Organizing Education Sector Responses to HIV and ... - IIEP - Unesco

Organizing Education Sector Responses to HIV and AIDS:Regional Workshop on Analyzing the Responses of Teacher TrainingInstitutions to HIV and AIDSSenior educational planners, policy makers and college principals and other stakeholders metat the invitation of IIEP and BREDA at a regional workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, 11 – 13 July2007, to share the findings of four studies that explored the responses of teacher traininginstitutions to HIV and AIDS in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Zambia.The workshop concluded that TTIs need to respond more rapidly to HIV and AIDS by creating aframework for action such as institutional policies, structures, programmes, action plans andbudget lines for HIV and AIDS activities.In follow-up a regional network for promoting policy dialogue and sharing of information andideas on ways of enhancing the capacity of TTIs to respond to HIV and AIDS will be establishedand animated by BREDA.Below are the main recommendations emanating out of the workshop. A synthesis reportbringing together all the four country studies will be published on this website shortly.Measuring impact of HIV• Ministries of Education should allocate more resources for HIV and AIDS initiatives in TTCs whilealso encouraging and supporting TTIs to mobilize resources on themselves.• TTIs should be encouraged to conduct internal HIV and AIDS impact assessment on themselves toascertain the level to which HIV and AIDS are adversely affecting their functions, activities andresources.• Ministries of Education should assist TTIs in developing HIV and AIDS programme indicators, andencourage TTIs to use these indicators for monitoring and evaluation of HIV and AIDS programmesin TTCs.• Ministries of Education should also conduct periodic external monitoring and evaluation of eachTeacher Training Institution’s HIV and AIDS programmes with a view to identifying ‘good lessons’and sharing such lessons with other Teacher Training Institutions in the country.Training the staff of the institutions• There is need for more capacity building in TTCs. College administrators such as Principals andfocal points on HIV and AIDS need more training on programme development, planning andleadership and management• College-teaching staff needs training on how to integrate HIV and AIDS into the college curriculaand teach in more participatory approaches.Curriculum and prevention education in TTI• Student trainees also need skills on effective methods of teaching HIV and AIDS especially toyoung people. AIDS Education is a subject that requires a lot of time and commitment. This isbecause the information that is taught is not limited only to the classroom. Rather, it is also1

extended to the life of the students and teachers outside the classroom, and even to thecommunity they reside in.• HIV and AIDS reading materials could be developed through tutor-student joint initiatives.Institutional level response• TTCs should be encouraged to develop their own institutional policies and/or strategic plans on HIVand AIDS. Where this may not be feasible either due to technical or financial constraints, theycould be encouraged to adapt, customize and implement the wide Education Sector HIV and AIDSpolicy.• TTIs should be encouraged to mainstream HIV and AIDS by creating institutional structures andbudget lines for HIV and AIDS activities.• Teacher Training Institutions should adopt a broad based representative and inclusionaryapproach to HIV and AIDS including the involvement of staff and students living with HIV and AIDSto ensure optimal effectiveness of institutional activities and programme.Ministry of Education guidelines• Ministries of Education should consider making HIV and AIDS content examinable in TTIs. Thisrequirement is likely to encourage students and lecturers to take HIV and AIDS education moreseriously and also encourage the college to periodically acquire more updated HIV and AIDSreading materials.• Ministries of Education need to make more IEC materials on HIV and AIDS available to TTIs whilealso encouraging TTIs to be much more innovative and develop their own tailor made materials.TTIs could explore possibilities of developing creative art activities on HIV and AIDS such as plays,games, art and songs to supplement and complement existing IEC materials. The use of electronicbased interactive methods such as the Internet should also be promoted in TTIs.• Ministries of Education should come up with explicit policy directions and guidelines on how topromote safer sex practices in TTIs in order to safeguard student trainees from the possible risks ofunwanted pregnancies and infection by STIs including HIV.• Ministries of education should include teacher training in their EFA plans and include a budget lineto cover HIV prevention and mitigation in their plans and actions plans.• Ministries of Education need to promote guidance and counseling in TTIs.Leadership• TTI authorities should be given training and sensitization on mainstreaming of HIV and AIDS intotheir functions, structures and activities including academic and extra-curricula programmes.• Top institutional leadership, staff and students who demonstrates exemplary commitment to HIVand AIDS programmes and activities should be identified, recognized and accorded incentives.Care and support• In the absence of a national and/or sector workplace policy for the education sector, TTIs canadapt the ILO/UNESCO HIV and AIDS workplace policies for the education sector and customizethem for their own use.2

• Sanctions and a no-tolerance approach for lecturer or/tutor - student transactional sex needs to beadopted to stem the rapid spread of HIV in TTIs.• TTIs need to strengthen and professionalize their Guidance and Counseling Departments/Units bystaffing them with persons well trained in peer counseling and life skills education. Such personnelwill be able to prepare student trainees adequately to deal with the plethora of challenges facingyoung people such as drug and substance abuse and HIV and AIDS.• Teacher Training Institution health clinics should manned by staff adequately trained in handling ofHIV and AIDS cases. These clinics should also have an effective referral networks with other healthinstitutions within the vicinity of the TTI so that they can be able to outsource particularcompetencies and other forms of assistance in dealing with HIV and AIDS if and when need arises.• TTIs need to establish more institutionally based care, support and treatment programmes foraffected or infected staff and student.Research• There is need to assess the quality and effectiveness of HIV and AIDS training offered in TTIsthrough follow-up research to assess how pupils/students evaluate the teaching on HIV and AIDSgiven by TTI graduates.3