The comprehension of English plays a significant role in Lesotho’s education system, as it determines students’ access into tertiary studies. Teachers of English therefore have an important role to play in developing students’ English reading comprehension skills. The COSC examinations provide a formal assessment of reading comprehension in English. This study investigates how Lesotho English teachers teach and assess reading comprehension to meet the requirements of the COSC English examination in six selected Lesotho high schools. Data was collected through interviews and the reading comprehension tasks that the six teachers devised for COSC students. They also drew marking memoranda for the tasks. Five selected COSC English past question papers were also analysed against the tasks devised by teachers. The results indicated that all the six teachers did not teach effective reading strategies to students. Although they asked questions of high instruction in the tasks, the data collected also reflected that teachers did not teach students to read as text users nor text analysts. This also was the case with the five selected COSC past question papers that were analysed. Both the COSC questions and the teachers asked questions that tested readers’ roles as text participants. Recommendations in this study are that another research be made on teaching English as a subject which will encompass other elements of English teaching which were not within the scope of this research report.

This study explores the role and place of Lesotho Sign Language (LSL) in the education of deaf learners. It seeks to determine how the present language-in-education policy and language practices at home and in the schools for the deaf impact on education of deaf learners. For this purpose, the research focuses on the schools for the deaf as the sites where policy is to be implemented. The study also investigates the attitude of policy makers towards the inclusion of LSL in the current national language-in-education policy. A qualitative approach to research was adopted for this study. Data was collected mainly through interviews with policy makers, deaf children, teachers and parents of deaf learners. To complement this data, observations were conducted in schools where deaf children in Lesotho are taught. The study is a language policy study and as such, language planning and bilingual education theories are interrogated. Rationale choice theory is applied to explain which factors policy makers in Lesotho consider in language planning. This is an attempt to understand reasons that may enable or hinder the inclusion of LSL in the national language-in-education policy. Additionally, based on Cummins’ theoretical framework for minority student intervention and empowerment, the study suggests the adoption of bilingual model for the schools of the deaf to teaching deaf learners. Bilingual education does not only encourage instruction through LSL, it also provides an opportunity for deaf learners to decide on the language that best meets their learning needs. The analysis of data revealed that education of deaf learners in Lesotho is not satisfactory. This is due to three main reasons. First, Lesotho Sign Language is not sufficiently used in the schools for the deaf. The situation brings about discrepancy between the mother tongue policy and its implementation. Secondly, teachers are neither adequately proficient in LSL nor are they conversant with Deaf culture. Coupled with all these, teachers lack skills suitable to teach deaf children. Thirdly, parents are not actively involved in the education of their children. All these impact negatively on the education of deaf learners in Lesotho. Finally, although policy makers showed a positive attitude towards the inclusion of LSL in the current national language-in-education, they expressed a lot of skepticism on whether the government would be wiling to financially ready for the implementation of such policy. Based on these findings, this research is an important contribution to describing the situation of Deaf education in Lesotho and the inherent difficulties that Deaf learners experience due to the current language practices in the schools for the Deaf. The study is also of great value since in Lesotho, most people are not aware of deafness as a phenomenon or of the existence of Sign Language. Literature on Lesotho language policy and minority languages focuses on spoken languages. The ostensible avoidance of LSL in both academic and policy circles is therefore the main focus of this study.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 1979 / The central focus of this thesis is on the machinery of planning in tae Lesotho Government and the tasks which it endeavoured ;o initiate and administer. One objective of the study has therefore been ti furnish a detailed internal history of those departments of" Government (in particular, the Central Planning and Development Office) principally concerned with planniig. The primary purpose, however, lias been to use this casu study to provide an insight into the nature of the bureaucracy and, mere specifically, into its attitude toward, and capability of Initiating, reform. The study thus relates to one of the major issues of concern to political and administrative analysts of underdeveloped and recently politicallyindeoendent states: namely the compatibility or otherwise of the ’bureaucracy* with 'reform' and 'development'. Planning wa. selected as an appropriate focal point for this analysis, since it had generated such great expectations in the early post-colonial period. It was common to the administrative experience of many new state that the establishment of a central planning office was considered to be one essential early step toward change and progress. The detailed case study covers the administration of planning in Lesotho for the ten years between 19^5 and 1975• It commences immediately before the establishment of the Planning Office, obt.vrvcs its establishment, the problematic early years of minimal advance and, later, its more rapid growth and relatively enhanced efficiency. A portrayal of this history as a subunit struggling to increase its influence in conflict and competition with other subunits of a large bureaucratic organization, presents a more accurate representation than one Which suggests the evolution of tic planning machinery as part oi a s'- Totic exercise in administrative reform. next section, which relates and discusses the visws and concerns of the participants themselves, is intended Co offer further insight into the •official mind' of the Lesotho bureaucracy, and thus to supplement the case study. A brief examination of the principal features of Lesotho's economy follows. This reveals clearly that the me L. trends are towards a deipening state of underdevelopment and a steadily growing dependence. The record of a deteriorating economic predicament is Jux+*posed with the strengthening of the planning machinery and so throws into question the role of the bureaucracy in a situation of this nature. At the cloaa, three approaches to public administration in underdeveloped countries are discussed as a means of interpreting wlia t , exactly, lias been observed. Ihe 1 irst conclusion is tliat the case a^udy reveals a strengthening of the planning machinery which would satisfy the very m dest requirements of reform as understood by the 'African Public Administration and Management' movement. Taking note of the manner in which the planning machinery has grown and also of certain practices and policies of the civil service as a whole, the second conclusion is that the changes observed fall far short of the demands of the 'development administration' movement; there was little serious interest in the type oi reform which that movement proposed. v- brief discussion of the 'bureaucracy' and the 'migrant worker , set against the background of economic deterioration and increasing dependence, leads to the final conclusion. This confirms the 'underdevelopment and dependence' movement's perception of the role of the bureaucracy in the post-colonial or,,. Lesotho's civil Service was gaining material advantage from, and serving to abet, the forces of underdevelopment. In the i trial analysis, therefore, the case observed is one of administration for underdevelopment; tliat is, underdevelopment administration.

