s observations on the Goh Report of 1979 on the critical role of education to the citizenship development and nation-building program in Singapore. Lee made the following observations:
The first subject concerns good citizenship and nationhood. What kind of man or woman does a child grow up to be after 10-12 years of schooling? Is he a worthy citizen, guided by decent moral precepts? Have his teachers and principals set him good examples? Imparting knowledge to pass examinations, and later to do a job, these are important. However, the litmus test of a good education is whether it nurtures good citizens who can live, work, contend and cooperate in a civilized way. Is he loyal and patriotic? Is he, when the need arises, a good soldier, ready to defend his country? Is he filial, respectful to elders, law-abiding, humane, and responsible? Does he take care of his wife and children, and his parents? Is he a good neighbour and a trustworthy friend? Is he tolerant of Singaporeans of different races and religions? Is he clean, neat, punctual, and well mannered? (Cited by Adjibolosoo 2000, see Lee Kuan Yew in Goh, 1979, pp. iv-v; quoted in Hill and Kwen Fee, 1995, pp. 89-90).
Lee’s observations take note of the fact that a good education programme must of necessity place strong emphasis on the development of the individual’s HF content. If, as Adjibolosoo (2000) noted indeed, the true answer to the questions raised in Lee’s observations is a resounding “yes,” then a nation’s education program is HF-based. The post independence authorities in Singapore were convinced of the centrality of a well-developed HF citizenry as a pre-condition to a nation’s development programme.
Obviously, Singapore’s achievements in nation building, economic growth, and development were not necessarily due to the pursuit of “sound economic policies” and the existence of democratic institutions. Instead, the great accomplishments of the first generation of Singaporean leaders were results of leadership focus on the development of the appropriate HF traits. Thus, from the HF perspective, therefore, this is the route developing countries must take if they desire to overcome their problems of underdevelopment. The success story of Singapore has implications as far as the development of education in Lesotho and many other developing countries.
As already noted in the preceding sections, not much has changed in Lesotho’s educational curriculum. The content of what is taught has largely remained irrelevant to the needs of a developing country. Matters pertaining to the development of patriotism, responsibility and accountability continue to receive little attention, while personal loyalty and commitment to Sotho principles and ideals are of little consequence in the country’s curriculum. Lesotho’s curriculum stands in sharp contrast to that of Singapore. One of the reason’s for Singapore’s success was the existence of a large pool of cadres in its leadership who were committed to a national agenda that promoted the development of the HF characteristics amongst the nation’s youth. Singaporean leaders saw the development of HF driven cadres as the ultimate investment that will ensure future success in every developmental area.
As the saying goes ‘garbage in garbage out’, one reaps the fruits of one’s labour. In other words an education system that ignores the centrality of people in development is bound to see its people short changed when it comes to development. Lesotho’s curriculum remains rooted in the Westminster inspired curriculum. For instance English remains the most important subject that pupils are expected to pass before proceeding to tertiary education. Just to further drive home the issue of irrelevance one need to point at an O level English language COSC Exam paper in 1999, asked students to write about the Titanic, a very remote and foreign concept to Basotho students. Yet, there were those events of 1998 when the whole country was engulfed by political turmoil, looting, burning and bombings in the country’s major towns. Testing children on the 1998 events would have been much more relevant compared to the one question that focused on the Titanic.
Issues of democratic governance, social justice, accountability, patriotism, good citizenship and a commitment to the country are not incorporated in the curriculum. Different subjects continue to reflect a euro and Anglo Saxon bias. In most subjects there is a dearth of African examples and contributions to knowledge systems.
Lesotho’s case, as far as the curriculum is concerned, reflects Chivaura’s (1998) observations in Zimbabwe. According to Chivaura (1998:66) “Africans who have imbibed European world-views, and ideologues, and hold positions of power and influence in Africa’s governments and social institutions, are mainly responsible for Africa’s continued underdevelopment”. Chivaura (1998:66) further argued that in order to raise the self esteem and performance of African peoples it is essential as is the case of Lesotho’s government “to empty the European-oriented content of syllables in our schools, colleges and universities, and introduce an educational content that will instil in our people a sense of pride in their own culture and identity as Africans”. As it is more than thirty years after independence Lesotho’s educational curriculum continues to undermine the development of an empowered and liberated citizenry. Whether it is the teaching of English, history, geography, mathematics, physics, biology, Sesotho, bible knowledge, etc, there is not much rooting of these subjects in Sotho culture and history. This is something that needs to be explored so as to improve the relevance of the content of the various subjects to students. While this might seem to harsh a description of Lesotho’s performance in terms of curriculum diversification Ishumi’s (1994:52) observation that “in the context of curriculum diversification, Lesotho, Zambia, and to extent, Botswana may be seen as cases of the laggard bordering on failure,” may not be far off the mark. Attempts at introducing vocational training in the school curriculum failed to take off.
