Lesotho Country Report COUNTRY REPORT – LESOTHO
Baseline Information on ECCD Issues
CYC 541 The Past, Present and Future of ECD: Understanding Children, Families and Communities Over Time and Across Cultures
By
Phaello Ntsonyane & Edith Sebatane
Lesotho Country Report TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
COUNTRY DESCRIPTION 1
Introduction 1
SOCIAL INDICATORS SUMMARY 4
.
Poverty Indicators 4
Nutrition Indicators 5
Health Indicators 8
Child Survival 10
Water and Sanitation 13
Education Indicators 15
CHILD INDICATORS SUMMARY 19
ECCD Current Policies 19
Childhood Care, Education and Development 21
Centre Based Approach 21
Home Based Approach 23
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 26 i Lesotho Country Report
Parents and Communities’ Responsibilities 26
Government Responsibilities 27
NGOs Responsibilities 29
CURRENT SITUATION OF CHILDREN 31
Children and Education 31
Poverty Issues and Children 33
Health and Nutrition 33
Child Survival 35
AN AGENDA FOR ECCD 37
Observations and Conclusion 37
Free Education 37
Child Abuse 38
Policy Document 39
Proper Definition of ECCD 40
METHODOLOGY 41
Work Division 41
ii Lesotho Country Report REFERENCES
iii Lesotho Country Report LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 1 Economy Class by Ecological Zones and Survey Year 4
Table 2 Wage Earning and Expenses Comparison of Female and Male Headed
Households 5
Table 3 Trends in Employment Rates in Lesotho: 1976, 1986, and 1996 5
Table 4 Prevalence of Malnutrition by District (1992) 5
Table 5 Prevalence of Wasting, Under-weight and Stunting by Age Groups 6
Table 6 Proportion of Children Suffering From Diarrhea 8
Table 7 New AIDS Cases in Lesotho by Age by Sex – January to December 1997 9
Table 8 Immunisation Coverage by District (1996) For Children Who Received All
Doses of All Antigens 10
Table 9 Mortality Differentials by Regions 12
Table 10 Estimated Proportion of Children Who Die Before Their Second Birthday 12
Table 11 National Coverage of Clean Water by Ecological Zone 13
Table 12 Coverage of Clean Water by District 13
Table 13 Households with a Latrine per District 15
Table 14 Urban and Rural Access to Sanitation 15
Table 15 Net Enrolment of Children Aged 6 – 12 in Primary School by Sex 16
Table 16 Enrolment of ECCD Centres Registered with The Ministry of Education/ECCD
Unit 1995 – 1996 17
Table 17 Number of ECCD Centres, Children and Teachers – 1977 and 1998 17
iv Lesotho Country Report 1.0 Country Description
1.1 Introduction
Lesotho is a democratic, independent country. Before attaining independence in 1966, the country was a British protectorate. It is now a constitutional monarchy and one of the smallest countries in the world. It has a total land area of about 30,355 square kilometres and has two unique features: one; being completely surrounded by one country – the Republic of
South Africa – and second; having all of its land lying at an altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level. About ¾ of the land is mountainous and the remaining ¼ is arable land used also for settlement, industrial purposes and other activities. About 80% of the population lives in the
Lowlands while the remaining 20% is distributed between the Foothills and the Highlands.
Lesotho’s population was put at 1.8 million according to the 1996 census but lately, the estimates inform us that it is close to 2 million people. The country has about 50% of its population below 18 years of age, and of that, 14% are children who are within the 0 – 4 age bracket.
As a developing country, the average income is low, about 540 US dollars per annum.
The distribution of that is un-proportional with almost 50% of the population living in poverty while about 10% receive the larger share of the income. Employment in the country is mainly in the mines of the Republic of South Africa where most Basotho men used to work until retrenchments started. Today unemployment is high. The government is the biggest employer seconded by the informal sector. Females, who earn very little, head many households (34%).
1 Lesotho Country Report
The average life expectancy is 56 years of age. With the current gradual increase of
HIV/AIDS, which is affecting mostly the younger population age group, many deaths occur that are related to HIV/AIDS. Some official records indicate that “during the last two years there has been an increase of 30% of identified HIV/AIDS cases affecting mostly young mothers and 12% of children below the age of 4 years,” (MOHSW, 1998); however, the situation has changed lately as more and more youth are infected. In the words of Turner
(2001), “talking of livelihoods starts to seem academic when life expectancy appears likely to fall by almost half and when the remaining adults will have so many orphans to care for.”
Basotho children face many challenges, which eventually have a negative impact on their lives. For instance, family and society form the central core of alternative ways of survival; namely child labour and other means. However, most families consider schooling for their children as a way to improve their livelihood or, to hire out their children to work so they may earn money to supplement the family’s income. Usually boys become herders while girls serve as domestic workers to care for younger children and babies in the families they are employed in. As documented by Turner (2001), a “working child … is usually the result of a combination of limited choices, generally made by a parent or a guardian on behalf of a minor child. Children very seldom have any choice, but are simply expected to do what is required of them,” (p. 167).
Many changes brought by development have yielded a different picture of life in
Lesotho. The decline of agricultural productivity and loss of arable land due to erosion, have resulted in increased poverty rates, hence a move into paid employment and other informal
2 Lesotho Country Report income generating activities. Many women have moved into paid employment, hence the need for other structures to care and look after babies and children while their parents are at work. The idea of day care centres – now called early childhood care and development programmes – came into being in the early 1970s under the initiative of the Lesotho National
Council for Women (LNCW). Day Care Centres grew rapidly and in 1979, the Lesotho Pre-
School and Day Care Association (LPDCA) was formed under the sponsorship of the Danish
Volunteer Service. The LPDCA acted as the umbrella body for all early childhood matters.
Later in 1985, the Government of Lesotho, through the Ministry of Education, established the
Early Childhood Development Unit as a project funded both by UNICEF and the Bernard van
Leer Foundation. Its purpose was to coordinate, on behalf of government, all ECCD provision activities – through training ECCD teachers, mobilizing communities for awareness creation of ECCD and eventually creating policy to guide and standardize provision of ECCD in the country.
