Seithati Motsoeneng
THE Examination Council of Lesotho (ECoL) is investigating two high schools suspected of examination malpractice during the 2025 Lesotho General Certificate of Secondary Education (LGCSE) examinations.
As a result, ECoL has withheld the results of these two, Morate High School and Lipohong High School, pending the outcome of the investigations.
The examination council released the national LGCSE results on Monday morning, excluding those of Morate and Lipohong both located in Berea district.
Speaking to the Lesotho Times this week, ECoL Director of Examinations, Administration and Logistics, Ntaeboso Phenduka, confirmed that investigations were underway to determine the legitimacy of the examination processes at the two schools.
He explained that ECoL routinely conducts investigations where there was suspicion of irregularities during examination proceedings that could compromise the integrity of results.
“Malpractice investigations are prompted by various actions that are in contradiction with the rules and regulations governing examination proceedings,” Mr Phenduka said.
He added that the investigations were expected to be completed within a week, after which learners from the affected schools would be informed of the outcome regarding their results.
Mr Phenduka stressed that the results for Morate and Lipohong will only be released once investigations were concluded and all necessary procedures had been followed.
The alleged misconduct mirrors the case of Tiny Tots International School, which is also under investigation by Cambridge International Education (CIE) following allegations of examination malpractice during the 2025 International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations.
Mr Phenduka said the Tiny Tots investigation had been finalised and the report submitted to Cambridge for final determination.
Meanwhile, the newly released 2025 annual examination results have revealed a worrying decline in student performance in key subjects, particularly Mathematics and English.
The results, announced by the Minister of Education and Training, Professor Ntoi Rapapa, indicate that students are struggling more than ever in these fundamental areas.
According to the official results, performance in English declined from 27.1 percent in 2024 to 18.2 percent in 2025 within the A*– C grade range, a drop of 8.9 percentage points. Similarly, Mathematics performance fell from 15.2 percent last year to 12.3 percent this year, representing a decline of 2.9 percentage points.
In response to the alarming results, Prof Rapapa appealed to relevant authorities and stakeholders to conduct a thorough investigation into the causes of the decline.
“The goal is to identify the factors that have contributed to the poor performance and to develop effective measures to address them,” Prof Rapapa said during the ceremony held at Lehakoe Recreation Club.
Despite the overall decline in Mathematics and English, Sesotho remains the best-performing subject, recording the highest pass rate among learners. The strong performance in Sesotho highlights the impact of targeted interventions and effective teaching strategies.
Among schools, Leribe English Medium recorded the highest performance, with 29 percent of candidates achieving grades A*– C, followed by St Stephens at 25.6 percent and Lesotho High School at 23.2 percent.