Cherif et al (2000:91) rightly observed that:
education is an enterprise aimed at developing the mind so that people are not only capable of grasping and expanding their understanding of life Â… but are also capable of wisely using that knowledge and understanding in the betterment of themselves and the world around them. A positive education implies a process directed at producing citizens with a breadth and depth of worthwhile knowledge and understanding who are able to meet the challenges of their environment, and able to contribute positively toward building a better world.
Lesotho, despite having achieved a relatively high literacy rate on the continent and being the only country in Africa where women are more literate compared to their men folk, has not managed to make a big stride in the area of citizen development. This is partly because of the nature of the curriculum that does not give emphasis to the development of values. Nowhere in any of Lesotho’s planning documents and national vision on education is the attainment of HF traits and values considered a critical factor in the country’s development. This is in contrast to what happened in Singapore.
It is worth noting that simply sending children to school does not result in them getting true education. As Egler (1970:1) rightly pointed out, “knowledge is not wisdom; wisdom is knowledge when it is tempered by judgement and conscious responsibility”. There is a need to provide students with an environment conducive to the development of positive HF traits. Critical and creative thinking are an integral part of what will lead to a HF driven education process. In order to attain this type of education deliberate steps need to be taken by those in authority to ensure that the teaching of the HF is made part of the school curriculum. Without taking conscious and positive steps to ensure the inclusion of the HF in the curriculum Lesotho’s education will continue to produce students are deficient in terms of HF qualities and consequently people not capable of playing their full role as active citizens.
As Zlotnik (1986) noted, true and meaningful education will strive to ensure that students develop an understanding of: 1) where they are coming and going, their culture and history; 2) the world they live in and what role they can play in sustaining their environment; 3) an appreciation of their humanity and that of others, and; 4) how to lead a meaningful existence by making a lasting contribution to humanity through the pursuit of sustainable development options.
A HF driven education process will ensure that citizens are capable of making responsible decisions for a sustainable human existence. Lesotho like most developing countries greatly needs the development of conscious and responsible citizens. The task is not beyond the means and resources of Lesotho, it requires a strong commitment and refocusing of educational goals. Singapore proved that even small nations could achieve wild success with the assistance of HF development. It is people not money that is critical to the development of any nation. Lesotho’s greatest resource is its people. A reformed and refocused HF driven education system is within reach; it is not something that requires additional resources but commitment and clarity of goals by government and other leading agencies in the country. Education in Lesotho, as Mohapeloa observed 20 years ago, still remains largely ‘bookish’ and not relevant to everyday life experiences for the majority of the people.
Ever since the adoption by the government of Lesotho of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in 1987/88, the country has experienced pressing problems of unemployment, crime, poverty and increased socio-economic vulnerability for the poor. Due to ESAP massive budgetary cuts have been experienced in the social sectors particular in health and education, and there has been a curtailing of investment in education. In the face of declining economic performance cost recovery programmes have meant that education is no longer as accessible to the poor and vulnerable groups as one would hope.
Because of the increasing costs of education per child, there has been reported to be a big wastage in terms of school dropouts. Despite the 2000 policy on free education starting with the first grade, about a third of Basotho school-age children are out of school. Most of these children come from poor families. Hence one can conclude that ESAP threatens to reverse the gains reported in the area of education in Lesotho. Cost sharing in the area of education has been impossible to implement in Lesotho. Gould (1993:57) noted in relation to social sectors, such as education, “pushing a higher proportion of costs on to the user, the poor within each country tend to be even more marginalized within the system, for they cannot afford the extra expenses”. Cost sharing is a strong contributing factor to school dropouts in countries such as Lesotho. ESAP makes a mockery of the United Nations declaration of education as a basic human right. Under ESAP the dual purpose of selection and rejection is even more marked and operates in favour of the elites. ESAP thus has seen a preservation and perpetuation of the interests of a small minority in the area of education as the system guarantees failure for the poor.