3 Lesotho Country Report
2.0 Social Indicators Summary
2.1 Poverty Indicators
Unlike an earlier study in 1993, the 1999 study showed some increase in household mean income per member. At the same time the proportion of households without wage work is increasing. The increase in mean income per household member is attributed to severance payments to Basotho men who are being retrenched from the mines (Gay, J., Hall, D, 2000).
Table 1: Economy class by ecological zone and survey year
Urban Lowland Mountain Total
Foothills
1993 1999 1993 1999 1993 1999 1993 1999
Destitute - % 26.4 24.3 48.0 47.8 66.1 68.7 49.3 49.0
Poor - % 13.2 20.1 17.3 20.0 12.5 14.6 15.5 18.7
Moderate- % 24.6 27.0 19.4 17.8 12.1 10.2 18.3 17.5
Well off - % 27.6 25.5 14.2 13.1 8.6 6.0 14.8 13.4
Wealthy - % 7.8 3.2 1.1 1.3 0.7 0.5 2.0 1.4
For both 1993 and 1999, there are more destitute and poor families in the rural areas than urban. This may be attributed to lack of employment (Gay & Hall, 2000). But when one considers the ‘traditional’ signs of wealth, households in the mountains and rural areas are better off. These areas have a far higher proportion of fields and livestock than urban areas, although they are vulnerable to unfavourable climatic conditions and disease (Gill 1994).
4 Lesotho Country Report It is further established that the majority of female-headed households in Lesotho are among the poorest.
Table 2: Wage earning and expenses comparison of female headed and male-headed households
Female Headed Male Headed
Percentage of families with wage earner 29.7 55.8
Health care Spending per person per year M17.25 M24.86
School Fees spending per child per year M140.53 M182.19
Average possession worth of selected items M813.29 M1582.85
These female-headed households are those of women who are unmarried, abandoned by husbands, and widows (Gill 1994).
The private sector and Government are the main employers in Lesotho. The unemployment rate for people living inside Lesotho in 1996 was 28.6 percent.
Table 3: Trends in unemployment rates (percent) in Lesotho: 1976, 1986, & 1996
1976 1986 1996
Males 4.6 (13 270) 7.0 (25 810) 21.9 (83 456)
Females 8.0 (10, 913) 7.1 (9 638) 26.6 (50 966)
Total 5.7 (24 183) 7.0 (35 448) 23.5 (134 422)
2.2 Nutrition Indicators
Table 4: Prevalence of Malnutrition by district (1992) (source: Wolde-Gebriel, Z (1994))
5 Lesotho Country Report District Sample Size Acute (wasting) % Chronic (Stunted) % Underweight %
Botha-Bothe 316 2.2 28.6 15.2
Leribe 413 1.2 37.4 14.4
Berea 540 4.8 24.7 13.7
Maseru 720 2.2 36.4 13.5
Mafeteng 589 1.7 33.1 14.7
Mohale’s Hoek 475 2.3 31.1 16.3
Quthing 569 2.5 28.4 16.3
Qacha’s Nek 520 2.5 39.8 19.1
Mokhotlong 311 1.9 36.5 20.6
Thaba-Tseka 216 1.9 35.5 17.9
All Districts 4687 2.4 33.0 15.8
Nutritional deficiencies have become prevalent over the last 10 years. In 1981 acute malnutrition in children was 4.5 %, it dropped to 2.4 % in 1992, but chronic malnutrition rates increased from 19.1 % in 1981 to 33 % in 1992. This increase was mainly caused by poverty and probably aggravated by drought experienced in the region (Rojas & Moji, 1993).
Table 5: Prevalence of wasting, underweight and stunting by age groups
Age n1 WHZ< - 2 SD n1 WAZ < - 2 SD n1 HAZ < - 2 SD
(years) n2 % n2 % n2 %
2 - < 3 125 24 19.2 127 38 29.9 130 41 31.5
3 - < 4 113 13 11.5 118 26 22.0 119 40 33.6
4 – 5 208 33 15.9 108 23 21.3 213 72 33.8
6 Lesotho Country Report
n1 = the number of children measured within the age group, and n2 is the number of children who have malnutrition. (Source: Wolde-Gebriel, 1994)
Wasting and underweight are found mostly in younger children during their first three years of life than in the older group.
Chart 1:
Hymoglobin by Sex, Age and Pregnancy Status % below cut-off point
16% 15%
14% 12.50% 12% 10.70%
10% 9.10%
8% 7.10%
Percentage 6%
3.70% 4%
2%
0% Non-pregnant women Pregnant women Boys (11-15) Girls (11-15) Boys & Girls All Status
The problem of anaemia in Lesotho is marginal between being a problem of no public health significance and mild (Wolde-Gebriel, 1994). This is attributed to two factors:
b) Lesotho is on a high altitude and outside the tropical zone, as a result, diseases such
as malaria, hookworms and schistomiasis are absent.
a) The use of iron pots and other utensils in the preparation of traditional foods and
beverages.
(By Standards of WHO and International Nutritional Anaemia Consultative Group, anaemia rate of between 10 and 19 percent is said to be mild)
7 Lesotho Country Report
2.3 Health Indicators
Table 6: Proportion of children suffering from diarrhoea in a two weeks period (May 1996)
District Children assessed % with Diarrhoea
Botha-Bothe 309 11.7
Leribe 354 8.2
Berea 399 9.8
Maseru 342 10.2
Mafeteng 220 5.9
Mohale’s Hoek 340 9.1
Quthing 343 11.4
Qacha’s Nek 347 10.8
Mokhotlong 353 17.6
Thaba-Tseka 261 10.4
In the table above, most districts varied between 9 and 11 percent of children with diarrhoea. It is only Mafeteng (lower) and Mokhotlong (higher), which were outside this range.
Low prevalence of diarrhoea has been linked to access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Mafeteng was found to have the highest percentage of access to safe water. The same district had the second highest percentage of households with access to a latrine
(Thakhisi, D.R., 1998).
