World Bank Boosts its Support to the Education Sector in Lesotho

MASERU - July 1, 2024 - A new package of World Bank support to Lesotho, will see a major boost for the country's education sector with work focused on enhancing infrastructure and physical learning conditions in targeted primary and secondary schools and improving the quality of teaching.

The Lesotho Education Improvement Project, approved on July 1, is financed by an IDA* credit of $20 million. While Lesotho is making commendable progress in providing basic education and achieving universal access at the primary level, it continues to face significant challenges in the basic education sector. These challenges include inadequate infrastructure across all levels, low student retention, gender disparities, and primary schools' lack of basic infrastructure of classrooms and latrines.

"We are committed to improving access to quality basic education as a core strategy for the country's socioeconomic development, and this support will help accelerate our efforts towards improving learner outcomes. Through the project, we will receive support to strengthen the teaching of foundational skills in early primary grades, implement a national learning assessment in junior secondary school, scale up online mathematics and science training for junior secondary school teachers, and improve basic infrastructure in targeted schools,' said Hon. Prof. Ntoi Rapapa, Minister of Education and Training

The new project aims to support the construction of adequate infrastructure to accommodate growing student populations. This will entail constructing 189 classrooms, 1,140 latrines, 48 laboratories, and 10 workshops, benefitting over 100,000 students across primary and secondary schools. The construction of science laboratories will have a positive impact on the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects as it will provide hands-on experience to learners, enabling them to have a deeper understanding of scientific concepts,

"Our Country Partnership Framework commits to improving human capital. To achieve this, we are committed to providing the necessary support to improve the quality of education and increase retention at the secondary level to strengthen the foundation for future learning and skills acquisition,"said Daniel Gerber, Acting Resident Representative, Lesotho.

The project builds on the priorities of the Ministry of Education and Training, lessons learned, and opportunities arising from recently closed and ongoing projects, including the Lesotho Education Quality for Equality Project and the Lesotho Basic Education Improvement Project.

* The World Bank Group's International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world's low-income countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people's lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for its 75 client countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Since 1960, IDA has provided $552 billion to 115 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $36 billion over the last three years (FY21-FY23), with about 75% going to Africa. Learn more online: https://ida.worldbank.org #IDAworks