As already noted in preceding sections the twin goals of the Government of Lesotho aimed at revamping education by focusing on education for self-reliance and education with production were never implemented. Church proprietors in particular scuttled these educational goals. These twin objectives were made even more difficult to attain with the adoption of ESAP and the downturn in the economy, which dates back to the early 1990s. Global agendas have come to dominate the direction and thrust of Lesotho’s education policies. It is under such situations that an indigenous self-propelled education driven by local needs and values and set to benefit local communities is needed. Such an alternative educational system has a chance of success if it comes to be rooted in the HF ethos, a critical but missing dimension in Lesotho.
Maphosa (1998), like many other researchers, though not specifically referring to education noted that ESAP had produced more victims than beneficiaries. Human costs have been extremely high as reflected in the growth in terms of what Ofori-Amoah refers to as HF decay. In Lesotho there has been an increase in terms of school dropouts, delinquency, crime, hooliganism and prostitution. While one cannot attribute all these vices to ESAP it certainly has been a major catalyst in terms of this negative development in Sotho society.
The structure and content of education in Lesotho constitute a major obstacle to the development of the HF amongst the youth and society in general. As already noted above Lesotho’s education system has minimally deviated from what it was during the colonial period it continues to train and impart foreign values on the youth. There is very little emphasis on matters pertaining to good citizenship and upholding of sound principles drawn from African culture. From pre-school right through to university, the education system is geared towards the acquisition of foreign values, skills and knowledge. Knowledge and skills are linked to the wage sector. This external and outward looking approach to education undermines the development of positive HF characteristics to enable young Basotho to be creative, innovative, patriotic, responsible, disciplined and oriented toward self-development and the development of their society.
The education system in Lesotho continues to be what Paulo Freire would call ‘oppressive pedagogy’. Education should be a process that engages individuals in a way that will enable them to participate critically in the development process affecting one’s society. Education ought to engender an on-going process of dialogue that will make it possible for individuals to acquire new forms of understanding making it easier for people to participate meaningfully in development efforts. Education is to be seen as a political act meant for the total liberation of a society. It is quite clear that an overview of developments in education in Lesotho shows that it falls short of Paulo Freire’s expectations.
The post independence period has seen a struggle for control between government and churches as proprietors of schools. The struggle for control remains unresolved. Unfortunately, it has been narrowly defined as an issue concerning control and has not addressed the fundamental questions regarding education for what, how and who shall be educated. Generally, there is a lack of a supportive environment conducive to the growth and development of positive HF attributes in people. This critical deliberate use of educate to act as an agency for effecting HF engineering as what happened in Singapore is far from being realised. The conflict in the area of education has been narrowly defined as that between government as the people’s representative and the churches as school proprietors. Nowhere is this conflict perceived as involving differences between individualistic and collective goals. The absence of an effective, focused and dynamic HF oriented leadership in Lesotho has made it difficult to reorient education to serve the needs of humanistic society. The church-government conflict over in terms of control of school and education has been a major stumbling block to effecting structural changes in education.
To Freire (1985), the process of conscientization has a positive bearing on self-empowerment of any group of people. Given the nature of education in Lesotho education is more of a tool for undermining individual autonomy rather than empowerment. This is yet another major obstacle in the path of a HF driven education. It should therefore be noted that the strategic positioning of education in the development process is something that is critical to successful implementation of an educational programme that has the interests of the majority at heart.
In the light of the dictates of globalisation and globalizing influences in the field of education, the dominant values and global agendas with minimum focus on local communities are taking a centre stage even in small nations like Lesotho. Globalisation means that nations like Lesotho are being integrated within the ambit of global markets and value systems not at their own terms but at the dictate of powerful western nations whose vested interests, be they economic, cultural and political, are to further the interests of these powerful nations at the expense of weak nations. In order to avoid being swallowed by globalizing tendencies, the deliberate adoption of a HF oriented educational curriculum will go a long way in warding off the negative influences of globalisation. What is important at this point is to recognise the constraining effects of globalisation on a people’s development.
Anyanwu (1998) identified five major obstacles restricting the free development of appropriate HF. Amongst the identified obstacles are:
To Anyawu Social attitudes towards education favouring an academic education rather than the one focusing on practical skills useful for everyday living can inhibit development.
The stunted growth of Lesotho’s education can be attributed to the lack of a HF driven system. This has led to distortions in the country’s education system. Furthermore, the lack of appropriate HF development has negative socio-economic implications. Lesotho’s poor performance in terms of economic growth, trade and human condition indicators can be attributed to this lack of the HF. The lack of the HF leads to the rise of malfunctioning individuals incapable of contributing meaningfully to the enhancement of the well being of the collective. In other words the lack of HF affects not only the quality of life for individuals but also the entire spectrum of Basotho nation.
