Amidst global campaigns for “education for all” (EFA) and national prioritisation
of opening up access to primary education in sub-Saharan Africa, there are
growing concerns for the development of critical skills for national development
and life skills in the face of the spread of HIV and AIDS in the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) countries. Subjects like mathematics and
science are at the heart of debates about the development of critical skills and
yet participation rates and performance in these subjects remain very poor in
Lesotho. Through a macro-level analysis of data from the Education
Management Information System (EMIS) section of the Ministry of Education and
Training, the paper highlights some expansion at the level of basic education,
overshadowed by grave inefficiencies and poor learner outcomes, followed by
an analysis of data emerging from stakeholder interviews which revealed that
there are isolated initiatives employing open, distance and flexible modes. These
modes offer important possibilities for supporting access to conventional
schooling and the development of essential life skills. The paper argues that the
current exclusive focus on basic education does not augur well for the
improvement of critical skills such as mathematics and science as well as the
development of essential life skills in the face of the growing vulnerability and
the spread of HIV and AIDS in the country. The paper recommends a more
comprehensive education provision and an exploration of the use of open,
distance and flexible modes to improve the quality and efficiency of education in
Lesotho.