The Minister of Education, Mr. Lesao Lehohla says the best thing that can be given to a child during his or her childhood is the best upbringing which can only be achieved when done  jointly and  with real commitment by parents, teachers and religious leaders.

Mr. Lehohla said this when officially opening new classrooms of Mapetla Primary school whose construction has been sponsored by the government of Lesotho, on Friday 06 December,2002. He said one of the basic principles of good upbringing of a child is education whose denial from a child can turn such a child into a future criminal and ruin his entire life, or it can restrict the child from developing into a productive future man or woman.

The Minister stated that the government, in view of the importance of education in shaping up the lives of children, has committed itself in providing free primary education  which is intended to cover all classes at primary level in the near future, but he said that can only be achieved if parents play their role in supporting their children's education. " I  strongly oppose people who are saying there can not be education at
schools without money" he said, adding that such people are those who do not care about the development of children but about their personal enrichments.

He however accepted that the free primary education causes congestions in classrooms as a result of increased number of children per classroom and shortage of teachers, which lowers the standard of education, but he said that is better than keeping some children out of school where they may be attracted into unhealthy and criminal activities.

The Member of Parliament for Abia Constutuency, Mr. Tom Thabane thanked the
government of Lesotho for the contribution it made to the school. He pleaded with the community to protect the school so that it can benefit many more children. He asked the children at the school to work hard in their studies and to avoid being misguided into unnecessary engagements such as love affairs which could take their time to concentrate on their studies.

He urged teachers to play a bigger role in teaching the children about HIV and the dangers of engaging in sexual activities at their age. Present at the occasion were parents, members of the community, the school board members and education officers.

06 December,2002