Basic Education Strengthening Project

  • P Project/Program

A Active

Key Information

The development objective of Basic Education Strengthening Project is to improve student retention and teaching quality in junior secondary schools in targeted community councils of Lesotho and support the roll out of a new curriculum to strengthen Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) service delivery. This project has three components. 1) The first component, Improving student retention in junior secondary education, has the following sub-components: (i) Improving the efficiency of cash transfer schemes for students from poor households; (ii) Scaling up implementation of youth clubs for girls and boys; and (iii) Strengthening online training models in mathematics and science for junior secondary school teachers. 2) The second component, System strengthening to improve ECCD service delivery, has the following sub-components: (i) Structured support to roll out the new curriculum in reception classes and ECCD centers; and (ii) Mapping of ECCD service providers and developing a comprehensive, costed expansion strategy for the ECCD sector. 3) The third component, Project management, capacity building and technical assistance, aims at strengthening Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and Ministry of Social Development (MoSD’s) institutional capacities to implement the BESP.


Lead Implementing Government(s)

Lesotho

Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Lesotho

Government Affiliation

Government-affiliated program

Years

2022 - 2025

Partner(s)

Not applicable or unknown

Ministry Affiliation

Lesotho Ministry of Social Development, Lesotho Ministry of Education and Training

Funder(s)

COVID-19 Response

Unknown

Geographic Scope

National

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

No

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Attainment

  • Secondary completion
  • Secondary Enrollment

Other

  • Early childhood development

Quality

  • School-related gender-based violence
  • School violence
  • Teacher training

Skills

  • Numeracy
  • STEM

Cross-cutting areas

  • Gender equality
  • Masculinities/boys

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Boys in school, Girls in school, Youth

Age

Not applicable or unknown

School Enrolment Status

All in school

School Level

  • Pre-school
  • Lower secondary
  • Upper secondary

Other populations reached

  • Teachers - female
  • Teachers - male

Participants include

Not applicable or unknown

Program Approaches Back to Top

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • Technical assistance/capacity building to civil society organizations or governments

Reducing economic barriers

  • Unconditional cash transfers (including non-cash goods) to individuals/households

Teaching

  • Pre-service teacher training – pedagogy general

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Increased numeracy
  • Increased progression to secondary school
  • Increased school enrolment (general)
  • Increased secondary school completion
  • Increased secondary school enrolment

Cross-cutting goals

  • More equitable gender attitudes and norms