Despite gains made in the past two decades in improving access rates,
learners in Lesotho continue to suffer from high dropout rates at primary
level and poor access rates at secondary level, particularly in the rural areas.
This paper draws on the findings from an intervention aimed at identifying
and overcoming entrenched patterns of educational inequality and disadvantage
among Basotho learners and exploring what can be done about
the poor completion rates in particular. The findings show important real
and potential benefits arising from the use of open, distance and flexible
learning for reversing the interruptions to schooling caused by poverty
and HIV/AIDS among marginalized groups of learners in rural areas in
Lesotho. Most importantly, the paper demonstrates the sustainability of
affordable initiatives in terms of improving the quality of education among
rural learners through the creation of circles of support around learners at
risk of dropping out of school.