Lesotho need $170 million for new schools

$170 million is need by Lesotho for new schools to accommodate 200,000 new pupils by 2030.  An additional 5,900 educators will also have to be trained and educated.

Lesotho is a small country within the borders of South Africa.  It’s population of 2.1 million is estimated to grow by 8.5 percent to reach 2.3 million by 2030.  In 2019, Lesotho’s GDP was just shy of $2.5 billion or $1,160 per capita. Lesotho’s economy is largely dependent on mining, agriculture, manufacturing and inward remittances from the Southern African Customs Union. In 2013, Lesotho spent 13 percent of its GDP on education, the highest of any country in the world.

 Building classrooms

ABiQ estimates that there will be 200,000 additional children of school going age by 2030.  Therefore, Lesotho will require $170 million to build 4,900 classrooms using a maximum ratio of 40 children per class. There will be 5,900 additional teachers and teaching assistants needed over the next decade.

 For more information on this story, please reach out to us.

Literacy rate in Southern Africa – Word Bank