The Minister of Education and Training Professor Ntoi Rapapa has promised to address some of the schools’ challenges with the M2, 720, 872, 150 billion he has been allocated for the next financial year in the National Assembly on Thursday.

Prof. Rapapa said this amount will enable him to construct new schools, build laboratories for schools as well as to re-roof those which were blown away by the strong winds.

The Minister noted that unlike in the past, many schools have no laboratories to carry out science tests.

About the schools, he said some of them were blown away by strong winds and that what is left is only walls.

He also noted that there are some of the rural schools in the highlands of the country which have no proper structures, leaving students learning in open areas under the trees.

Again, he promised to address the challenge at the Teaching Service Department (TSD) in which the backlog of teachers’ files going to retirement have been addressed.

‘We had to engage the members of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) to work on the teachers’ files and there is an improvement now’ he highlighted.

However, the Minister decried the usage of drugs in schools, saying many students in High Schools and tertiary schools, saying if a parent thinks that his or her child is not using drugs, his or her friend is using the drugs and therefore both of them are affected by the drugs.

The Leader of opposition, Mr. Mathibeli Mokhothu said it was high time that both Ministries of Education and Training as well as that of Social Development sit down to address the issue of bursaries to the deserving students.

He said Schools principals have been crying for those students who are sponsored by the Social Development with school fees for their outstanding fees to be paid but nothing has happened.

Mr. Mokhothu also warned the ministry for the late disbursement of retired teachers’ benefits, saying some of them die while still waiting for what is due for them.

He believed that it was high time that files at TSD were computerised to avoid loss of files, citing that even Members of Parliament are no longer using paperwork but are now in e-government despite some of them not having been trained on modern technology.

The Democratic Congress (DC) Leader said the Ministry of Education and Training is the future of the country and therefore needs to be taken good care of.

Ministries of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition and Health have already been allocated their funds by the Members of the Parliament for the next financial year.

Source: LENA 21/03/2024