AFRICA: HIV/AIDS education falling on deaf ears
JOHANNESBURG, 22 October (IRIN) - HIV/AIDS education in schools has not
achieved significant behaviour change, despite high levels of knowledge among
students, a study has found.
According to a report on a University of Sussex study of the impact of
HIV/AIDS on elementary and secondary education in Botswana, Uganda and Malawi,
there is "little hard evidence" to show that school-based HIV/AIDS
education has had a major impact on sexual behaviour.
A lack of time, resources and training meant that curriculum based education
as well as counselling and peer education were inadequate, the report said.
"Curriculum design and delivery of HIV/AIDS education remain seriously
problematic. It is clear that the 'integration and infusion' approach where
HIV/AIDS topics are included in carrier subjects is not effective," it
added.
Little training was provided for teachers, who lacked the commitment to teach
these topics in an already over-crowded and examination-driven curriculum.
The study called for full-time life skills teachers and regular time-tabled
lessons for all children.
The impact of the epidemic on pupils affected by HIV/AIDS was also assessed.
Absenteeism rates in Botswana were relatively low and in primary schools,
orphans had better attendance records than non-orphans.
This was due to a strong schooling culture, as well as government's
comprehensive support programme for disadvantaged orphans.
But absenteeism in Malawi and Uganda was very high among all primary school
children. This was mainly poverty-related, as illness in the family was not a
major reason for absence, the study found.
Schools offered very little support for children affected by HIV/AIDS, the
report noted. There was insufficient guidance from education ministries and a
lack of resources to carry out any support programmes.
The report recommends a number of important measures that can be introduced
in schools to improve the level of school-based support.
The referral and monitoring of affected children, school feeding,
"pastoral care and counselling", financial assistance and the
involvement of guardians, carers and children living with HIV/AIDS, were some of
the areas identified by the study.
The response of most education ministries in Africa has been limited, the
report noted.
Most ministries had appointed an official to act as the HIV/AIDS focal point,
"however, to date, officials appointed as the HIV/AIDS Focal Point have
usually been relatively junior and they have therefore lacked the power and
authority to ensure that all departments and units properly mainstream HIV/AIDS
with respect to both policy and practice
"MoEs [Ministries of Education] in the high prevalence countries must
make the HIV/AIDS crisis a top priority for at least the next ten years. Nothing
short of a ministry-wide mobilisation is required in each country in order to
deal with this crisis," the report said.
The report warned against an "excessively negative and simplistic
assessment of the impacts of the pandemic" and called for more research on
the impact of the pandemic on the education sector.
For more on the report: http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/aern/suxrep.html or email: bennell_swainson@onetel.net.uk
[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's
IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs 2002]
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