Mathatisi Sebusi
SEVERE staff shortages, inadequate infrastructure and insufficient resources are crippling efforts to rehabilitate children committed to the Juvenile Training Centre (JTC), raising concerns about the institution’s ability to properly educate and reform young offenders.
The Centre, which operates both primary and secondary schools for detained children, is struggling with a lack of qualified teachers, poor learning facilities and inadequate food supplies, according to the Principal Rehabilitation Officer, Lefelisa Setloboko.
Speaking on the sidelines of a back-to-school initiative hosted by the Ministry of Health on Friday, Mr Setloboko said the Centre requires urgent support from both government and the private sector to ensure that children leave rehabilitated and academically prepared for reintegration into society.
The JTC currently accommodates more than 50 boys and over 10 girls who have been committed for various offences, including sexual offences, housebreaking and theft, assault and murder.
Mr Setloboko said about 80 percent of the boys are detained for sexual offences, while most girls are committed for housebreaking and theft.
“Most girls leave their homes in the districts to live with boyfriends. When those relationships end, they are left stranded on the streets and, due to hunger, resort to stealing,” Mr Setloboko said.
He also said many boys committed for sexual offences lack basic knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
“It is still taboo for Basotho parents to talk about sex with their children. As a result, the streets educate these boys more than parents do. They mislead each other and rely on social media, which often provides harmful or incorrect information.”
Children at the Centre are aged between 12 and 17 years and may stay for up to three years, although they can return home after nine months if caregivers are satisfied with their rehabilitation progress.
Mr Setloboko said successful rehabilitation depends on access to vocational training, academic education and psychological counselling, all of which are offered at the Centre but are severely constrained by resource shortages.
“The infrastructure is not conducive for teaching, we have a shortage of teachers and food is not adequate. Nutrition is a major challenge, as the food provided does not meet the children’s daily requirements.”
He added that the Centre largely relies on occasional donor support and that its infrastructure is run-down and not child-friendly, with no playgrounds and limited educational resources.
Meanwhile, JTC Primary School principal, Lebona Qhobosheane, said the school was established in 1972 and received accreditation from the Ministry of Education and Training in 2009.
He said that since its establishment, the school has been allocated only three teachers by the ministry, who are currently responsible for teaching seven primary school classes, with assistance from officers of the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS).
Mr Qhobosheane said the school’s high school section was established in 2010, but accreditation was only granted in 2025 despite repeated applications over the years.
“It was only last year that we received a centre number, enabling us to host our own final examinations. Previously, we were using the Examinations Council of Lesotho as our examination centre,” Mr Qhobosheane said.
He also said the high school section has also been allocated only three teachers, who are currently responsible for teaching all grades, again with support from LCS officers.
Mr Qhobosheane appealed to the Ministry of Education and Training to assist the school with adequate resources, improved infrastructure, and the deployment of additional trained teachers.
Delivering a speech at the event, Minister of Health, Selibe Mochoboroane, said children at the Centre must be supported to access education like their peers.
He said he would brief the Minister of Education and Training on the conditions observed at the Centre, with the hope that it would be prioritised.
“We are overwhelmed as a country. It is not only this Centre that is overwhelmed. The Ministry of Health is also overwhelmed by young people admitted at Mohlomi Hospital due to drug abuse, including students who were pursuing tertiary education but fell victim to substance abuse,” Mr Mochoboroane said.
He also urged parents to take greater responsibility for their children to prevent them from ending up on the streets and engaging in criminal activities.