User:ISTdan28/FinalArticle

Basic Education[edit]
Lesotho's educational system is organized in formal and informal domains. Lesotho contains a 3-7-3-2 formal education structure. Early childhood education is also known as pre-primary school in which students must pass 3 years before moving onto primary school. Primary school consists of seven grades (1-7) and upon completion receive the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) certificate that allows students to move onto secondary schools.There are two divisions within the secondary school known as the lower and Upper secondary. Lower secondary runs for three years (8-10) and upon completion are given the Junior Certificate (JC) and move onto grades 11-12.Lesotho's formal system has about 2,204 pre-primary schools, 1,478 primary schools, roughly 341 post-primary schools and 14 higher education institutions. Lesotho's informal domains comprises of 26 technical and vocational schools that offer individuals training in automotive mechanics, bricklaying and home sciences. The informal education is set in place to address the educational needs for those who are unable to attend education through formal means while also providing primary and secondary education.

Education Reforms[edit]
While Lesotho does allocate over 23.3% of its budget on education, study in 2015 determined their were many challenges facing the educational sector. One such challenge includes poor retention rates at both primary and secondary levels. Other challenges included in the report are low student learning outcomes, high inefficiency in the system, and poor school governance. Many educational sectors also lack acceptable facilities and find it difficult to retain teachers, especially in mountainous districts or other areas where it is difficult to reach. As a result, Lesotho implemented the Educational Sector Strategic Plan for 2016-2026 to address these challenges. Lesotho's education plan for 2016 - 2026 is split into 13 chapters that covers an array of topics within the Ministry of Education and training.The plan not only serves as a blue print for the Ministry's budget allocation for the decade but wants to focus on low performance in STEM subjects.

Female Education[edit]
While it is common for education to favor males, especially in low income countries, the gender gap in education tends to favor women in Lesotho. The ratio in enrollment rates in secondary education are 1.6 females for every male, making it the highest in the world. Female education comes from the result of male out-migration to South Africa due to high unemployment and poverty.This caused women to outnumber men by four-to-one while most of the most who migrated stayed in South Africa.