8 Lesotho Country Report Acute Respiratory Infections are among the main causes of hospitalisation and deaths of children in Lesotho. The effectiveness of tackling these infections depends more on the mothers or caregivers recognising the symptoms and taking appropriate action quickly.
HIV/AIDS
Data from surveillance systems and studies show that HIV/AIDS cases are increasing at a shocking rate.
HIV prevalence increased among Sexually Transmitted Diseases patients from a range of 4.8 to 7.1 percent in 1991, to a range of 11.1 to 21.3 percent in 1993. This shows a rapid spread of HIV infection. 140, 000 new STD cases are diagnosed every year in Lesotho.
Table 7: New aids cases in Lesotho (1997) by age/sex – January to December 1997
Age Group Male Cases Female Cases
0 – 4 107 94
5 – 14 0 0
15 – 19 12 63
20 – 29 203 455
30 – 39 284 343
40 – 49 161 120
50 – 59 43 38
> 60 25 10
Unknown 150 89
9 Lesotho Country Report A large number of the reported cases are concentrated in the 20 – 39 age group, which accounts for 65% of reported cases. Female cases are much higher than male cases in this age group.
In the 40 – 59 age group there are more male cases than female cases. In the 15 – 19 age group, which represents an early age of sexual activity, there are more female cases than males. In these 1997-reported cases 45% are male cases, while females take the remaining
55% (Maw, M. A, 1997).
2.4 Child Survival
Immunisation
Table 8: Immunisation Coverage By District (1996) For children who received all doses of all antigens
District Children who received all doses Children who received all Antigens
of all Antigens at the correct time
Botha-Bothe 83.1 % 48.5 %
Berea 77.6 % 58.9 %
Maseru 75.0 % 52.5 %
Mohale’s Hoek 64.6 % 45.6 %
Qacha’s Nek 64.6 % 41.6 %
Thaba-Tseka 61.9 % 37.3 %
Mafeteng 61.0 % 32.6 %
Quthing 60.6 % 26.0 %
Mokhotlong 56.9 % 50.0 %
10 Lesotho Country Report Leribe 55.1 % 53.5 %
Source: Thakhisi, D.R. 1998
Botha-Bothe is the district, which had the most immunisation coverage, while Leribe had the least. But despite that, Leribe had the second highest coverage rate for doses given at the correct time. Only three districts out of ten, had above 50% coverage of doses administered at the correct time (considered the valid vaccinations); in the 83.1 % of Botha-
Bothe’s coverage, 34.6 % are considered invalid vaccines; and this is partly because of understaffing and poorly trained staff; it is also to be noted that since early 1990s there has been a large scale pull out of donors in the health sector (Thakhisi, D.R. 1998).
Diseases
Prevalence of certain childhood diseases has shown a significant drop. In 1981 to 1985 about 5000 to 7000 cases of measles a year dropped to 1200 cases reported in 1988. The number rose to 3900 cases in 1991. The decline was due to immunisation. In 1990 68.7% of children were fully immunised. There was a difference between rural and urban areas, 75.1% in urban areas and 66.5% in rural areas. Possible reasons for the difference are accessibility of services and differences in mothers’ education (Rojas & Moji 1993).
Before 1986, 7% of children admitted to health facilities for diarrhoeal treatment were dying. By 1990 the fatality rate fell to 4.3%, most likely due to promotion of use of Oral Re- hydration Therapy. Use of Oral Re-hydration Solution rose from 58% to 75% between 1987 and 1990.
11 Lesotho Country Report 25% of hospitalised children in Lesotho die because of Acute Respiratory Infections.
(GOL, 1997-2001).
Infant Mortality
Table 9: Mortality differentials by regions
Region 1976 Census 1986 Census
Infant Life Expectation Infant Life Expectation
Mortality Rate at birth Mortality Rate at Birth
Urban 9 54 71 58
Rural 103 51 86 55
Ecological Zones
Mountains/Senqu 100 52 96 57 Valley Lowlands/foothills 102 51 79 52
(Source: Bureau of Statistics: 1976, 1986 & 1996 Reports: Volume IV)
Mortality levels vary by residence. Looking at 1986 census, in urban areas infants died at the rate of 71 per 1000 babies born, while it was 86 per 1000 in rural areas.
Lowlands/foothills had a rate of 79 per 1000 and the mountain areas 96 per 1000. This is perhaps as a result of more services and facilities being available and easily accessible in the lowlands than in the mountains.
In addition to zone and area differences in mortality, education of mothers seems to have some kind of association with child mortality. Women with less education seem to experience a higher incidence of child loss than the better educated (Sembajwe, 1988).
Table 10: Estimated proportion of children who die before their second birthday
12 Lesotho Country Report % of children
Women with no schooling 20
Women with primary education 14
Women with secondary education 8
(Source: Sembajwe, 1988)
2.5 Water and Sanitation
Water supply
Provision of clean water in Lesotho is handled by two organisations. The Village
Water Supply Section (VWSS) is responsible for the supply of clean water to rural places.
Water and Sewage Authority (WASA) deals with supply of water in the urban and peri-urban areas.
Table 11: National coverage of clean water by ecological zone
Ecological Zone Percentage of coverage
Lowlands 86
Foothills 37.5
Mountains 26.4
Senqu Valley 41.5
Coverage is highest in the lowland areas; these are the areas that are more accessible and have villages with larger populations. In the mountains only 26% has access to improved water supply (Gill 1994).
Table 12: Coverage of Clean water by district
13 Lesotho Country Report Coverage by District Rural Water Supply
District Total Rural Population Rural Population Covered Percentage
Covered
Botha-Bothe 116 908 65 714 56.2
Leribe 293 709 146 892 50.0
Berea 162 595 141 605 87.1
Maseru 184 847 162 822 88.0
Mafeteng 223 253 144 983 64.9
Mohale’s Hoek 206 344 123 208 59.7
Quthing 134 975 57 951 42.9
Mokhotlong 90 994 24 282 26.7
Thaba-Tseka 125 961 29 647 23.5
National 1615 474 930 276 57.6
The same trend as that of coverage by ecological zones is depicted by the figures for coverage by district.
