HIV&AIDS – NOVEMBER 2011

In a country with over 5.5 million people infected with HIV and the rest of the population either directly or indirectly affected... why are schools not playing a better role in ensuring that the HIV&AIDS pandemic does not destroy the right of South African youth to be educated?

It is the requirement of the Department of Education for each school to implement their school specific HIV&AIDS Policy which should be based on the requirements stipulated in the National Policy of HIV&AIDS for Learners and Educators in Public Schools (published in Government Gazette 20372 on 10 August 1999). A policy that is informed by the Bill of Rights in the Constitution (act 108/1997); The South African School Act (Act 84/1996); and the Employment of Educators Act (Act 76/1998).

However when visiting over 500 junior, secondary and high schools, Regency Foundation Networx has found that only a handful of schools have a sound HIV&AIDS policy that is implemented and reviewed.

When interviewing schools it became clear to the Regency team that assistance was needed to help direct schools towards documenting, communicating, implementing, measuring and reviewing such a policy. This need is further heightened when one assesses the nature of the pandemic, namely that over 5.5 million South Africans are infected with HIV, which directly affects over 40 million people and indirectly the entire South African population. Given these statistics, schools cannot ignore the role that they are required to take in managing the pandemic. A role that requires them to ensure that each learner, despite their HIV infected or affected status, is provided with the support required to enable them to be educated.

Developed by Regency in conjunction with the Limpopo Department of Education, the HIV&AIDS Policy Workshop enables schools to build on the 5 HIV&AIDS priority areas of: HIV&AIDS prevention; providing care and support of learners affected by HIV&AIDS; providing care and support of educators affected by HIV&AIDS; working together to continue to protect the quality of education and managing a coherent response.

The workshop is designed to unravel and expand on these priority areas so that a final HIV&AIDS Policy Draft is completed during the workshop session and later ratified by the School Governing Bodies (SGB), and that school specific implementation and monitoring are action planned and then completed.

The workshop opens with each school completing an audit on the impact of HIV&AIDS on learners and educators as most often measured by absenteeism (whether through sickness of the learner or educator or the need for that person to care for an HIV infected person in the household).

Absenteeism of learners is a big concern as various studies conclude that attending school is the best means of HIV prevention. That said, schools need to be a place of safety where preventative measures are in place to stop and reverse gender based violence and the transmission of HIV&AIDS. Schools also need to be a place of compassion and empathy where learners and educators are supported and valued irrespective of HIV status.

Once schools understand the need for the policy, they work through the priority issues and desired outcomes and determine specific action required, ownership of task, budget, timeframes, resources, support and indicators of success. Interestingly, when developing a best practice policy it became clear that budget did not prohibit activities being completed as most of the policy activities and desired outcomes simply require organization and strong school will, management and leadership. Where upskill in HIV&AIDS education is required, Regency Foundation Networx supported by various corporate partners provide such education and skill through their sponsored teacher training program.

Thus far the Policy Workshops have been run with 30 schools in Limpopo and in 2012 another 30 schools in KZN will be taken through the program. Regency's HIV&AIDS Policy Workshops together with the HIV&Me Teacher Training program (and lesson implementation) and the Family Support Programs (FSP) provide all HIV&Me participant schools with a rounded and holistic approach to HIV&AIDS management and support with stakeholders being learners, parents, educators, school management and Department of Education personnel.