An inappropriate education system, lacking in terms of an emphasis on positive values, leads to the rise and entrenchment of HF decay. The lack of responsibility, accountability, integrity, trust, and motivation to perform within the education system spills over to cover Sotho society in general. Education being the key to fostering positive values, if neglected, tends to impact negatively on all other sectors of the economy and social life. For instance abusive educational environments are likely to generate a similar response at societal level.
A discussion of the implications of the lack of a HF component in the education leads us to ask the question: Whose interests are served by the education system? Unlike Singapore’s education system that is driven by the positive HF, Lesotho’s case is that of an elitist education system driven by individualistic interests and the needs of the small but powerful outward looking minority. Hence the distortions within the education sector go beyond the limits of individuals groups, families, communities and the nation.
In the light of the discussions above, this section explores ways and means of how to develop and enhance the HF in Lesotho’s education. According to Adu-Febiri (2000, p.82) with reference to the tourism sector but equally applicable to education in general, education must have the capacity to produce persons “who possess and practice appropriate [tourism] knowledge and skills and human qualities of humility, appreciation of nature, responsibility, accountability, loving-kindness, selfishness, etc”.
The need for institutional reforms with appropriate HF content and thrust cannot be over-emphasized. It is imperative that this should be done in the field of education. There is a need to revamp the educational system and programmes with a view of placing priority on HF content. Good citizenship and effective development strategies do not simply happen. The HF should be taught in schools. A relevant and meaningful curriculum with a HF content emphasis is needed. Education should be part of the government of Lesotho’s long-term manpower development strategy. Promotion of human rights issues and good governance should be made an integral part of a HF driven curriculum. There is also the need to infuse and integrate positive traits from Sotho culture into educational programmes.
In order for HF driven changes to take root and achieve productive and sustainable status, those in charge of Lesotho’s education must themselves acquire the appropriate human factor traits. In addition, they must understand that people the foundation laid in education can contribute to latter developments and attitude of the labour force. Destructive practices in various sphere of life at later stages in people’s development can be avoided or minimised if a good HF foundation is laid early in the education system. The emphasis of a HF inspired education is hard work and the readiness to do one’s best to achieve the greatest results. Conscious efforts must be made to ensure that HF educational programs and tasks are accomplished. There is also a need to introduce incentive schemes in the school system through such things as essay competitions promoting HF competence. Students must be assisted to acquire and apply HF principles in their daily chores.
Lesotho’s education should aim at producing a new citizenry cadre as well as a new breed of HF inspired leaders. Such leaders must commit themselves and all those they lead to a programme of activities directed at the development of HF characteristics. The development such values as integrity, trust, responsibility, accountability, love, loyalty, and the knowledge about what makes sustained growth and human-centred development happen must be emphasised. It is through the pursuit of a HF oriented education system that a lasting positive influence on the development of the Basotho nation is expected.
The one major conclusion this article arrives at is that in order for structural reforms in Lesotho’s education to succeed in developing persons and citizens who will play an active role in positively transforming Sotho society, the whole process, primarily the structures of education, should be anchored on the Human Factor. Although growth and changes are noted to have taken effect in Lesotho’s education system, these have been mostly cosmetic as they did not affect the structure and value system governing the delivery of education. The reported conflicts that have come to the fore after independence have been mostly on matters of strategy rather than differences in terms of values that drive the delivery of education in Lesotho. The focus of Lesotho’s education has remained elitist and outwardly looking focusing on the acquisition of a western type of education driven by western values. Lessons and opportunities that could have been learned from Sotho pre-colonial educational experiences were lost. It is the authors’ view that a HF driven education system has to draw its inspiration from the people’s past and rich cultural heritage.
An effective and transformational educational system requires the commitment of those in the driving seat in terms of societal leadership as well as those in charge of education. This commitment must be tempered by a desire to implement an education that transforms people’s worldview qualitative so as to put them at the service of their nations and people. The value of education in Lesotho can only be seen when it is capable of producing men and women of the highest integrity, honest, tolerant, responsible, accountable, hard working, patriotic, well-mannered and people who are bent on serving their society. Education should be able to equip each and everyone to contribute meaningful to the development of the nation. The teaching of positive HF attributes must be made the bedrock of a successful education system in Lesotho.
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