Degree: Master of Science Department: Science / This study examined conceptions about earthquakes held by the selected high school students in Lesotho. A survey was carried out at one high school with students from three different grades; Form A students who had not yet received formal instruction about earthquakes, and Form C and Form D students who had dealt with the topic in school. Some of the students in the sample had experienced an earthquake. A diagnostic test was used to elicit conceptions from 130 students. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 6 students, with the purpose of probing certain responses from the test. In particular, test responses that were probed included; first, those which showed confusion between earthquakes and volcanoes, and second, those which used indigenous beliefs to explain causes of earthquakes. The conceptions held by students in the three grades were analysed and compared. From the results the following findings emerged: First, many students appear to be confused in their understanding between earthquakes and volcanoes, particularly those who had received classroom instruction on these concepts. Some of the students could not distinguish between an earthquake and a volcano, while others seem to think that earthquake occurrences are always linked to volcanic activity. Second, several students across the three grades could not differentiate between movements of the earth’s crust which result in earthquakes and the larger scale movements, i.e. the rotation and revolution of the earth. Third, generally students across the three grades appear to have scientifically correct ideas about the causes of earthquakes. Also, the majority of students attributed the causes of earthquakes to water, perhaps because the earthquake in their area was caused by impoundment of the dam. However, students seemed to be uninformed about the mechanisms or processes behind the occurrence of earthquakes. Finally, a few students across the grades used indigenous beliefs to explain earthquakes. With an awareness of the conceptual and cultural difficulties students in Lesotho are likely to encounter in the learning of earthquakes, teachers can prepare in advance to handle such issues, as they are critical in the understanding of the phenomenon of earthquakes.

This dissertation attempts to identify the aims of Religious Education in Lesotho secondary schools. The time of missionary .enterprise in the Nineteenth Century has been followed in the second half of the Twentieth Century by dynamic political and socioeconomic change. This period is marked by considerable uncertainty about the aims of religious education. This is a descriptive study, and uses relevant literature to find what could be acceptable, appropriate aims for the teaching u. religion in Lesotho, Chapters 1 to 4 establish that the more common but questionable aims of religious instruction in Lesotho secondary schools can be traced back to the era of evangelization in tne last century. A review of the literature follows. In Chapters 5 and 6 the idea of conversion and morality as the aims of religious education is dismissed, leaving Education as the only possible aim. The climax, in Chapter 7, presents the opposing views of writers on religious education on the issue: Can religion be taught os part of education or not? Has it a place in the school curriculum? The debate arises from this discussion. In support of its argument, to is study draws much from the concept of education as described by R, S. Peters, and P. H. Hirst. It concludes that religious studies can be educational despite religion's epistemic problem. With Lesotho's educational situation in view, the study selects the medial, instructional a litis which can contribute toward the attainment of this primary and general aim* namely Education.

