5.3 Training Capacity

Lesotho has one institution for training primary and secondary school teachers, and one institution for training high school teachers. The enrolment, and hence the output, of primary school teachers from the National Teachers Training College (NTTC) is very low (see Table 5.7). According to the Education Sector Development Plan 1991/92 to 1995/96 (Ministry of Education, 1992), the output of the NTTC can be expanded only by increasing the intake, which, in turn, can be accomplished by the construction of additional facilities. If the number of classrooms and hostel places were to be increased, annual intake could be increased to 1,110. It is estimated that this would cost about M. 21,500,000.00 (US$4.30M).

If this expansion took place, output could rise to about 350 per year, based on trainees doing a three-year course. This is well below the planned target of 800 teachers per year and therefore, even if 400 trained teachers were produced every year, an additional 400 unqualified teachers would still have to be recruited annually. To provide in-service training for these unqualified teachers, there is a plan to introduce a modular in-service course based upon the old Lesotho In-service Education and Training programme. Under this plan, these teachers will undertake a one-month course, including a one-week face-to-face course, during their first six months in the service. This arrangement is to ensure that their teaching is not left entirely unsupported. After two years on the job, these teachers will be eligible to enrol for the rest of the distance programme. The programme is planned to last for 3 ½ years at the end of which the trainees will receive a primary teacher’s certificate (PTC).

Table 5.3: Number of Primary School Teachers by Status and Sex for 1991-1995

Year	Qualified			Unqualified			Total			% Unqualified
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
1991	1053	4466	5519	272	894	1166	1325	5360	6685	17%
1992	1090	4483	5573	369	1109	1478	1459	5592	7051	21%
1993	1082	4606	5688	393	1211	1604	1475	5817	7292	22%
1994	1094	4608	5702	445	1281	1726	1539	5887	7428	23%
1995	118	4801	5919	535	1469	2004	1653	6270	7923	25%

(Source for all the following tables: Planning Unit, Ministry of Education, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)

Table 5.4: Demand for New Primary School Teachers

Year	Total Pupil Enrolment	Total Number of Teachers	Teacher/Pupil Ratio	Number of Qualified Teachers	Qualified Teacher/Pupil Ratio	Number of Teachers Needed for 1:40 Ratio	Number of Qualified Teachers Needed	Percentage Demand for Qualified Teachers
1991	361144	6685	1:54	5519	1:65	9029	3510	63.6%
1992	362657	7051	1:51	5573	1:65	9066	3493	62.7%
1993	354275	7292	1:49	5688	1:62	8857	3169	55.7%
1994	366569	7428	1:49	5702	1:64	9164	3462	60.7%
1995	378011	7923	1:48	5919	1:64	9450	3531	59.7%

Table 5.5: Number of Secondary School Teachers by Status and Sex for 1991-1995

Year	Qualified			Unqualified			Total			%Unqualified Teachers
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
1991	966	1007	1973	206	228	434	1172	1235	2407	18%
1992	814	778	1592	418	433	851	1232	1211	2443	35%
1993	953	897	1850	318	358	676	1271	1255	2526	27%
1994	1012	1018	2030	253	314	567	1265	1332	2597	22%
1995	1036	1143	2179	262	268	530	1298	1411	2709	20%

Table 5.6: Demand for New Secondary School Teachers if Pupil/Teacher Ratio is Lowered

Year	Total Number of Students	Total Number of Teachers	Teacher/Student Ratio	Number of Qualified Teachers	Qualified Pupil/Teacher Ratio	Number of Teachers Needed for 25:1 P/T Ratio	Number of New Teachers Needed	Percentage of demand for Qualified Teachers
1991	46572	2407	1:19	1973	1:24	1863	-110	-
1992	51892	2443	1:21	1592	1:33	2076	484	30.4%
1993	55312	2526	1:22	1850	1:30	2212	362	19.57%
1994	61615	2597	1:24	2030	1:30	2465	435	21.43%
1995	66454	2709	1:25	2179	1:31	2658	479	21.98%

It is hoped that the teacher attrition rate and pupil repetition rates can be reduced (Ministry of Education, 1992), thus reducing the demand for teachers. The estimated attrition rate among teachers in Lesotho primary schools is about 8%. These teachers leave teaching for various reasons, including unmet requests for: substantial increases in salary; parity with the civil service in terms of salary, gratuities, and other benefits; the introduction of a career structure for teachers; as well as promptness in the processing of salaries by the teaching service department (TSD) (Ministry of Education, 1992).

The preparation of secondary school teachers by the Faculty of Education, the National University of Lesotho, is also limited by the absence of facilities. For the last five years, the average annual number of graduates stands at about 125 (see Table 5.8). With an attrition rate of over 10% per year, this number is grossly inadequate to meet demand (see Table 5.6).

Table 5.7: Enrolment And Graduation Of Primary School Teacher Trainees by Sex, 1991 - 1995

Year	Enrolment
	Male	Female	Total	Number of Graduates
1991	115	452	567	165
1992	165	558	723	210
1993	119	632	751	189
1994	154	601	755	201
1995	197	562	759	-
1996	-	-	-	244

Table 5.8: Enrolment And Graduation Of Secondary School Teacher Trainers By Sex For 1991 - 1996

Year	Enrolment
	Male	Female	Total	Number of Graduates
1991	-	-	380	-
1992	98	163	261	115
1993	103	247	350	114
1994	151	290	441	146
1995	179	278	457	155
1996	168	301	469	100

(Source: Ministry of Education Statistics, 1995)