Reducing School Dropout in Malawi and Lesotho

‘School in a bag’, buddy systems and catch-up clubs have paved the way for improved learning and reduced dropout in schools in Malawi and Lesotho. These pioneering techniques have been used by researchers from University College London’s Ins tute of Educa on and their Southern African partners to help ensure that disadvantaged children, particularly those affected by HIV/ AIDS, stay in school. Between April 2007 and July 2010, the team developed and piloted these distance- and flexible- learning techniques in 20 primary schools in Malawi and 16 secondary schools in Lesotho, all of which were located in areas where HIV/AIDS was highly prevalent and where school dropout rates were high. In both countries, the schools saw reduced dropout rates (up to 45 percent in Malawi), particularly for older children.