Qacha’s Nek, Nov.18— Seven months into its rollout, Lesotho’s new Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) curriculum is showing promising results, according to recent monitoring efforts by the district education office between October and November 2024.
Developed by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) through the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), the curriculum adopts a play-based, child-centered approach aimed at fostering emotional, social, and cognitive development.
Introduced in April 2024, it emphasizes play-based learning through activities such as discovery, fantasy, art, and numeracy, allowing children to express their feelings, often shaped by family dynamics.
Teachers have been encouraged to engage actively with students, even adopting a more relaxed approach, foregoing formal attire to fully embrace the play-as-you-learn philosophy that supports social, physical, and emotional well-being alongside mental growth.
The curriculum has undergone three monitoring phases in Qacha’s Nek—April-May, August-September, and October-November 2024. The latest findings indicate notable improvements in classroom engagement and lesson delivery, despite ongoing challenges according to Ms. Nteboheleng Jim, National ECCD teacher trainer for Qacha’s Nek.
She praised the curriculum’s transformative impact. “Children are more curious, interactive, and confident in their learning,” she said. “This is exactly what we envisioned when we introduced the curriculum.”
She said the monitoring assesses the curriculum’s implementation, provides teacher support, and allows for necessary adjustments based on feedback.
In this round, the Ministry revisited schools with mixed feedback from previous phases and introduced new schools to ensure earlier challenges were addressed.
Ms. Jim highlighted significant improvements, especially in reception classes, noting, “The curriculum is now more approachable and structured, making it easier for teachers to plan and deliver lessons. Children are thriving in environments that prioritize play-based learning, which is the core of this curriculum.”
The district’s ECCD institutions, comprising 25 reception classes, 2 home-based, and 128 center-based classes, report notable improvements in teaching structure and student engagement.
Before the curriculum’s introduction, many teachers relied on unstructured “learn as you play” methods. Now, teachers are equipped with clear guidelines from the NCDC. However, Ms. Jim noted that some educators, especially those with limited qualifications, still face challenges in adapting. “One-week training sessions were helpful but insufficient for many teachers, especially those with only basic qualifications like Grade 7,” she added.
In 2023, the curriculum was piloted in 10 schools across the country. Ms. Jim emphasized the importance of this intentional effort, noting, “If primary school teachers had been trained like this, the transition would have been much smoother. I have never seen such commitment from the ministry before.”
Despite challenges, Lesotho aims to expand its reception classes nationwide, with plans to attach 300 new classes by 2025 and have one in every primary school by 2027, depending on the need. “Reception classes attachment aligns with SDG 4, Target 4.2, which advocates for at least one year of pre-primary education,” Ms. Jim stated.
Mrs. ’Mamoleboheng Lerotholi, a reception class teacher at Qacha’s Nek United, expressed how the curriculum’s clarity and structure have increased her confidence. “Initially, the shift from a scheme to a syllabus was overwhelming. But with continuous monitoring and guidance, I now feel much more confident,” she said. However, she acknowledged the difficulty of teaching in both English and Sesotho, noting, “Pairing the two isn’t easy, but we help each other as teachers from different schools especially in numeracy and life skills.”
’Mamookho Sello, a Junior Certificate teacher at Lioling Preschool, shared her experience, saying, “Previously, I did what I wanted, but the existence of the curriculum has been very helpful, and children understand it.” She wished the curriculum had been introduced earlier in the year but appreciated the training she received.
In addition to government efforts, local NGOs like the Network of Early Childhood Development of Lesotho (NECDoL) are crucial to supporting the curriculum’s rollout. Through initiatives like the School Readiness Initiative, backed by the Roger Federer Foundation, NECDoL has been instrumental in training teachers and ensuring the curriculum is effectively implemented.
Ms. Shoeshoe Mofokeng, Co-founder and Director of NECDoL, emphasized the importance of teacher training and collaboration with the Ministry. “The curriculum is detailed and structured, which is critical in a country where only about 10 percent of teachers are formally trained in ECCD,” she explained. She also advocated for translating the curriculum into local languages to help teachers with limited bilingual fluency.
She also advocated for translating the curriculum into local languages, particularly Sesotho, IsiZulu, and IsiXhosa, to help teachers with limited bilingual fluency. “We must ensure the curriculum is accessible to all teachers, especially those who are not fully fluent in both Sesotho and English,” she said.
Ms. Mofokeng also highlighted NECDoL’s significant contribution in supporting the curriculum’s rollout, particularly through the use of the Child Steps assessment tool. “Through the initiative, we use the same curriculum, and the Ministry has adopted our assessment tool called Child Steps, which is now a national assessment tool,” she said. “The curriculum didn’t have an assessment, but after testing Child Steps in early learning kiosks, the Ministry saw the results and adopted it.”
“We must ensure the curriculum is accessible to all teachers,” Ms. Mofokeng said, underscoring the need to support educators, particularly those with lower qualifications, to make the curriculum fully effective.
NECDoL also connects reception classes with ECCD centers to enhance lesson planning and teaching strategies. “Even though some teachers are unable to attend formal training, teaching them how to use the curriculum already improves quality and children will get the quality education they deserve,” Ms. Mofokeng said.
However, challenges remain, including a lack of resources and adequate monitoring. Ms. Mofokeng suggested the government hire more district resource teachers to monitor ECCD programs directly.
ECCD education in Lesotho is still facing significant disparities. In 2020, according to the Ministry’s statistics bulletin, Qacha’s Nek had one of the lowest enrollment rates at just 3.4 percent. Nationwide, nearly six in ten children aged 3–5 still lack access to preschool education, especially in rural highland districts.
The government, along with partners like UNICEF, is working to address these gaps. The School Readiness Initiative has been pivotal in expanding access to quality preschool education.
Minister of Education and Training, Professor Ntoi Rapapa, reaffirmed Lesotho’s commitment to early childhood education, emphasizing its foundational role in lifelong learning.
Speaking at a High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Goal 4, Target 4.2, he highlighted the ongoing development of a five-year strategy to scale up reception classes across the country.
However, ECCD remains one of the most underfunded sectors, receiving less than 1 percent of the national education budget over the past decade. While pre-primary education is globally recognized as providing the highest return on investment, it continues to face financial constraints.
According to the UNICEF Lesotho Education Strategy (2019–2030), only 46 percent of Basotho children have access to ECCD, with the private sector providing 90 percent of services. Rural areas and low-income families face the greatest barriers to access.
As Lesotho strives to improve early childhood education, ensuring adequate funding and scaling up support for teachers are key to the success of the ECCD curriculum. The government, alongside local and international partners, is working to expand access to quality pre-primary education.
Continued investment, especially in training and resources, is critical to fully realizing the curriculum’s potential and ensuring that every child in Lesotho has the foundation they need for future academic success.
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Ms. Jim
