Policy and programmatic responses

In Zambia, two education sector government ministries are in the process of finalising HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support policies and implementation strategies. A policy environment study, commissioned by UNESCO to support this process, found that more than 80 governmental and non-governmental programmes provide a wide range of reproductive health information, knowledge and skills training to youth aged 10-24 years. In spite of this, service gaps and omissions continue. For instance, few psychosocial counselling services exist for young people younger than 18, although youths in their early teens are sexually active. Most education and behavioural change programmes operate in isolation and are not linked to supportive services such as youth-friendly clinics, police protection services from abuse, and drop-in counselling centres. Co-ordination between in- and out-of-school youth programmes is poor and does not reflect needs based on an in- to out-of-school continuum.

The study also showed that many teachers are ill-equipped to integrate HIV/AIDS into their classroom and extra-curricular activities. In a survey of 13 schools in Lusaka, with a total student population of 10,000, nearly 25% of the teachers said they do not adequately understand HIV/AIDS issues and do not have the skills to teach or integrate AIDS issues into class work. Thirty percent said they do not know the difference between HIV and AIDS; and more than 40% said they would like to talk to someone about their own HIV/AIDS-related problems.

Lessons learned

The education sector is being challenged to refine its approach to dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis. For instance, declining enrolment in primary schools started 10 years ago, before HIV/AIDS became a crisis in Zambia. The growing number of AIDS orphans who lack support to enrol or stay in school compounds the problem of under-enrolment.

The creation of community schools is an example of an innovative, low-cost approach that is proliferating throughout the country. A community school is a self-help initiative of a community or NGO to provide basic education to out-of-school youth, usually between the ages of 9 and 16. The children in community schools come from two types of background: those who have never been to school and those who have dropped out of conventional schools for various reasons. Although community schools are meeting a need, a real and present danger is emerging. In a resource-poor environment like Zambia, where more than 70% of the population is poor, children who would normally be sent to regular school are sent to a community school because parents/guardians can save money by not having to pay expensive fees. Ultimately, this will impact on society by reducing the number of people who are educated versus literate and numerate.

The Ministry of Education has an informal policy of waiving fees for orphans, but this, too, has implications for individual schools and the wider education system. Schools are dependent upon PTA fees to supplement government subventions. Schools with disproportionate numbers of orphans are financially disadvantaged and do not have alternative sources of income. This has created a dilemma for school heads, who have limited autonomy to respond to orphans' needs and who are forced to maintain a balance between fee-paying and non-fee paying students in order to keep the school viable. With parental consent, a primary school in Livingstone pairs disadvantaged children, including orphans, with children from relatively affluent homes. The well-to-do children share lunches and snacks with their school brother/sister and provide additional assistance as need arises.

Initially, targeting strategies focused almost exclusively on students' needs. Teachers' personal needs were not prioritised in HIV/AIDS education policies and programmes. Before the studies, it was assumed teachers only required skills building to enable them to include HIV/AIDS in the curricula. It became clear, however, that teachers need a comprehensive support system to enable them to perform their teaching duties while dealing with their own personal situation. Policy and programmatic responses targeting teachers' needs have not been as rapidly forthcoming as responses to children and youth.

At the school level, administrators are developing coping strategies to fill the gap. These strategies often reflect existing ministerial policy and practices, for example, coping with absenteeism by doubling the teaching loads, hiring untrained teachers to fill in, and transferring sick teachers to duty stations near health centres. The latter response is creating problems because schools near health facilities have a disproportionate number of sickly teachers and higher rates of absenteeism.

Conclusions

The HIV/AIDS epidemic presents many challenges to national and sector-level planning, especially with the growing number of orphans and their special needs. Many of the needs originate outside the educational sector but require a response at the school level. Assumptions about the preparedness of education personnel -- particularly teachers -- to respond to new roles and to teach about HIV/AIDS in the classroom are being challenged. Teachers' personal needs must be addressed!