Like many developing countries, Lesotho gives high priority to improving its education system. The government’s targets by 2011 include universal primary enrolment and improvements in higher secondary enrolment, coverage of early childhood provision and national levels of basic literacy. What implications do these targets have for teacher education? Can the country afford the teachers it needs?

Researchers from Sussex University, UK and the National University of Lesotho examine how the additional demand for teachers can be financed when expanded enrolments are already putting pressure on the education budget.

The goals of earlier educational development plans have not yet been fully achieved. Unfavourable macro-economic conditions have limited the government’s education budget and increasing poverty has made it harder for students and trainee teachers to pay fees. Nevertheless the new Education Sector Development Plan aims to reduce class size and pupil-teacher ratios, improve the transition into secondary school and ensure that all teachers are trained.

Against this background, the future of teacher education is a hot topic of debate. Teacher training in Lesotho has already been streamlined from a complex multi-stage process to a single pathway from school graduation to primary teaching, with opportunities for serving teachers to upgrade their qualification. The National Teacher Training College (NTTC) has expanded its facilities in order to increase output. But the number of trained teachers continues to fall short of expectations.

Key conclusions from the study include:

• The supply of teachers from the current system will not meet projected demand, especially at primary level. The output of the teacher training system must increase, in order to meet the government’s ambitious objectives.
• The costs of expanding the current system are unsustainable.
• Efficiency measures could double the number of teachers trained by NTTC, but this figure would still not meet the government targets.

Given these findings, the way forward lies in reducing costs per teacher trained and raising efficiency. Possible ways of doing this include:

• reducing the length of full-time training and increasing the proportion of school based work
• developing mixed-mode initial teacher training, with some distance learning
• employing additional staff at NTTC and expanding capacity at the same time as increasing efficiency
• developing the funding system for NTTC, to provide incentives for efficiency and effectiveness.

Source(s):
‘Costs and financing of teacher education in Lesotho’, MUSTER Discussion Paper 10, Centre for International Education, University of Sussex, by K. Lewin et al, 2000 Full document.

Funded by: DFID (Education)

id21 Research Highlight: 29 November 2002

Further Information:
Keith Lewin
Centre for International Education
University of Sussex Institute of Education
Falmer
Brighton BN1 9RG
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1273 678464
Fax: +44 (0)1273 678568
Contact the contributor: k.m.lewin@sussex.ac.uk

Institute of Education, University of Sussex

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'Costing teacher education in Ghana: micro realities and macro contexts'

'Teacher education reforms in Albania'

The Multi-Site Teacher Education Research Project reports on education in Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago