This research explored the phenomenon of school financial management in three secondary schools located in the Qacha’s Nek district of Lesotho. In particular, the study focused on ways in which secondary schools obtain their finances. In addition, this study also discussed ways in which the said schools budget their finances. It explored measures that the schools put in place to monitor and control their budgets. Through the use of purposive sampling, three schools were selected as cases in order to ensure that there was a representation of the type of schools that are found in the Qacha’s Nek district of Lesotho. The principals of the three schools were selected as participants since they are chief accounting officers and as such they have knowledge relevant to this study. Document reviews were used to supplement information obtained from interviews with the principals. This study concluded that the three case study secondary schools obtain financial resources from a number of sources which include, inter alia, sponsors, school fees and fund raising activities. The government also allocate subvention to its schools. Furthermore, the three case study schools prepare their main budgets and department budgets. However, principals play a major role in decisions regarding school budgets. In two schools, for example, the principals provide teachers with guidelines to follow in preparing departmental budgets. With regard to budget monitoring and control this study revealed that there are no clear measures in place regarding schools’ main budgets in the three case study schools though departmental budgets seemed to be well monitored and controlled by the principals. It was also found that there seems to be a lack of policies that guide schools on the management of finances. Schools were also found to use secretaries as bursars though secretaries have limited knowledge of financial matters. In addition, the study revealed that principals, school secretaries and heads of departments need capacity building on financial matters. This study recommends an in-depth investigation of experiences of principals on the use of subvention. The study also recommends, inter alia, formulation of financial policies by schools and changes to the law on school funding by the Ministry of Education and Training. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2010.

The construction of large dams has become a contentious issue throughout the world. Environmentalists, human rights activists, NGOs, academics and local communities have all contributed to the debate. On the one hand, proponents have highlighted the role of dams in alleviating poverty, improving the quality of life of communities, and their positive impact on local and national economies. Opponents of large dams have argued that the negative impacts on the environment and local communities outweigh any perceived benefits. Methods for assessing the environmental impact of large projects have been used since the 1970's. By 1988 most of Europe had adopted methods such as environmental impact assessment for evaluating the impact of proposed projects. These procedures aim to inform decision makers and authorities of the potential impact that a proposed project may have. World financial institutions, such as the World Bank, have also adopted the use of these assessment methods as part of their evaluation of projects that are seeking funding. This research establishes the environmental standards and requirements that were in place internationally, nationally and regionally, during the planning, design and implementation of Phase 1A and Phase 1B of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. The products of the environmental investigations during successive phases of the project (1986-1999) are assessed to establish whether the parties involved conform to these standards. In addition, the research highlights affected communities' experience of the project implementation, as well as the impact of the project on their lives. The research suggests that in the early phases of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (feasibility and Phase 1A), studies failed to meet environmental assessment standards and requirements, Studies undertaken during Phase 1B represent a considerable improvement and conform more closely to World Bank standards. Although the participation of interested and affected parties has improved, there still appear to be areas of major concern to affected communities. The study highlights the need for greater transparency during the assessment phase of projects, and in particular, more effective involvement of the local communities. Future environmental assessments of this nature are likely to be subject to more stringent requirements including the systematic assessment and quantification of downstream impacts and the incorporation of the costs of all impacts in the project costs. Further phases of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, will therefore need to demonstrate environmental sustainability in the long term. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

The Geodetic network of Lesotho as established by the Directorate of Overseas Surveys in the 1950's, has been known to have distortions of several meters in some areas. This network is still very much in use today. Several altcmpts were made to strengthen the DOS network. but these attempts were not used for a complete readjustment. The South African Control net, which completely surrounds Lesotho, has recently been readjusted so as to bring it into sympathy with the WGS reference system used by GPS. It has become urgent to similarly update the Lesotho control system, to enable economical use of GPS surveying methods. This thesis addresses the problems of updating the Lesotho control system and also of bringing existing data onto the updated systcm. This thesis first reviews the historical background of Lcsotho and that of its geodetic net work. Different sets of data were collected and common points in the compared sets selected for the analysis. The South African readjustment was chosen as the standard, because it is the most recent, derived with the support of the new zero-order South African control net. The data sets were fitted to the reference system using conformal transformations from first up to fourth order. These comparisons were used to detect outliers. They revealed systematic distortions in the older data. which could be largely eliminated in the fourth-order transformation. The opportunity to update control point co-ordinates also gave an opportunity to revisit the existing choice of using two map panels of the Gauss Conform projection. The distortions involved in using a single Gauss Conform panel and also the UTM projection were investigated. A companson or all the methods and the recommendations concludes the section. Software was developed for transforming existing survey data onto the recommended updated reference system. The height system used in Lesotho is also reviewed because it forms part of the control net. The focus is on heights in relation to gravity. because that bears on the relation of published orthometric heights. with GPS-derived ellipsoidal heights. This section is mostly a literature review, starting with the theory of heights and gravity, proceeding onto the applied corrections and then showing what relations have been found. / Thesis (M.Sc.Sur.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

Problems of understanding fundamental calculus concepts by students in tertiary education colleges and universities are evidenced by a body of research studies conducted in different parts of the world. The researchers have identified, classified and analysed these problems from historical, epistemological, and learning theory perspectives. History is important because mathematical concepts are a result of the developments of the past. The way knowledge is acquired is an epistemological issue and the major purpose of learning is to acquire knowledge. Hence, these three perspectives qualify to be used as lenses in understanding problems that students encounter in a learning situation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the epistemological obstacles that mathematics students at undergraduate level encounter in coming to understand the limit concept. The role played by language and symbolism in understanding the limit concept was also investigated, because communication in the mathematics classroom takes place by using language and symbols. / Philosophiae Doctor - PhD

Development stakeholders globally argue that participatory development is the best model of development strategy in achieving sustainable, self-reliant development. This is one of the major tools of democracy used by democratic governments. This type of development strategy asserts that if people decide on their own development and if development becomes personcentred, there is a high possibility of successful and sustainable development projects within communities. It should be understood that participatory development involves people’s participation in development projects from the adoption stage of project to monitoring and evaluation of those projects. In Lesotho, lack of participatory development in development projects is reflected in environmental impact assessment reports by a number of developers. In these reports, participatory development and beneficiary empowerment are not regarded as valuable. It seems empowerment and capacity building is on the margins of the government and developers in Lesotho. This study addresses issues of participatory development with the focus of the Lesotho Highlands water project. It provides a critical examination of the events around the project from its conception, the beginning of the construction of phase one of the project to the end of this phase. The study then provides a critical analysis of the treaty of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project signed in 1986 with much reflection on participatory development and all it entails. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

<p>The inclusion of technology in the school curriculum has been a concern in many countries following the 1990 Jomtien World Conference on Education for ALL (Jenkins, 1996). However, there are different perspectives and views about technology education. As a result technology has been included in the school curriculum in varied ways.</p> <p><br /> In recognition of the importance of technology in economic development, Lesotho has attempted to include technology in the school curriculum by incorporating science and technology. This study evaluated the Lesotho science curriculum which incorporates technology. The evaluation study is based on the framework first proposed by Stake (1967). Stake&rsquo / s model addresses the relationship between the intended curriculum and the implemented curriculum (Stenhouse, 1988). In this study the intended curriculum is defined as the curriculum plan as depicted in the curriculum materials such as the syllabus, the examinations questions papers and the textbook which was used as an exemplary material for teaching the science-technology curriculum. The implemented curriculum is viewed as what actually happened at school level as teachers tried to interpret the curriculum developer&rsquo / s plan. Although Stake&rsquo / s model served as a guide in the collection and analysis of empirical data, other theoretical areas supported it. These included Gardner&rsquo / s (1990) approaches to the incorporation of science and technology / the constant comparative approach (Merriam, 1998) / and some aspects of curriculum theory, particularly curriculum development and curriculum evaluation as espoused in the works of certain scholars (e.g. Ornstein and Hunkins, 2004 / Stenhouse, 1988). The study was designed as a multiple-site case study (Merriam, 1998). The sites where in-depth study of the implemented curriculum was done were four high schools in Lesotho. The intended curriculum was mainly examined by analysing the curriculum materials such as the syllabus, the examinations question paper and the textbook. The methods that were used for collecting the data were interviews, classroom observations, document analysis, and the achievement tests.</p>

As the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevalence rises, uninfected Basotho face an increased risk of exposure. This necessitates strengthening of strategies that prevent exposure, and where exposure has occurred, measures that prevent infection. One such measure is Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). Awareness and knowledge of HIV PEP is therefore of paramount importance. The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes and utilisation of HIV PEP among adults in Roma, Lesotho. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 96 adult outpatients at St Joseph’s Hospital. Data were collected by means of structured questionnaire and analysed using SPSS version 23.0. Results were presented using charts and tables. Awareness of HIV PEP among the respondents was found to be very low and for most respondents’ knowledge of HIV PEP was either non-existent or very poor. Utilisation was also found to be very low. Attitudes towards HIV PEP were, however, found to be favourable. More studies should be conducted throughout the country to further explore Basotho’s knowledge, attitude and use of HIV PEP. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

The main research problem is the low productivity of small scale maize farmers largely as a result of low adoption rates of recommended practices that could enhance yield levels and improve their incomes and livelihoods, and the inability of extension workers to effectively influence farmers’ decision making process by their lack of appropriate predictive extension planning tools. The problem faced by extension workers is the lack of understanding of the wants and needs of farmers, their preferences and behavioral inclinations towards agricultural innovations. In order to contribute to the understanding of farmers’ behavior change, the study sought to compare the relative influence of personal and social characteristics of farmers with intervening variables as conceptualized by Düvel and Ajzen’s subjective norms, with the objective of determining their predictive potential of farmers behaviors for extension program planning purposes. A secondary objective was to search for additional variables to explain farmer’s adoption behavior by exploring the predictive value of the subjective norm concept The study was carried out in the Leribe and Maluti-a-Phofung districts of Lesotho and South Africa respectively. A structured questionnaire with a Sotho translation was used to collect data from 107 farmers randomly selected from the districts and administered by trained extension staff. The data collected was analyzed using the social sciences (SPSS). In determining the relationships between the independent and dependent variables, Chi-square test of independence, correlation and regressions analysis were used. In all 10 independent and nine intervening variables were selected for the study. The independent variables were location of the farm, membership of farmers association, gender, age, level of education, experience in farming, off-farm income, amount of time spent farming, total farm size and area under maize cultivation. The intervening variables were efficiency perception, need compatibility, need tension, awareness and prominence constituted cognitive aspects derived from Düvel’s Model and the social dimensions adapted from Ajzen’s subjective norm concept were, important people, extension agents, close friends and membership of farmers association. The results suggest that farm size and area under maize cultivation were the only variables that showed any consistent influence with adoption of recommended maize agronomic practices namely: use of improved seeds, lime and fertilizer applications. The association between the remaining variables seems to be more dependent on the type of recommended practice. For example location was found to be significantly associated with the adoption of fertilizer and top-dressing practices but not with lime and the use of improved seed. All the remaining independent variables gender, age, educational level, experience and time spent on the farm appear not to have any significant influence on the adoption of the recommended practices at five percent level of probability. Compared to the independent variables, five out of the nine intervening variables, namely: prominence, awareness, need compatibility, efficiency perception and need tension were consistently found to be highly significantly associated with the adoption of all the four recommended maize agronomic practices at 5% level of probability. On the other hand, the subjective norm variables did not show any consistent association with adoption behaviors of respondents In general the analysis suggest a lower than expected contribution to variation as the results contradicts the hypothesis that farm and farmer characteristics influence adoption behavior. This is supported by the fact that, except for top- dressing where the characteristics of the farmer and farm contribute about 40% to the explanation to total variation, the rest all fall below 20 %. In contrast, the evidence shows that the intervening variables – those with cognitive dimensions, showed a high degree in explaining variation in the adoption behavior in all the production practices studied. The power of explanation ranged from 49% in the case of adoption of improved seed practices to 77.7% for the use of lime. The results provide strong evidence in support of the contention that, the intervening variables of cognitive in nature, are the likely precursors of decision making through which the influence of independent variables become manifested in behavior. The results also show that need, perception and knowledge related variables mediate between intentions, personal variables and the environment and decisions on adoption. This study confirms and opens the way for the search for more intervening variables with the potential to extend the epistemology of extension science. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Magister Artium - MA / This research sought to understand the nature of election-related conflict and what needs to be done to arrest the eruption of such conflict in Lesotho. It sought the opinions of selectively respondents who have been involved in the conflicts in different ways. The interviews and documented literature revealed that what constitutes a background to election-related conflict involves issues that are many and varied. Among others such issues include the following: weak political institutions, use of vulgar language by political leadership, and the weak economy that intensifies neo-patrimonial tendencies. The research concluded that all the factors associated with the eruption of illegitimate conflicts during and after general elections in Lesotho are a result of the politicians' desire to retain or capture national resources to satisfy their selfish interests and those of their cronies. The conflicts could be minimised if the country's economy could be transformed to provide the politicians with alternatives of economic survival outside the structures of government. Furthermore, to minimise the conflict, the country should consider establishing electoral courts. These have the potential of speeding up the resolution of electoral grievances, in the process preventing them from graduating into serious conflicts. / South Africa

Lesotho is experiencing a problem of seasonal bloody diarrhoea outbreaks that occur in the southern districts of the country. Usually large proportions of the meagre resources are used to combat such outbreaks. Measures have been taken to provide water and improve sanitation for the commonly affected communities. However, the problem has continued unabated. There was therefore, a need to isolate factors that are associated with the transmission of bloody diarrhoea among the communities in the Moriti, Holy Cross, Liphiring and Mohalinyane health centres where bloody diarrhoea is prevalent. In this study, 145 cases of bloody diarrhoea and 269 controls were selected from the four health centres. Cases and controls were selected from subjects who were seen in the health centres during the period of December 2002 to February 2003. All available cases were selected whereas controls were selected by systematic sampling. The study examined environmental factors such as water source, waste and refuse disposal and hygiene practices. Binary logistic regression was used to estimate the effects of several exposures on bloody diarrhoea. The model showed maintenance of the boreholes to be the most important variable. The Odds ratio among people who experienced unavailability of water was 3.88 greater, among children who do not wash hands the odds ratio was 4.66 higher. Among subjects who ate bread in January the Odds ratio was 1.45 more and among subjects who had someone with bloody diarrhoea in the household the Odds ratio was 2.60 greater. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH) / MSc / Unrestricted