Ei-iE

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Teachers & Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) have developed both a ‘HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy’ and ‘Policy Recommendations for Achieving Education For All’.

Their workplace policy aims to ‘get as many as possible to adopt positive practices and disseminate information on the nature of HIV/AIDS’, and draws on a survey undertaken during the closing months of 2008. The research, ‘Awareness and Use of HIV/AIDS Prevention Methods among Teachers and Workers in Ghana’ once again highlighted the dichotomy between behaviour and knowledge. While 80 percent of Ghanaians are aware of the risk of contracting HIV through unprotected sex, the unions’ baseline survey of over 400 teachers across the 10 districts of Ghana found that the majority of teachers with multiple sexual partners did not use a condom.

The research concludes that although there is a “very high level of awareness among workers in the education sector” that, “unions may have to commit more human and financial resources to encourage their members to translate the high level of awareness to behavioural change.”Accordingly, during 2009 the unions plan to develop and implement a ‘Behaviour Change Communication Campaign’ as a key strategy to closing the gap between theory and practice.

The survey showed a continuing need for initiatives to stamp out stigma and discrimination related to AIDS. While a third of respondents knew someone living with HIV and two-thirds knew someone who had died from HIV, half of the respondents admitted to hearing the information “through rumours”, while a mere 13% were told directly by those infected. Fear of stigma and discrimination continues to prevent many people from being open about their status.

Promisingly there is a growing readiness to talk about HIV. Younger teachers are more likely to learn about HIV/AIDS from other people, while older colleagues tended to rely on TV, radio and newspapers for information. An open attitude to HIV issues amongst teachers leads to wider change, as research shows that, “in many communities in Ghana, teachers serve as de facto opinion leaders. In this capacity they could lead the efforts towards HIV prevention.”

The ’Policy Document on EFA’ identifies factors which affect quality public education in Ghana. The unions propose measures that would motivate teachers to remain in the classroom, in turn influencing the numbers of students who complete basic education. Chief amongst union concerns are the constant shifts in education policy, they urge consensus and call for a national blueprint. GNAT and TEWU also call for all new teachers to be posted to a rural location in the first two years to counteract the high concentration of qualified teachers in urban areas, and for the school feeding programme to be expanded.

Speaking to the Ghanaian press, Secretary General of GNAT, Irene Duncan-Adanusa reinforced the shared responsibility, “Within every educational system there are stakeholders, including policy makers, education administrators, teachers and other education workers as well as parents and students, and there is the need to factor all these people in decision-making”.

HIV prevalence in Ghana is marked by large variation between regions, and is estimated to be approximately 2 percent, down from 3.6 percent in 2003.