Regulations

B. Sc. Ed. Degree Programme

The Bachelor of Science Education (B. Sc. Ed.) is a degree programme offered jointly by the Faculty of Education and Faculty of Science and Technology.

SCE 10.00-Entrance Requirements

There are several possible routes into the B. Sc. Ed. programme.

(a)         Direct entry:

(i)                   A student must have obtained a pass with credit in Mathematics in the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate Examination or its recognised equivalent as well as a pass with credit in an approved Science subject. Human and Social Biology and Combined Science only are not approved science subjects. Approved Science Subjects include Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Physical Science, and Combined Science with Additional Combined Science. This regulation should be read in conjunction with the general university entrance qualifications and alternative qualifications sections, AR 2. 05 and AR 2. 06

(ii)                 Students with COSC grade D or equivalent in English Language will be considered for admission.

(iii)                When ranking applicants for admission into the Common First Year, the Admissions Committee shall consider only the grades in Mathematics, an approved science subject, and the better of:

§                     Any additional approved science subject

§                     Computer Studies

§                     Geography; and

§                     English Language

In the case of a tie in the applicants’ sum of grades, the aggregate for the six subjects may also be taken into consideration.

(iv)               When applying the applicant shall indicate in the application form the degree programme he/she wishes to pursue.

(v)                 Year I students may be required to attend a Pre-Entry Science Programme (PESP) before the beginning of the academic year.

(b)        Dip. Sc. Ed. Holders:

(i)         Dip. Sc. Ed. holder who has passed all courses required for Year II of the B. Sc. Ed. programme under subject system will be allowed to enter the programme at Year III.

(ii)                 A Dip. Sc. Ed. holder who has not passed all courses required for Year II of the B. Sc. Ed. programme under subject system will be allowed to enter the programme at Year II.

(c )        STC and Diploma Holders:

Through the NTTC (currently Lesotho College of Education), a candidate who holds a STC with at least a second class pass and has majored in Science and Mathematics will normally enter B. Sc. Ed. at Year I.

(d)        Any other equivalent qualifications as approved by the National University of Lesotho.

SCE 10.01        Exemptions

(a)         A Dip. Sc. Ed. holder may be exempted from courses taken and passed not more than 3 years ago provided he/she takes enough credit hours of courses required for the year;

(b)        A transfer from B.Sc. degree programme may be exempted from courses taken and passed during the B.Sc. degree programme provided he/she takes enough credit hours of courses required for the year;

(c )        Any other exemption will be considered on its own merit.

SCE 10.02        Degree Structure

(a)         In Year I each student will take three science subjects (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), Mathematics and English.

(b)        In the remaining years a student shall select one of the following areas of concentration which shall represent his/her teaching subjects:

-                      Biology and Chemistry

-                      Geography and Biology

-                      Chemistry and Mathematics

-                      Physics and Mathematics

-                      Chemistry and Geography

-                      Geography and Mathematics

-                      Geography and Physics

-                      Chemistry and Physics

-                      Computer Science and Physics

-                      Computer Science and Mathematics

SCE 10.03        General Assessment

(a)         In any year of study, a student who does not fulfil all the requirements to pass a year (after supplementary examinations if taken) shall be considered to have failed that year.

            The result in such a case shall be:

(i)         Fail and repeat the year if the year mean is between 45 and 49 inclusive. (ii)  Fail and discontinue from the programme if the year mean is below 45.

(b)        The general regulations governing the assessment of Education students (ESR 1.11-1.17) shall apply to all students.

Year I Programme:

(a)         A student will take a minimum of 42 credit hours of Biology, Chemistry Physics and Mathematics, including English.

(b)        At the end of Year I, a student will be allowed to proceed to year II if he/she has:

(i)                   Obtained an average minimum of E in Mathematics and a pass in each of Biology and Chemistry, or a pass in Mathematics and any other Science subject and an E in a third Science subject.

(ii)                 Obtained an Overall Weighted Mean (OWM) of at least 50% excluding English.

(c )        A student who passes only one Science subject with a minimum of D and obtains an E in two other Science subjects may be allowed to repeat Year I provided he/she obtains a minimum OWM of 45%, excluding English.

(d)        A student who repeats Year I will be required to repeat the entire First Year programme.

(e)         A repeating student who has passed English is not required to repeat it during the repeat year. However, the student will need to apply for exemption in Year I English.

(f)         A student who fails English will be required to repeat the course in the following year, depending on the regulations of the Faculty of Humanities.

Assessment in Year I

This will be based on the best 36 credit hours of all courses except English.

SCE 10.04        Year II Programme

Student will take and pass a minimum of:

(i)         12 credit hours in each of his/her teaching subjects;

(ii)         12 credit hours of EDF courses

Assessment in Year II

This will be based on the best 36 credit hours including core courses.

SCE 10.05        Year III Programme

In Year III a student must take and pass a minimum of :

(i)         12 credit hours in each of his/her teaching subject;

(ii)         10 credit hours of SCE courses plus 2 additional credit hours in any of the teaching subjects.

Assessment in Year III

This will be based on the best 36 credit hours including core courses.