Sanitation
Sanitation facilities in the rural areas are mainly pit latrines. The National Rural
Sanitation Programme, established first as a pilot project in 1983, has been able to promote the construction of pit latrines in the rural areas. The type of pit latrine that seemed to be preferred by many has been found to be Ventilated Improved Pit latrine (VIP) (Gill 1994). The limiting factor with the VIP has only been found to be the cost; it is more expensive than the ordinary type of pit latrines, which are easily penetrated by flies.
14 Lesotho Country Report
Table 13: Households with a Latrine per district
District Percentage of Households with a Latrine
Maseru 60.0
Mafeteng 51.5
Leribe 51.2
Berea 50.4
Botha-Bothe 47.0
Quthing 41.2
Mohale’s Hoek 34.2
Qacha’s Nek 26.0
Thaba-Tseka 10.2
Mokhotlong 8.6
(Source: Thakhisi, D.R. 1998)
For the whole country 45% of households have access to safe sanitation. The districts in the mountains, Qacha’s Nek, Thaba-Tseka and Mokhotlong, are the areas with the lowest figures (Thakhisi, D.R. 1998).
Table 14: Urban and Rural Access to Sanitation
Area 1993 Data Target 1996
Urban 38% 60% 56%
Rural 35% 65% 35%
This table shows progress in urban sanitation; while in the rural areas there has not been any.
15 Lesotho Country Report 2.6 Education Indicators
Table 15: Net enrolment of children aged 6 – 12 in primary school by sex
District Males - % Females - %
Maseru 77.6 83.9
Qacha’s Nek 72.4 81.2
Berea 69.4 80.3
Mafeteng 65.6 82.7
Mohale’s Hoek 64.6 74.0
Quthing 64.6 70.0
Botha-Bothe 61.5 68.4
Mokhotlong 61.5 57.4
Leribe 59.5 62.2
Thaba-Tseka 59.0 68.8
The minimum age of entry into primary school is 6 years. The duration of primary education is 7 years, secondary education is 5 years, and tertiary education is 3 to 5 years.
In both primary and secondary level the number of girls is found to be higher than that of boys. One of the reasons may be that of boys having to serve as herd-boys instead of going to school. Districts with 10% or more enrolment difference between males and females are
Mafeteng, Berea and Thaba-Tseka.
Factors leading to the rest of children being out of school, both boys and girls, include distance problems, poverty and difficult terrain (Thakhisi, D.R. 1998). In 1996, 22.6 % of
16 Lesotho Country Report total school-age children were found to have never attended school; 26.1 % had dropped-out
(Bureau of Statistics: 1996 Census).
Table 16: Enrolment of ECCD centres that were registered with the Ministry of Education/ECCD Unit – 1995 – 1996
District No. Of Centres Teachers Boys Girls
Berea 186 230 1704 1816
Botha-Bothe 182 235 1593 1641
Leribe 367 492 4183 4788
Mafeteng 249 269 2791 3008
Maseru 147 220 2031 2297
Mohale’s Hoek 93 121 1317 1468
Mokhotlong 83 85 693 837
Qacha’s Nek 46 49 587 603
Quthing 56 68 506 653
Thaba-Tseka 33 32 210 334
Totals 1442 1801 15615 17144
Thaba-Tseka and Qacha’s Nek had the least number of ECCD centres; both of them are districts in the mountains. Leribe had the highest number of centres, teachers and children.
Table 17: Number of ECD centres, Children, and Teachers – 1997 and 1998
District 1997 1998
No. of Number of Children No. of No. of No. of Children No. of
Centres Teachers Centres Teachers
Male Female Total Male Female Total
17 Lesotho Country Report Berea 197 1808 1925 3733 244 204 1762 1983 3745 251
Botha-Bothe 193 1741 1740 3481 249 199 1793 1792 3585 256
Leribe 389 4437 5082 9519 522 401 4570 5234 9804 538
Mafeteng 264 2961 3191 6152 285 272 3050 3287 6337 294
Maseru 156 2155 2437 4592 234 161 2220 2510 4730 241
Mohales’ Hoek 99 1398 1557 2955 129 102 1440 1604 3044 133
Mokhotlong 89 735 888 1623 91 92 757 915 1672 94
Qacha’s Nek 48 623 640 1263 52 49 642 659 1301 54
Quthing 60 537 693 1230 72 62 553 714 1267 74
Thaba-Tseka 35 222 354 576 34 36 229 365 594 35
Total 1530 16617 18507 35124 1912 1578 17016 19063 36079 1970
The district showing the highest increase, 1997 to 1998, is Leribe; which has an increase of 11 centres. Thaba-Tseka and Qacha’s Nek have an increase of 1 centre each.
However, it should be noted that the centres recorded here are those registered with the
ECCD Unit. There are quite a number of centres, more especially in Maseru, that are not registered and hence do not appear in this record.
18 Lesotho Country Report 3.0 Child Indicators Summary
3.1 Early Childhood Care, Education and Development Current Policies
One of the laws of Lesotho, which has a mention to children, is the Children’s
Protection Act No. 6 of 1980. This act identifies and defines a child as an unmarried person under the age of eighteen (18) years (GOL, 1998). But this Act is quiet in regards to marriage for persons who are under the age of 18. The Marriage Act of 1974 specifies the marriageable age for girls as 16 years, while that of boys is 18 years of age. This exposes young girls to relationships of marriage that are likely to affect their physical development and health through giving birth at a young age (GOL, 1998).
The Act, in many ways, seeks to protect children against things like neglect and circumstances that can be harmful to the welfare of the child. According to this Act the best interests of the child are compromised if a parent or guardian fails to provide things like
“adequate food, clothing, housing, medical care and supervision” (GOL, 1998 p. 14)
The 1993 Constitution of Lesotho provides that children are protected from economic and social exploitation. The Labour Code Order No. 118 of 1992 takes a child to be anyone below the age of 15 years. Yet in Lesotho children (boys) under the age of 15 are normally employed to look after herds of cattle and girls are typically engaged in domestic work.
Normally this happens when parents themselves remain at home claiming they cannot get employment.
19 Lesotho Country Report While the ECCD Unit would like to increase access and quality of ECCD services, problems are caused by ECCD centres that operate when they are not registered, and as a result charge high fees and the facilitators do not attend training workshops. The Education
Act of 1995 stipulates clearly what steps are to be followed to register a centre, and what the sentence is if and when one is found to be running school (including ECCD services) without approval: an individual would be fined not more than 2, 000 Maloti or an imprisonment of not more than 2 years, while organisations can be fined not more than 10 000 Maloti. The pending enactment of the draft policy, which was completed in 1999, renders the Act harmless to those contravening it. The Regulations include, among other things: registration procedures, health, nutrition and safety, specifications for the Centre grounds and buildings.
There is reason to believe that the documents hold a bright future for the ECCD services in Lesotho, since they will help the Ministry of Education, through the ECCD Unit, to enforce the attainment of standards by all service providers. At the moment some people see
ECCD services as a means of generating income.
20 Lesotho Country Report 3.2 Early Childhood Care, Education and Development
3.2.1 Centre Base Approach
Until February 2001, the type of ECD services in the country has mainly been centre based. Some of these centres are privately owned, while others are owned by NGOs. The community owns the majority of the centres. Children of ages 2 to 6 are found in the centres.
Caregivers in the centres are paid from fees by parents. It is for this reason that the majority of children are still not able to attend the ECD services.
The situation of infrastructure is not satisfactory for most of the centres. It is not uncommon, in urban areas, to find ECCD services provided for in a garage, where the requirements as stipulated by the ECCD Unit, such as proper ventilation, availability of clean water, toilets, enough space for outdoor games, are not met. It is further apparent that some of the privately owned ECCD centres seem to be meant for making money more than the welfare and development of the children.
The expectation is that people who want to start an ECCD service have to apply to the
Ministry of Education for the establishment of such a project. It is through this process that a number of requirements will have to be met before the centre can be allowed to operate.
These include a legal proof of procurement of a site for the project; in addition, the site has to be large enough and not too close to dangerous places like heavy traffic roads.
The ECCD Unit further makes it very clear that admitting children in a centre that has not been approved cannot serve as a reason to justify the approval of such an establishment.
21 Lesotho Country Report When everything else has been looked into, and is in-line with the major requirements, the expectation is that the proprietor will be able to make an initial enrolment of at least 15 children.
In rural places the major constraint for the ECCD centres is running water and sanitation facilities. In many rural areas people still depend on water from natural springs, where water supply is provided, the best you can have, for the many, is a public tap.
Generally, there is very little, if any, sponsorship that goes to the ECCD centres in
Lesotho. With the few exceptions of villages which happen to fall under Area Development
Programmes of the World Vision International, which, where the community so requests, and a need is realized, helps the communities by erecting buildings for ECCD services. World
Vision International does all these following guidelines as stipulated by the (MOE) ECCD
Unit. When it comes to running costs and payment of the caregivers, the communities have to take care of that. In the past, World Vision used to shoulder all the costs, including the payment of the caregivers. That policy has since stopped. The Lesotho National Council of
Women, does occasionally get some donations from international organisations for a few
ECCD Centres that are run by the Council as well as the Community based ECCD centres.
Mostly the donations come in the form of equipment. Parents have to cover all the operating costs by paying fees.
Some Centres are privately owned. They happen to acquire some donations through the initiative of proprietors. The fees that are paid by parents in the various types of ECCD centres have a very wide range – from about 50 to 150 Maloti (local currency) a month.
22 Lesotho Country Report
Against this background, it is important to note that there is generally low enrolment in
ECCD centres. There is poverty among many families, which has been aggravated by the retrenchment of Basotho men from the mines in South Africa. There is a high level of unemployment in Lesotho; many families can hardly afford a stable or regular income. The
HIV/AIDS effects are also taking their toll. The number of children left without both parents is increasing. Children have to be raised, sometimes, by very distant relatives since anyone connected somehow with HIV/AIDS, maybe even suspected of infection, people are afraid to deal with. Some of the families that have to take care of such children already have problems in meeting the needs of their own children. There are families/communities that are still not convinced that ECCD has far reaching effects on the development of the child; hence they decide not to take their children to ECCD centres.
3.2.2 Home-Based Approach
One of the main objectives of the ECCD Unit is increase the accessibility of ECCD services, from a current 13 % to 20 % by the year 2002. The intention is to use a new approach, Home-Base, which is intended for families that are jobless and cannot afford heavy fees paid in the ECCD centres.
This approach is at its piloting stage. It started in February 2001, in two villages in
Maseru and another two in the Berea district. The target group in this approach is still 2 to 6 year olds. In each of the villages concerned a committee has been elected. It is this committee and the chief who assist in identifying the correct candidates for this programme, since it is
23 Lesotho Country Report meant to open opportunities for poor families to be able to send their children to ECCD services without paying fees.
Each village has identified a caregiver, who is in turn provided with training by the
ECCD Unit through workshops. The caregivers work as volunteers, because there are no fees paid by parents; they work from Monday to Friday. Each day of the week the caregivers take about 3 hours (9 to 12) with children in the presence of parents, who take turns on different days of the week. Parents attend these sessions so that they can have an insight into what takes place and have a better understanding of child development and what kind of activities can be done with young children. This helps in that some of the activities can even be continued at home with the help of parents.
The caregivers in this approach are under the direct supervision of paid resource persons. There are two resource persons at the moment. One placed in Maseru while the other one is stationed in Berea. On Fridays the resource persons, caregivers and parents make plans for the next week together.
These initial efforts in the home base have already caused some concerns from some of the proprietors of the ECCD Centres. It seems they see the new approach to be threatening the existence of their centres. They believe that parents will pull their children out of the centres to the home bases, since there is no fee paid in the later.
It is the World Bank that is funding this piloting phase of the Home Base Approach.
Some parents have provided their houses for use. In one village a parent who does not even
24 Lesotho Country Report have a child to attend these services, has made his house available for the people in his village to use.
