- the boarding schools enrol babies under five years of age
- helping replace the practice of entrusting toddlers with nannies
- enhancing early childhood development
Letsatsi Selikoe
There is a new trend in Lesotho’s education system captivating educators and parents alike.
It is the development of boarding schools for children under five years old.
In recent years, these schools have seemingly sprung up across the country, particularly helping parents eager to seek employment in foreign lands but cannot take their children along.
Or even parents working in the country but prefer not to entrust custody of their children with nannies or relatives to protect their toddlers from abuse.
But these unique schools are also sparking debate and discussions about their real purpose and value, and whether it is appropriate to keep toddlers from parental care for prolonged periods at such vulnerable ages.
Toddlers under five years old are traditionally day pupils at kindergartens or nurseries.
They are dropped at creches in the morning and returned to the nurturing presence of their families during these crucial formative years.
However, with the emergence of boarding schools for children under five, this long-standing tradition of family-centred learning and socialisation is being disrupted.
The development inevitably raises important questions about the benefits and potential drawbacks of separating young children from their families and whether such an arrangement is truly in the children’s best interests.
In 2014 Phumzile Sesioana launched the Child Guidance Centre (CGC), a pre-school where children as young as two and a half years old spent their days in the care of teachers and staff, returning to their homes in the evenings.
This allowed these infant learners to enjoy the benefits of early childhood development while maintaining the security and comfort of their homes.
As word of CGC’s exceptional educational program spread, parents from all corners of Lesotho flocked to enrol their children with the school.
Even those living outside of Maseru were eager to provide their kids with top-notch foundational education and saw the pre-school as an opportunity for their children to benefit from early childhood development efforts.
Ms Sesioana, moved by the outpouring of interest and support, decided to expand CGC by introducing a boarding school for children under five, allowing the school to cater to families from far and wide.
However, her initial reluctance was rooted in the specialized needs of young children. But her compassion for the eager toddlers and their hopeful parents ultimately prevailed.
“I was at first hesitant,” she told the Lesotho Times this week.
“But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was an opportunity to give even more children the high-quality education that CGC is known for, which is essential to nurturing early childhood development.”
And so, in 2015, just a year after the pre-school’s inception, Ms Sesioana opened the doors of CGC’s boarding school for children under five.
With love as her guiding principle, she says she set out to create a warm, nurturing environment where young learners could thrive, even as they spent their days away from their families.
Ms Sesioana’s keen observation of the children’s emotional needs speak to her powerful insight. Her realization that many of these young learners were ‘hungry for love and attention’ is a poignant reminder that children not only require physical care and education, but also need emotional support to thrive.
The recognition of this need led her to create an environment at the boarding school that prioritized not just academic achievement, but also the cultivation of loving relationships between children and their caregivers. The CGC wheel has been rolling for a decade now.
Also passionate about the wellbeing of young kids is Ms Rosalea Jafeta of Kiddies Pre-School in Mafeteng. She opened the doors of her boarding school to cater to children whose parents often work in South Africa.
“We noticed a pattern,” Ms Jafeta explained. “Many parents were left with a difficult choice: leave their young children with family members or nannies, where abuse or neglect might occur, or take their children with them to South Africa, thereby disrupting their home education and development.” Ms Jafeta was determined to find a solution for these families.
“We recognized that we could offer something unique,” she said. “A safe and nurturing environment for these children, while also providing them with the opportunity to continue their education.”
For many families, Kiddies Pre-School’s boarding option proved to be a lifeline.
It offered a sanctuary for very young children while their parents pursued work opportunities across the border.
“It’s hard enough being away from your family,” she said.
“We wanted to give these families peace of mind, knowing that their children were in good hands, learning and growing while they (parents) were away.”
Despite the unique challenges that arise in running a boarding school for young children, Ms Jafeta and her fellow founders found the rewards far outweighed the difficulties.
“Of course, it’s not always smooth sailing,” she admitted. “Children get sick, the power goes out sometimes, but when you see the joy in their faces, the sense of belonging they feel, it’s all worth it.”
Schools providing similar services include TY Junior Academy at TY, Berea district, Levert English Medium Boarding School and in Mafeteng registered in 2019, and the Academ-iQ Multinational School at Sea-Point in Maseru.
An estimated 53 000 toddlers to children aged 5 attend pre-schools in Lesotho.
In a bid to enhance the quality of education in Lesotho and give children an early start, ordinary government primary schools now have reception classes attached, introducing youngers to school life.
While these schools do not have boarding facilities, the intent is to prepare the toddlers for entry into primary school.
While boarding schools for older primary and secondary school children are not new to Lesotho, the establishment of boarding facilities for children under five has marked a shift in the traditional education system.
It is offering families a solution to the unique challenges they face, especially when they must seek work in foreign lands, but it is not easy for them to move with their young children to those foreign places. The kindergarten boarding schools are particularly convenient for parents (mostly single parents) who don’t have trusted relatives to leave their kids with as they seek employment outside Lesotho.
Furthermore, the increasing number of boarding schools for the kids, reveal a growing recognition of the importance of early childhood development and the need for dedicated facilities to achieve it.
According to research by International School Parent, a magazine for parents with children at boarding schools across the world, when a community of kids lives and learns together, they absorb the advantages of peer learning. This is often hugely motivating.
The research also indicated that boarding schools offer a unique opportunity for socialization and behavioural adaptation in children.
Being exposed to a variety of children from different backgrounds and cultures, the children learn to adapt and assimilate, forming a cohesive community.
For instance children who arrived with dietary restrictions or cultural norms from their home environment often saw these barriers break down as they joined the community of their peers in the boarding school.
This process of adaptation not only fosters social skills but also helps children to be more accepting of others’ differences and develop a sense of belonging within their new environment.
These experiences are not just limited to dietary changes; children also adapt to new norms of behaviour and communication. In the boarding school setting, the children are guided by the rules and expectations of the institution, which is different from what they might be used to at home.
A child might be expected to clean up after themselves or participate in group activities that they would not normally experience at home. These novel experiences contribute to the children’s personal development and teach them about social norms and responsibility.
The proliferation of boarding schools for children under 5 years old in Lesotho reveals a unique approach to early education in the country, responding to the needs of families and communities.
The founding of these boarding schools is a testament to the dedication and resilience of educators who seek to provide children with a safe and nurturing environment, despite the challenges they may face.
The adaptation and socialization of young children in these boarding school settings is a remarkable outcome, highlighting the transformative power of early education and the ability of young children to thrive in new environments.
The advent of boarding schools for children under five in Lesotho potentially signals the end of an era for nannies, who have traditionally played a significant role in the care and upbringing of young children in the country.
While nannies remain an integral part of many families, the growing number of boarding schools suggest that some parents are turning to formal educational institutions to provide care for their children during the crucial early years of development.
This shift raises questions about the future of professional nannying in Lesotho.
Meanwhile, contacted for comment yesterday on the evolving education landscape, Minister of Education and Training, referred this paper to ministry officials, who told this publication they would comment at a later stage.
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