MASERU — Veteran educationist Colin Macdonald has been awarded the Officer of the British Empire (OBE) title by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
The award, which was announced last Friday, was given in recognition of his sterling role in the education of young people in Africa.
Macdonald, 76, is a former principal of Moshoeshoe II High School in Maseru.
He came to Lesotho in 1981 and served as Moshoeshoe II High School principal for 13 years.
In 1994 Macdonald was appointed principal of Masitise High School but returned to Moshoeshoe II High School in 2008.
He finally retired as an educationist in June last year after serving as a school principal for 40 years.
Macdonald is best remembered for pioneering the education with production programme in local schools.
“He used students for maintenance of the school in the vacation and many earned their fees that way,” said a press statement released this week.
“He located a donor, Solon Foundation, which assisted many needy students who did not qualify for government help, and in due course arranged for the extension of this benefit to all schools in Quthing and Qacha’s Nek districts.”
Macdonald began his teaching career in Scotland in 1956.
In 1960 he moved to Hope Waddell Training Institution in Calabar, Nigeria, as head of Physics and Maths and later as director of studies.
In 1968, Macdonald moved to Ghana where he became principal of Navrongo Secondary School.
“It was here that he first put into practice the ideas of education with production which he later brought to Lesotho,” said the release.
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