25 Lesotho Country Report 3.3 Roles and Responsibilities in ECD
3.3.1 Parents and Communities’ Responsibilities
Parents are the most direct child caregivers. As most of the centre based ECCD services are run by the communities; parents serve in the committees that manage the centres.
In most cases where community based centres are available, it starts with the need for the establishment of ECCD services realized by members of the community in the concerned area.
These committees are always responsible for the procurement of a piece of land where the centre is to be built. In many cases they have gone on to use locally available resources, human and material, to put up a building. In some instances, particularly in the rural areas, some parents have made available their buildings to be used; some have done it for free, while others have required that they be rented.
From time to time mobilization rallies are held to further awareness of the need for sending children to ECCD services. Parents play a major role in preparing for these events; they take the initiative of visiting the centre to ‘teach’ traditional dances to children for performances on the day of the rally.
It is common in the rural places to see parents going to ECCD centres to assist in the making of dolls and other materials for the centre. In the urban areas such initiatives are not always successful.
26 Lesotho Country Report It remains the parent’s responsibility to take the child to health centres for growth monitoring and immunisation doses. However, this is a joint venture because facilitators in the ECCD services, in collaboration with Village Health Workers, keep on checking that growth monitoring, and other health issues that affect children, are attended to at the correct time. The collaboration also includes the Nutritionists (from the Ministry of Agriculture) that are placed in different areas; they play an important role in advising parents on nutritional issues.
In the Home Base that is being piloted, parents are always with the caregivers during their 3-hour sessions from Monday to Friday. Every Friday they do the planning of the next week together with the caregivers; and they are the ones to bring materials that will be needed for children’s activities. Parents also avail their houses for the sessions with children. It is their responsibility to carry on with some of the activities at their respective homes whenever they get an opportunity to do so.
3.3.2 Government Responsibilities
The Lesotho National Council of Women (LNCW) started Pre-schools and Day Care
Centres in Lesotho. As the number of centres increased an umbrella association, the Lesotho
Pre-School and Day Centre Association (LPDCA), was formed in 1983. The LPDCA advocated for an increase in access to ECD, as well as to improve the quality of existing services then. It was through this advocacy that ECD Unit was formed, in the Ministry of
Education, as a project funded by Bernard Van Leer Foundation. Since its inception the aim
27 Lesotho Country Report of the ECD Unit has always been to assist centres in planning programmes, training of facilitators, communities and parents.
The role of the Ministry of Education, through the ECD Unit, is mainly to regulate and monitor ECCD services in the country. The establishment of ECD centres needs to be regulated and controlled if children and parents are to benefit and not become victims. The increase in the number of ECCD centres should ensure proper coverage of areas.
The government promotes community based childhood care, and this ensures local involvement and makes the community to be accountable of the care and development of its own children.
A lot of emphasis is put on the question of training. In 1996 the ECCD Unit established a systematic way of conducting training sessions for the different levels of ECCD stakeholders and facilitators. For example, there is one training workshop for ECCD National
Teacher Trainers (NTTs) at the beginning of each year. This training prepares the NTTs to in- service Area Resource Teachers (ARTs). There is also in-service training for ARTs, one per district per year, one workshop for teachers per district per year.
During these workshops teachers are helped to produce materials that they can use at their centres.
28 Lesotho Country Report The ECCD Unit coordinates the collaboration with other government ministries, when it comes to the care and development of the child. It is its duty to constantly review and revise, when the needs so arise, the ECCD curriculum.
3.3.3 Non-Governmental Organisations
Some of the national and international NGOs that are taking part in ECCD activities in
Lesotho are UNICEF, World Bank, World Vision International, Lesotho National Council of
Women and American Peace Corps.
The major role of UNICEF in ECCD services in Lesotho is providing financial assistance to training workshops for the ECCD stakeholders. This is the cornerstone of provision of ECCD services with quality. According to the LNCW, involvement of UNICEF in the training of ECCD service providers dates back to 1976.
One of the major objectives of the ECCD Unit is to increase access to ECCD services.
The home base is seen as a means by which access can be realized and increase coverage by about 7%. The World Bank funds this program through the MOE.
World Vision International has been involved in promoting ECD for the past 10 years.
When they started they had what they called Community Development Programmes (CDP).
In this CDP they used to provide funds, which they did through donors, for the establishment of a development project and incurred all the expenses including the running costs. In the case of ECD projects, the CDP would provide an ECD centre structure, provide for the
29 Lesotho Country Report remuneration of the ECD caregiver and shoulder all other expenses.
Since a year or so ago, World Vision has started a different programme, known as the
Area Development Programme (ADP). In this programme they consider larger areas, not smaller communities as they did before; however, they still put up a structure for the ECD
Centre and help the parents to identify a caregiver for the centre. When it comes to the running costs of the centre, they expect parents to provide for everything, including the remuneration of the caregiver, through paying fees.
World Vision goes further to liase with the local ECD Unit structures, so that the newly appointed caregiver can be able to take part in Training Workshops. The workshops are conducted by the ECD Unit through its Area Resource Teachers and National Teacher
Trainers.
The role of Lesotho National Council of Women, being the pioneers of the ECD activities in Lesotho, has been mainly to encourage the opening of ECD services in the country. They have contributed some equipment to a number of community based ECD centres. There are about four ECD centres that were directly build and run by the LNCW.
They did this through funds from donors.
From 1997 the American Peace Corps Office has been providing American Volunteers to be attached to ECCD programme. At the moment there are 8 volunteers serving in 8 of the
30 Lesotho Country Report 4.0 Current situation of children
According to UNICEF (1994), “ … the economic situation of the country has deteriorated. The impact of a world recession on Southern Africa … had a severe impact on the income of many households. This major retrenchment at the same time as severe droughts
… which greatly affected agricultural productivity … resulted in poverty”; children are always the most affected under these circumstances. The lack of a regular family income to a large extent results in children being denied some of their fundamental human and child rights such as: having no access to education, lack of good health, good nutrition, proper shelter, happiness, and generally suffering many forms of abuse.
