Lesotho

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Lesotho is a small Commonwealth state with a largely rural population of over 2.3 million (World Bank, 2022).

COL’s work in Lesotho is in the areas of higher education and technology-enabled learning, and more recently, open schooling. Lesotho is a part of the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) network and benefits from programmes offered by COL’s regional centre, the Southern African Development Community’s Centre for Distance Education (SADC-CDE) at Botswana Open University. Learners from Lesotho are also participating in COL’s free online courses and other openly available resources.

Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, 15-64 years old¹
15%		13.1%
Female (2019)		Male (2019)

Completion rate, lower secondary education for the school year ending in 2020¹
45.3%		25.4%
Female		Male

Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education for the school year ending in 2018¹
12.4%		8%
Female		Male

Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications in secondary education¹
91.2%		86%
Female (2016)		Male (2016)

1. UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, retrieved in May 2023

Highlights

National policy on open and distance learning (ODL) developed with COL support was approved by Cabinet.
National University of Lesotho received support under the IT augmentation project and improved its capacities for delivering quality teaching and learning using technologies.
COL supporting the transformation of Lesotho Distance Teaching Centre (LDTC) into the College of Open and Distance Learning of Lesotho.

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector. COL partnerships assist in improving and extending teaching and learning services to people in the developing Commonwealth.

Literacy rate (2022)¹
89.8%		73.9%
Female, Adult (15+)		Male, Adult (15+)

Economic Activity – Labour Forces Participation (2019)¹
53%		69.2%
Female, Ages 15-64		Male, Ages 15-64

Political Decision Making (2022)¹
26%
Share of seats held by women in national parliament

Life expectancy (2023)¹
54.2		47.7
Female		Male

1. COL gender country profile October 2023

48	80
Individuals using the internet (%)¹	Mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹

0.35	64
Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹	Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹




1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), retrieved in May 2023.

Lesotho

Highlights

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