I wish to start off by commenting the Government of Lesotho for taking a noticeable giant step in introducing Free Primary Education, which is intended to contribute towards the achievement of Education for All (EFA) goal (2). It is also important to recognize a very positive initiative that the Government of Lesotho has undertaken by introducing the secondary schools rental books scheme which to some extent reduces the cost of the schooling needs. We, of the CEF Forum wish to express our sincere gratitude on behalf of the children of Lesotho for many other interventions by the government.

However, in spite of the interventions employed by the government, the education of Lesotho is still characterized by a number of challenges. The challenges predominantly centre on issues of quality and accessibility. To start with, many school going age children (15%) are still out of school. In fact, the reduced access is exacerbated by a combination of factors namely; non enrolment, high drop-out and repetition rates. The situation threatens to deteriorate further if drastic interventions are not introduced, given the ever increasing poverty, HIV/Aids pandemic and orphan hood etc.

The debate on the quality of the education of Lesotho dates back to colonial era. The debate, which is even more heated today, attempts to deduce that the quality of education in the primary and secondary schools does not only fail to equip pupils with life skills to encourage self reliance, but it also promotes wastage on resources. That is, parents and the government dedicate their resources towards supporting the education of the children, but benefits that accrue are not commensurate with the efforts and resources. There is therefore, as a matter of urgency, a need to transform the content of the curriculum to respond to the needs of the Basotho society and eliminate its imperial character; there is a need to address other elements that are paramount to quality. These include teacher quality and supply, that is, there should be more qualified teachers to address the horrible teacher-pupil ratio especially in the primary schools. However, to attract more people into the teaching field and achieve teacher retention, the level of incentive must be increase to promote motivation. Lastly but not least is the issue of infrastructure. The physical structures are still a serious concern in rural areas of Lesotho where classes still take place either under the trees or in the open. If education is to influence sustainable development as Jomtien Education World Summit indicated, its quality should be needs-based. Actually the quality of the education of Lesotho accounts for why Lesotho makes one of the poorest countries in the world despite having one of the highest literacy rates. So our education has very little to do with developing the country or eliminating poverty.

In conclusion, as the Dakar Framework for Action stipulates, it is strategic for the government to ensure engagement and participation of civil society in the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of strategies for educational development. Learners, teachers, parents, communities, non-governmental organizations and other bodies representing civil society must be grated new and expanded political and social scope, at all levels of society, in order to engage government in dialogue, decision-making and innovation around the goals of basic education. Civil society has much experience and crucial role to play in identifying barriers to EFA goals, and developing policies and strategies to remove them.