Free Access To Primary Education In Lesotho: Do Pupils Stay On Course AndComplete The Primary School Cycle On Time?

The study investigated one of the crucial aspects on universal primary education: timelycompletion of the primary school cycle. The research was conducted with Education ForAll (EFA) and the Millennium Declaration Goals (MDGs) in mind. The purpose of the studywas to determine whether or not Lesotho’s enormous investment in human, financial andmaterial resources do, indeed, bear fruit in terms of pupils` retention and completion ofprimary school education on time. Specifically, the study examined whether or not the pupilsenrolled in standard/grade one (1) in 2000 all reached the completion year in 2006. To collect data the researchers employed a case study approach to elicit quantitativeinformation. In the case study there were eight (8) primary schools purposively selected: four(4) urban and four (4) rural schools in the Mafeteng and Maseru districts. The research was atracer study propelled by questions that included: What was the original enrolment of FPEpupils in each grade during the period 2000 to 2006? Out of the original enrolment per gradeper year of study, how many boys and girls did not reach the next grade? The findings indicated that generally, pupils do not complete the seven-year programme ontime. In spite of the large enrolments at standard one, numbers that reached standard 7 ontime were very low. Class enrolments constantly decreased as pupils progressed to uppergrades; and this occurred drastically in rural schools. The completion rate was worse in therural schools than in the urban ones