4.1 Children and Education
As indicated already, the education indicators show that the number of registered
ECCD centers countrywide increased from 1,442 in 1996 to 1,578 in 1998 − however, the figures are for centres registered with the ECCD unit--many ‘illegal’ centres exist and are on the increase.
The concept of ECCD and awareness of the same has improved positively. Many parents visualize the idea of early care and stimulation for their children and hence send them into ECCD programs. This practice is very widespread in the Lowlands and to some extent in the Foothills because in these regions, many parents are either in employed or engaged in some income-generating activities of some sort. In the Highlands region, where the population is very sparse, ECCD programs are found mainly in the town areas. Out in the villages most
31 Lesotho Country Report children of ECCD age remain at home or tend animals with their elder siblings. Parents cite many reasons for sending their children into ECCD programs, some of those include: “ECCD children do well at primary education”, or “children learn to socialize and to communicate very early in their lives”, or “primary schools do not admit children who have not been into
ECCD”. Presently, ECCD provision in Lesotho at ECCD centres caters for children mainly from 2 years to 5 years old. The home-based approach is a new option that the ECCD unit has introduced in order to reach many more Basotho children.
The levels of poverty in Lesotho affect children adversely. The main contributor to poverty is un-employment, which is resulting from retrenchments from the mines and the current declining job market in the country. Tables 1, 2, and 3 summarize the poverty situation in Lesotho between 1996 and 1999. The situation is believed to be declining still. As a consequence of poverty, many children are not in ECCD and, the 1998 figures put access to
ECCD at only 13% (ECCD Draft Policy 1999). In the year 2000, the Government introduced free primary education (FPE), which therefore resulted in an influx into standard 1 classes.
According to education regulations, entry age into primary school is 6 years of age. Children between 2 and 5 years of age are catered for in ECCD programmes.
The geographical zones of the country affect access to education for many young
Basotho children in one way or another. First, the country’s relief, the harsh winters and the rainy summer season often affect attendance of children in schools. In winter, the Highlands and Foothills regions experience heavy snowfalls that hamper any safe movement across the country. Young children often miss school; as a result their performance is impacted. Second, the economic status of many families often results in having young children work before they
32 Lesotho Country Report are of an appropriate age. Boys are made to work for their families through herding either the family’s livestock or being hired by another family to look after their cattle while girls find employment as domestic workers. Lastly, some children suffer because their families or parents are not schooled hence they do not understand why their children should be in school if they could contribute better to the family’s needs.
Issues of gender also affect the children in Lesotho. Since Basotho are traditionally livestock farmers particularly in the Highlands region, most families owning cattle keep their young children out of school to herd the family’s livestock. Because of that, many young boys are not enrolled in school while the enrolment figures for girls of the same age levels are higher. On the other hand, although girls enrol and attend school, their numbers drop drastically as they progress into the higher levels of learning. Some of the reasons attributed to this have been cited as early pregnancies, the poverty in the families and many other reasons.
Table 15 shows the ‘net enrolment of children aged 6 to 12 years in primary school by sex’.
The table shows that in nine of the ten districts of Lesotho, more girls than boys are enrolled in primary education.
4.2 Poverty Issues and Children
As already pointed out, children suffer mostly and directly from poverty. UNICEF
(1994) says; “given Lesotho’s highly monetised economy and shrinking agricultural base, … means the better educated are more likely to obtain what jobs there are, the total lack of education for a child means that they are often condemned to a life of poverty and of scraping a living in an increasingly hostile environment,” (p. 131). The children living in the Highlands
33 Lesotho Country Report region are the worst hit by poverty. The Sechaba Consultants’ poverty mapping exercise has indicated, in the 1990, 1993 and the most recent poverty surveys, that the Highlands were the ones where the worst poverty was located. On the other hand, their findings were that the wealthiest areas were, and are still in the Lowlands – this includes the urban and peri-urban areas. Nonetheless, the rise of unemployment in the urban areas has resulted in gross disparities between the poor unemployed and the well-to-do working class. In such poverty stricken areas, children do not attend school (let alone ECCD programmes) even despite the introduction of free primary education. Although the Government charges no school fees, feeds the children and provides all educational resources for them, some parents still keep their children at home because of lack of proper clothing to wear to school.
Those children not in school and living in the urban areas, usually resort to other means of earning a livelihood in the city and towns. Young boys indulge in glue sniffing, petty thieving, and car washing or begging. The girls sometimes resort to commercial sex work or domestic employment. All these children face a bleak future and unless very serious effort is undertaken to assist them, they have no prospects for a productive or satisfying life.
Infant and child mortality in Lesotho has been directly linked to the socio-economic situation of families, the majority of which are headed by women. The situation is further associated with: unhygienic conditions under which children live; low educational level of parents (mothers in particular); lack of clean drinking water and poor child and maternal nutrition (Central Planning and Development Office, 1986).
34 Lesotho Country Report 4.3 Health and Nutrition of Children
Tables 4 and 5 give overall indications of the nutritional status of Basotho children in
1992. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
(MOHSW) monitor children’s health and nutritional status countrywide. The Schools Feeding
Programme, which was phased out in 1991, provided much relief to children coming from struggling families. Since 1992 onwards, reported cases of malnutrition have been on the increase. Parents have to provide lunch for their children and those who cannot afford, provide nothing or a grossly imbalanced diet. Therefore, low crop production results in low family incomes and finally no access to education. All these factors contribute to the poor nutritional status of children. The malnourished children often have diarrheal diseases that also invite other infections among children. The Ministry of Health educates new mothers on the value of breastfeeding their babies up to the age of 2 years, while the Nutrition department educates them on proper and healthy feeding for their infants and children. There has been a widespread cry to continue with school feeding since it has been found to be highly significant in preventing child malnutrition.
4.4 Child Survival
As with other indicators, child survival is a great concern for children living in the
Highlands mostly and also those in the rural areas. Children suffer as a result of poor accessibility to health and medical centres. The terrain in the Highlands and Foothills is rather difficult coupled with the rivers and gorges people have to cross to reach health clinics. Other causes are related to the long distances to be travelled. Despite much effort by the MOHSW and MOA to address issues of health and nutrition, much still needs to be done. 35 Lesotho Country Report
A number of reasons contribute to infant and child mortality. These include: low or no parental education; very young ages of mothers; poor nutrition and poor health of the mother leading to poor child health.
