Ei-iE

UNESCO’s recent publication ‘Heroes and villains’ assesses the interaction between the education sector and the AIDS crisis, and highlights the important contribution of teacher unions and the valuable work of the EI EFAIDS Programme in guiding union strategies on AIDS related issues.

The report’s findings show that “In the case of the education response to HIV, teachers’ unions appear to be an obvious and essential partner for Ministries of Education in policy formulation and implementation”.

Accordingly, formulating workplace Policies is important but if teachers are to feel comfortable disclosing their status and talking openly about AIDS issues, then raising awareness and putting them into practice is equally important.

In this way, “Teachers’ unions have a key role to play in tackling stigma and discrimination among their own members.” A training manual by the South African union (SADTU) that aids union leaders and members to gain knowledge and skills to respond to HIV and AIDS issues is highlighted, together with the EFAIDS publication ‘Inclusion is the Answer’.

The cascade method favoured by the EFAIDS is held up as a cost-effective and time-efficient means of training teachers on HIV prevention and related issues, with the proviso that the efficacy of district-level training needs to be refined.

A case-study of the Guyana Teachers’ Union EFAIDS training programme highlights that the motivation and enthusiasm of teachers needs to be complemented by the commitment of school management. The EFAIDS training undertaken by unions can only be truly maximised when schools adopt a whole-school approach to HIV prevention, including it in a wide scope of learning and social activities.

While in-service training for established teachers is important, “HIV education, relevant to the national epidemic, needs to be given appropriately high priority in initial teacher education”. In the UNESCO report, research undertaken by EI affiliates within the framework of the EFAIDS Programme provides a snapshot of teacher training on HIV in ten countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Unions under the EFAIDS Programme have successfully lobbied to include sexual health on the training currricula in countries including Senegal, Burkina Faso and Guinea.