The Minister of Education and Training, Mrs Mamokho Phiri, has said that the education risk might turn into a generation catastrophe for the marginalized and vulnerable groups
She said this when officially opening the national consultation meeting that was held in Maseru.
She said the state of education has exposed more people, valuable people to poverty.
She applauded all stakeholders for making this consultation a success, noting that without them it would not be successful.
Also speaking, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ms Amanda Khosi Mukwashi noted that the UN is humbled by the prompt positive response and dedication in response to the call throughout the consultation process, by the Ministry of Education personnel in preparing for the pre-summit and incorporating pre-summit recommendations to finally come up with the report and the statement of commitment for the Prime Minister.
She said engaging with all key stakeholders, communities and most importantly, teachers and young people in the consultations is a milestone and an indication that the country understands that there cannot be any transformation without engaging with the key stakeholders.
She said the summit is being convened in response to a global crisis in education which is one of equity and inclusion, quality, and relevance.
She said the crisis is likely to have a devastating impact on the future and lives of the children if not addressed now.
She said the negative impacts on the collective pursuit of peace, justice, human rights and sustainable development will be felt for decades to come.
She said the summit provides a unique opportunity to elevate education to the top of the global political agenda and mobilize action, ambition, solidarity, and solutions to recover learning losses.
“As the UN, our role is to support the government in achieving all Sustainable Development Goals, and in this case, the SDG-4, and as I said, Transformation of Education is one key strategy to improve the current economic status of the country because investing in quality and relevant education transforms into long term economic benefits and a spill over into much more,” she said.
Giving the report on the Consultation, Chief Education Officer Primary, Mrs Thuto Ntsekhe Mokhehle said the country’s recommendations are expected to be presented at the TES by the Prime Minister in September, saying the government will implement them in October and the review will be done before the end of 2030.
She said different stakeholders were consulted at the national, sub-national, 10 districts, urban and rural, lowlands and mountains.
She said young people, parents, teachers, principals, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders were consulted.
She said different tracks of recommendations were filed and the ministry will work hard to make sure that they are implemented.
The Transformation Education Summit will be held in New York, the United States of America in September.