36 Lesotho Country Report 5.0 An Agenda For ECCD: Building On Strengths And Current Activities
5.1 Observations and Conclusions
The picture presented above concerning the current situation of children in Lesotho, leads to a brief discussion or presentation of the challenges facing ECCD in the country.
5.1.1 Free Education
In 2000, the Lesotho Government introduced Free Primary Education (FPE) in accordance with the 1990 Jomtein Declaration of Education for All (EFA). Free education was to start in Standard 1 and would continue into the subsequent levels as the children progressed. The main purpose was in line with the education policy of improving access to education. Government’s announcement indicated that all Basotho, regardless of age, could enrol in Standard 1. The government further undertook to supply all primary schools participating in FPE provision with additional teachers, classrooms, stationery, desks and other educational resources for children including free lunch meals. The announcement resulted in huge enrolments at the beginning of the year and people of varying ages from children aged 5 years old to adults 30 years and above, were registered in different schools throughout the country.
Teachers faced challenges of how to handle the diversities in the classrooms. ECCD programmes were grossly affected by this because many parents removed their children from the centres where fees were still paid, and enrolled them in Standard 1 where education was free.
37 Lesotho Country Report
Although it was hoped that in time free primary education provision would improve access for boys too “since they lag behind girls in education due to the traditional practice of livestock herding” (UNICEF, n.d.), the fact was that since 1996 the girls’ enrolments in schools had started dropping due to rising poverty levels as girls participated in income generating activities to assist their families to live.
The greatest challenge still facing primary education remains the issue of quality.
Currently, classes are overcrowded, the numbers of unqualified teachers are notable, and problems of teaching-learning resources still pose a problem. Government and the Basotho nation at large are beginning to realise the magnitude of the challenge as evidenced by the continued debates and public addresses concerning the matter.
5.1.2 Child Abuse
Today child abuse and neglect are some of the most serious challenges facing Lesotho.
Cases of abuse are many and, some of those include sexual abuse, negligence of children by their families, abuse of children’s rights to name a few. Though statistical data could not be readily available, the Department of Social Welfare handles numerous cases of child rape.
UNICEF-Lesotho, Save the Children, and World Vision are some of the NGOs that have programmes dealing with children abused in various ways. As loss of employment through retrenchments escalates in Lesotho, poverty is on the increase. Most Basotho men who have returned from the mines and are unemployed, find it difficult to engage in other informal income-generating activities; hence they mostly remain at home while the women go out to work. Other children suffer directly from being abused by their parents, families or adults they 38 Lesotho Country Report trust. Many reported cases of sexual abuse of minors seem to happen at the time when the children or babies are left in the care of adult males while their mothers are out performing other family duties. On the other hand, parents indulge in alcohol and fail to undertake their parental responsibilities; as a result the children are neglected and they finally find other means to live. Gay (2001) observes the seriousness of child abuse in Lesotho and suggests “to tighten the laws against rape and sexual abuse, and strengthen their application by the police and the courts.”
The fact that many children are becoming orphaned, others are abused and neglected, and the poverty levels are increasing, has meant that the affected children are left to fend for themselves without adult care and supervision. Children as young as 6 years can be seen loitering the streets and begging for food while the older ones of ages between 8 to 12 years or above, do menial jobs in the towns. As a result of hunger, some engage in crime hence end up in remand homes or in juvenile centres (UNICEF, 2001).
5.1.3 Policy Document
Adoption, approval and enactment of the ECCD Draft Policy needs to be pursued.
Proper control and monitoring of ECCD services, not only in terms of legal establishment, is necessary. Quality of ECCD service has to be ensured by bringing everyone under control and proper guidance.
39 Lesotho Country Report The number of existing ECD centres is already very large, although it may not be enough, and everything possible must be done to refine the quality of programs. As we seek to increase quantity, quality standards must be pursued as well.
5.1.4 Proper Definition of ECCD to All Stakeholders
Many parents and communities who are in favour of ECCD, as well as some of the top management do not view ECCD beyond preparing children for primary education, which in turn would help them get educated and have better/decent jobs. For them, it is as if anyone with no academic excellence does not have a bright future in store. Yet ECCD can present the child with the opportunity to grow to his/her full potential, equipped with skills for life.
There is a need for parents and different care givers to be given a proper perspective on
ECCD which will help them to improve their existing care-giving practices. Interactions, from the first day of birth, are important and parents need to be helped reinforce those early days' interactions. The development of the child does not start or stop at the ECCD centre
40 Lesotho Country Report
6.0 Methodology
A number of activities were undertaken to collect data to compile this report. At the beginning the team went through the country report outline, looked at the themes and decided which institutions could provide us with the information related to each of the themes. One member had to look at the quantitative section of the report while the other took the qualitative part. Initially we were a team of three, and work division was done in accordance with that number; but during the course of study one member pulled out, and the remaining two team members had to jointly deal with the parts that were allocated to him. The team identified all documents relevant to the report. After that each one of them went to read and gather information pertaining to the topic he/she was dealing with. The documents were collected from a number of NGOs, institutions, libraries and others. Informal interviews and discussions were also held with ECCD Unit personnel and other ECCD stakeholders to verify and have a deeper understanding of issues and concepts.
Each member of the team made preliminary notes of the topic areas he/she was undertaking. The notes were exchanged and inputs made by all members. It was only after the exchanging of notes that first drafts of different themes were made. Corrections to the individual drafts were made and subsequently merged to form one coherent document.
Work Division
Edith
• Country Description
41 Lesotho Country Report • The Current Situation of Children
• The agenda for ECCD: Building on Strengths and Current
activities
Phaello
• Social Indicators Summary
• Child Indicators Summary
§ Early Childhood Care, Education and Development current
Policies
§ Early Childhood Care, Education and Development programs
§ Roles and responsibilities in ECCD
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