SCE 10.06        Year IV Programme

In Year IV a student must take and pass:

(i)         18 credit hours of SCE courses (excluding Teaching Practice).

(ii)         6-8 credit hours in each of his/her teaching subject offered in the first semester, and

(iii)        12 credit hours of Teaching Practice.

Assessment in Year IV

This will be based on the best 30 credit hours including core courses and 6 credit hours of Teaching Practice.

SCE 10.07        General Assessment

The Overall Weighted Mean of the programme shall be the average of year means of Year II, III and IV.

SCE 10.08        Supplementary Examinations

A student who obtains an E in a course may be allowed to supplement the course provided:

(i)         A higher mark in the course is required to obtain an OWM of at least 50.

(ii)         A pass is needed for the student to be able to proceed into a suitable programme or to complete the requirements of the programme.

(iii)        The number of credit hours to be supplemented does not exceed 16.

(iv)        A student who obtains an F grade in ONE science course may be allowed to supplement the course provided:

            -           The F grade is at least 30.

-           A higher grade is required in the course.

-           The Year mean of at least 50 is obtained excluding the course for which the F grade was obtained.

SCE 10.09-Repeat Courses

(a)         A student may be allowed to carry a maximum of two courses into the following year of study provided:

(i)         A pass is necessary for obtaining a minimum number of credit hours required for the year.

(ii)        These courses do not carry his/her credit hour load beyond the permissible maximum.

(iii)       The year mean of at least 50 is obtained.

The FED will not accept responsibility for any time-table clashes.

(b)     A student who fails to proceed into the next year of study may be allowed to repeat failed courses provided:

(i)         A pass is needed in order to proceed to the next year of study.

(ii)         She/he has obtained a year mean of at least 50.

Diploma in Agriculture Education

SCE 12.00        The Diploma in Agriculture Education (Dip. Agric. Ed.) programme is offered jointly by the Faculty of Agriculture through Lesotho Agriculture College (LAC) and the Faculty of Education. The programme is intended for pre-service students who aim at a career in Agriculture Education.

SCE 12.01        Entrance Requirements

The normal entrance requirements at the Lesotho Agricultural College (LAC):

(a)         COSC with a pass in Mathematics, English and a recognized Science subject or

(b)        Secondary Teacher’s Certificate (STC) with a second class and Agriculture as a first major.

SCE 12.02        Programme Duration

The programme has a duration of three years. Students undertake the first two years of study at LAC and the final year of study at NUL.

SCE 12.03        Programme Structure

(a)         During the first two years at LAC the programme will mainly consist of Agriculture. Students will follow the same programme followed by all Diploma in Agriculture students.

(b)        The programme at NUL will consist of at least 18 credit hours of SCE courses; 12 credit hours of EDF courses, plus 12 credit hours of teaching practice.

SCE 12.04        Assessment

(a)         Assessment during the first two years of the programme will follow LAC regulations and be moderated by an external examiner approved by NUL.

(b)        At the end of the second year LAC will provide a transcript with a complete record of student’s performance in all semesters. This transcript must reflect the Overall Weighted Mean for the two years.

(c)         A student will be allowed to enter the third year in the Science Education Department if they have passed years I and II.

(d)        To qualify for the award of the Diploma in Agriculture Education a student must:

-           Pass at least 18 credit hours of SCE courses; pass at least 12 credit hours of EDF courses; pass Teaching Practice.

(e)         Supplementary examinations will be regulated by SCE 10.08 of B. Sc. Ed. degree programme.

SCE 12.05        Classification

Classification of the Diploma in Agriculture Education shall be based on The performance in the third year of study. As other Diplomas in Education, classification will be based on the OWM of all courses taken during the final years as follows: Distinction, Credit and Pass.

Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE)

SCE 13.01        Entrance Requirements

The normal entrance requirements for the PGDE programme shall be an appropriate degree of a recognized university, provided that the degree programme has included a substantial component of studies in at least two subjects recognized by the Faculty of Education as teaching subjects.

SCE 13.02        Programme Structure

(a)         The programme shall consist of at least 43 credit hours of study which may be taken during one year of full time study.

(b)        The curriculum shall consist of at least 43 credit hours of study in Science Education which includes a minimum of 28 credit hours of SCE courses, 12 credit hours of EDF courses and 12 credit hours of Teaching Practice.

(c )        A student who can provide evidence of having previously passed equivalent education courses may apply for exemption from not more than 2 courses, provided approved alternatives are taken to complete the programme.

(d)        In addition to course work, each student shall undertake 8 weeks of Teaching Practice.

SCE 13.03        Assessment

(a)         The general regulations governing the assessment of Education programme shall apply to all students.

(b)        To qualify for the award of a diploma, a student must pass a minimum of 31 credit hours of SCE courses; 12 credit hours of EDF courses and Teaching Practice.

(c )        Supplementary examinations will be regulated by SCE 10.08 of B. Sc. Ed. degree programmes.

SCE 13.04        Classification

The classification of the Post Graduate Diploma in Education will be on the same basis as Diplomas in Education, i.e. the Overall Weighted Mean (OWM) of all courses taken during the programme shall determine the class of the PGDE as follows: Distinction, Credit and Pass.