Fighting the Damages of AIDS to Education
In collaboration with UNDP and UNICEF, the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) organized a workshop on the Impact of AIDS on Education (Paris, September 27-28, 2000). The workshop focused on how education systems are being affected by HIV/AIDS.
The HIV/AIDS infection is seriously affecting education systems throughout Africa. The highest prevalence rates among adults and young people are found in Southern Africa, but other countries in Africa, as well as in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean, are witnessing high and increasing rates of infection. Many countries have been late in recognizing that HIV/AIDS is not only a health problem but also a development and an education problem. For many children who are orphaned or whose parents suffer from HIV/AIDS, the disease limits their opportunity to attend school. At the same time the number of teachers leaving the profession because of illness or death is reaching alarming proportions. In many countries, the management of the education system itself is weakened. There is thus an urgent need to protect education systems against the ravage of the pandemic and to preserve the gains made toward Education for All.
IIEP organized a workshop that concentrated specifically on how the functioning of education systems is being affected by HIV/AIDS. Representatives of international agencies and researchers, educational planners, and AIDS focal persons discussed the results of recent impact studies conducted in Botswana, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Swaziland, and South Africa. They gave particular attention to the collection of data, the undertaking of impact analyses, measures taken at the local and national levels to respond to the effects of the epidemic, training needs, and knowledge gaps.
Data should be improved
Participants agreed that data on the number of AIDS-related teacher deaths and the extent of teacher absenteeism related to the disease remain inaccurate, because of the difficulty of collecting data on such sensitive subjects. Neither can the number of pupils who no longer attend school because their parents are sick or have died be known precisely. It is not clear what changes in attendance are attributable to AIDS, to other illnesses, or to increased poverty. Nonetheless we do know that in a number of southern African countries enrolments have reached a plateau or even started to decline, that pupil-teacher ratios have not increased dramatically--implying that pupils and teachers have been similarly affected--and that a number of classes have been dropped because of the shortage of teachers. Demographic data in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa shows that girls between the ages of 10 to 24 run twice the risk of being infected as boys the same age, and that girls are infected at an increasingly younger age. This raises questions such as the security of young girls in and around schools, especially in boarding schools.
Cross-sectoral, multi-pronged strategies are needed
While efforts to obtain better data--combining quantitative and qualitative approaches--should continue, the available information is sufficient to warrant the development of a comprehensive strategy to fight and to cope with the damage of AIDS to education systems. Most countries have developed HIV-prevention activities in schools, primarily through the introduction of life skills into the curriculum. Many of these have yet to show their impact on young people's behavior. Their influence so far seems limited, which may be due to the lack of understanding and experience in matters of HIV/AIDS among teachers, added to their uneasiness about raising issues of sexuality in the classroom. A single course, which is not well integrated with the rest of the curriculum and not fully supported by a media campaign addressed at the whole community, cannot be expected to yield immediate results.
Other types of intervention dealing with the organization of schooling and educational management were discussed. These suggested interventions include:
- introducing single-sex schools or classes to protect girls and allow a focus on women's empowerment;
- reducing age ranges within existing classrooms and schools to avoid older pupils' abusing their young classmates;
- introducing more flexibility in the school calendar and time-tabling for children who are working;
- relaxing the regulations on uniforms and abolishing fees for children in difficult circumstances;
- making schools a friendly place for affected children and teachers;
- providing in-service training to teachers, head teachers and administrators to help them cope at their respective levels.
Key factors for success
To be successful, these measures have to be part of a nationally driven agenda, integrating the activities of various sectors. They also have to acknowledge the role of teachers and communities in implementing policies and programs at the school level. Thus, they must be designed in cooperation with teachers unions, NGOs, and other partners. Adequate management capacity, appropriate funding, and close monitoring are also essential. But the features of a successful strategy that emerged most strongly from the workshop are sustained leadership and commitment at the highest government levels, as has occurred in Uganda and Thailand. Countries that have been most efficient in containing the pandemic are those in which the most senior authorities have declared HIV/AIDS a national struggle, and people have learned to recognize the impact of HIV/AIDS on their societies and to cope.
Françoise Caillods
Deputy Director
IIEP
Previous Article: Working Group on Books and Learning Materials: 2000 Zimbabwe International Book Fair | Contents Page | Next Article: OAU Decade of Education Sub-Regional Meeting for Central Africa
![[ADEA logo]](../../pics/top_main.gif)
![[Table]](../../pics/top_right.gif)
![[ADEA Newsletter Image]](../../pics/newsletter.jpg)
