CHIEF Executive Officer of the Examination Council of Lesotho (ECOL), Mokhitli Khoabane says the 2022 Lesotho General Certificate of Secondary Education (LGCSE) results dropped from 54 percent in 2021 to 47.3 percent.

The decline, he said, was largely due to the past teachers’ strikes and the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the country in 2020.

“We had teachers' strikes in 2018-2019 and learners suffered tremendously. From 2019 to 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the whole country went into lockdown.

“Schools were closed and learners were not taught the way we wanted. The need for resources for teaching and learning is high. We need to assist pupils by teaching them through radio, television and using various other teaching guides to equip them on how to answer questions in examinations.”

 President of the Lesotho School Principals Association (LEPSA), Mathafeng Moteuli said the 2022 LGCSE results deteriorated because, among others, the learners did not get enough lessons.

“The 2018-2019 teachers’ strikes and the COVID-pandemic in 2020-2021 dealt them a low blow, making it difficult for them to learn. Teachers had to resort to online teaching, hence, learning became difficult for learners with no access to the internet or data.

Announcing the results on Wednesday, the Minister of Education and Training, Professor Ntoi Rapapa acknowledged that although things have since gone back to normal this year, the results still remain below standard.

“About 27 477 learners wrote their exams in 2022 as opposed to the 17 798 learners who sat for their exams in 2021. The number increased by 8 988 and 6 801 learners were unable to write their exams in 2022. About 1 059 learners obtained A* in 2022 whereas in 2021 the number was 480. This means that there has been an excellent improvement in 2022.