Photos: These shepherds climb down a mountain to go to night school

What the report says

NPR World reports from Lesotho on a small network of low-budget schools that is helping shepherds continue their education while working. The story focuses on boys and men who spend long days herding livestock in mountainous areas and then travel down from the hills at night to attend class. According to the source material, many people in this profession have traditionally had to leave school early, making literacy and basic education difficult to access.

The article highlights how the schools operate on a shoestring budget but still provide instruction in the ABCs and other foundational skills. It presents the effort as a practical response to a long-standing gap between the demands of pastoral work and the need for schooling in Lesotho, a landlocked southern African country where herding remains an important livelihood. The photos accompanying the report appear intended to show the physical effort involved in combining work, travel and study.

The broader significance is that the program offers a second chance for students who might otherwise miss out on education entirely. In a country where rural life and labor needs can make regular attendance difficult, the schools serve as a modest but meaningful example of local education access efforts. NPR’s report emphasizes the resilience of the students and the limited resources of the schools rather than any single policy change or official initiative.