Why boarding schools for toddlers are gaining popularity in Lesotho

As many parents migrate for job opportunities, children are left with relatives, nannies, and more recently at schools.

Maseru, Lesotho – It’s a bright, cloudless day in Maseru and within the confines of a small green-and-white-fenced compound, about a dozen children in yellow school uniforms – many of them toddlers – run around.

A middle-aged woman saunters through the school’s gate. All of a sudden, the children stop playing and rush forward, swarming her like a bike of bees. She complains good-naturedly that she is tired but this doesn’t stop her from hugging the little ones. It’s almost like she is their mother.

Her name is Mathapelo Phalatse. Officially, she is a teacher at the Child Guidance Center (CGC), a small school in Qoaling, a community in the capital of Lesotho.

But in reality, Phalatse is more than that. In addition to teaching the children, she cares for them physically, emotionally and makes sure they have what they need.

CGC is one of several boarding schools – some formal, others informal – that have sprung up across the landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa in recent years. But unlike traditional boarding schools for older children, these admit toddlers and preschoolers and provide a more affordable choice for working-class parents who feel like they have few options.