This study examines the challenges that the employees of the Ministry of the Public Service in Lesotho face due to lack of harassment policies. This is because the Ministry of the Public Service, as the mother ministry, is mandated to look after and protect all civil servants, and in the absence of relevant policies employees are left vulnerable. This is an explorative case study of the Ministry of the Public Service – Lesotho Institute of Public Administration and Management (LIPAM). The researcher found that there are no conventional harassment policies in place, and therefore nothing is being done to address the challenges facing employees as regards harassment. Harassment affects not only the person being harassed and the harasser, it also affects the organisation as a whole as the harassment victim will not be productive, and this may impact on other employees. The conclusion is that there is ignorance and apathy from management as regards harassment as claims have been brought to their attention, but no tangible action has been taken. It is therefore the researcher‟s view that management and employees need to come together to deal with this problem and develop a conventional policy that suits everyone involved

Many of the Third World countries are characterised by high levels of poverty in the rural areas. So, many government strategies are geared towards improving the living standards of the poor rural masses through introduction of cash crops in the agricultural sector. These are meant to create employment opportunities and provide a sustainable supply of income for the rural poor. Asparagus production in Lesotho is one of those strategies that was used by the government to combat rural poverty. In the past years, especially during the initial years of implementation of the asparagus project. the peasants achieved sustainable livelihoods. However, in the last decade, the asparagus project was confronted with many difficulties that made it less beneficial to the peasants. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

Across the globe, privatisation has become one of the key instruments in the economic reform process. The study investigates the impact of privatisation on selected privatised firms in Lesotho. An evaluation was made of former parastatals that included the Government of Lesotho directly-owned enterprises and Lesotho Bank companies that had since been privati sed, after being declared poor performers and that had been regular recipients of Government subsidies for their survival. The country is in the process of rebuilding its economy after experiencing a major setback in its economy in the late 1990's due to a political crisis. Privatisation was seen as one way of fulfilling this enormous task. Hence, the Government of Lesotho decided to offload some of its enterprises to the public whom they believed to be capable of running them in a profitoriented manner given efficient management and fresh capitalisation. Public participation through share ownership is involved in this process therefore it is important to evaluate these companies' performances. Shareholders are primarily interested in improving their values through maximising profits, and in tum getting high returns. This study also measures the effects of privatisation in Lesotho in terms of its contributions to the welfare of shareholders and individual corporate performances, with emphasis on the theoretical background to the subject and the opinions of directors, managements and employees of selected companies towards the critical performance changes that occurred in the pre and post privatisation era ranging from the late 1990s to date. After the analysis, the investigation revealed that the selected companies performed indifferently. Some organisations managed to grow financially and in size, while others struggled in the new competitive environments. Whilst the study did not show their individual financial performances, it did highlight the effects of privatisation on these companies in an economic manner. It was also established that Lesotho had significantly different objectives ofprivatisation to those of other countries especially developed ones. Key Words: Privatisation, state-owned enterprise, shareholders, ownership, corporate performance, Lesotho, economy, private sector, public sector. / Thesis (M.Acc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

In Lesotho the provision of education and care for learners with special educational needs was primarily the responsibility of non-governmental organizations, churches and individuals until the Lesotho Ministry of Education took an active interest in the early 1980s. Inclusive education has, since then, become a critical aspect of the Lesotho education system. This study explores educators' experiences in teaching learners with learning disabilities in three primary schools in Lesotho. Using a qualitative, descriptive and theoretical research design, the study employs a case study approach to answer the following questions: What are educators' understandings of learning disabilities in the classroom? What are the challenges that educators experience in teaching learners with learning disabilities? The data was collected from a sample of six educators from three primary schools (two educators from each school) through semi-structured interviews, observations, document reviews and questionnaires. The study revealed that the educators have not been properly prepared for implementation of the policy of inclusive education; this is reflected by their limited understanding of inclusive education. It also shows a weakness in dissemination of inclusive education policies as educators are not well trained, especially to assist learners with learning disabilities. The focus tended to be only on children with hearing impairment, sight impairment and physical disability. Therefore there is a need for the Lesotho Ministry of Education, not only to review the policy and curriculum of inclusive education, but also unpack the dissemination process so that it empowers and supports educators with knowledge and practical strategies. There are many learning disabilities which educators do not seem to know and the training of educators for the implementation of IE should address the issue. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.