The Impact of HIV and AIDS on Education

MTT 2004 Annual Winter School

Mitigating the Impacts of HIV/AIDS on Education

SystemsDurban, 9th August 2004

M. J. Kelly, Lusaka, Zambia

mjkelly@zamnet.zm

IntroductionIntroduction

• “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” (Martin Luther King)

• HIV/AIDS and its impacts on people and systems (including education systems) are things that matter to each one of us

• For so long as the epidemic lasts, let us never be silent about these things

HIV/AIDS a New Concern for HIV/AIDS a New Concern for EducationEducation

• Not part of educational thinking at Jomtien (1990)• Awareness developed late in the 1990s• More focussed attention since 2000• Initial MOE concerns were with using the curriculum for

prevention and hence incorporating HIV/AIDS issues—a continuing major concern and at the heart of UNESCO’s IBE approach

• Recognition developed later that the epidemic has major impacts on education systems and hence the need for a systemic response—this now receives increasing attention and is at the heart of the MTT and IIEP (UNESCO) approach

The Two-way Interaction between The Two-way Interaction between Education and HIV/AIDSEducation and HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS has a strong grip Education has the power to help break that

grip “Education can be a powerful force—

perhaps the most powerful force of all—in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS” (World Education Forum, Dakar, 2000)

But just as education can contribute to weakening the grip of HIV/AIDS, so also the epidemic can weaken an education system’s ability to function

The Impacts of HIV and AIDS The Impacts of HIV and AIDS on Educationon Education

HIV/AIDS affects:1. The context within which education

systems function

2. The ability of education systems to function

3. What we want from our systems of education

Impacts on the Context of Impacts on the Context of EducationEducation

HIV and AIDS are making radical changes in the environment in which education systems function

Major HIV/AIDS-related changes continue to occur in the Economic situationSocial situationCultural situationHealth situation

HIV/AIDS-related Changes in the HIV/AIDS-related Changes in the Economic Context for EducationEconomic Context for Education

National level—slower economic growthIndustrial level—higher costs, smaller markets,

reduced profitability, constrained employment opportunities

Household level—higher expenditures, reduced incomes, increased poverty

All levels—diversion of resources to health costs; reduced investments/savings; loss of skills; fewer economically productive young and middle-aged individuals to support the elderly and the young

Food Security—reduced production, inadequate transmission of agricultural skills, inability to use resources productively, chronic food insecurity

Other Impacts of HIV/AIDS on Other Impacts of HIV/AIDS on the Context for Educationthe Context for Education

Social Impacts—stigma, discrimination, orphans, vulnerable children, supporting affected families, supporting grandparents and the elderly, migration

Cultural Impacts—changes in formal and informal traditions and customs: initiation, funeral patterns, wife inheritance, taboo topics, family cohesion, role of extended family

Health Impacts—pervasive climate of poor health; use of hospital beds; shortage of nurses and health care personnel; increased health spending at national and household levels; drugs and ARVs

The Impacts of HIV and AIDS The Impacts of HIV and AIDS on Educationon Education

HIV/AIDS affects The context within which education systems function

The ability of education systems to function

What we want from our systems of education

HIV/AIDS can Destroy SystemsHIV/AIDS can Destroy Systems As individuals concerned with mitigating the

impact of HIV/AIDS on the education sector, our concern is with education as a system

“What HIV/AIDS does to the human body, it also does to institutions. It undermines those institutions that protect us” (Peter Piot, Executive Director UNAIDS)

• “Most of the systemic inadequacies we are currently experiencing with HIV/AIDS existed long before the disease came knocking on our door. HIV/AIDS did not create these systemic deficits – it has simply exacerbated them and is creating new ones as new infections accumulate" (Dr Ernest Darkoh, Botswana's ARV programme manager)

What HIV/AIDS Does to the Human What HIV/AIDS Does to the Human Body, it also Does to InstitutionsBody, it also Does to Institutions

HIV Effects on the Body

HIV in human body Break down of

immune system A growing inability to

shake off common illnesses and to deal with new ones

Reduced productivity Death ???

HIV Effects on a System

HIV in education Progressive weakening

of system A growing inability to

deal with existing management problems and to deal with new ones

Reduced productivity Danger of collapse ???

Impacts of HIV/AIDS on Education Impacts of HIV/AIDS on Education SystemsSystems

1. HIV/AIDS affects the numbers who want to be educated, that is, it affects the demand for education

2. HIV/AIDS affects the ability to supply education of good quality

3. HIV/AIDS affects the costs of education and the availability of financial resources

4. HIV/AIDS affects the management of education

5. HIV/AIDS affects the quality of education6. HIV/AIDS affects the process of education

Impact on the Demand for Impact on the Demand for EducationEducation

Many of our countries are still struggling to provide basic education for all (EFA)

HIV/AIDS makes this task easier because fewer children will be born and many who are born will die young because of mother-to-child transmission

On the other hand, HIV/AIDS makes the achievement of EFA goals more difficult because children from affected families may not be able to make use of available opportunities for schooling

Demand is also affected, in various ways, by the enormous and growing problem of orphans

Orphans (under age 18): Number Orphans (under age 18): Number and as % of all Children, 2003and as % of all Children, 2003

Number % Number %

Botswana 160,000 10 Swaziland 100,000 16

Ethiopia 3,900,000 11 Tanzania 2,500,000 14

Kenya 1,700,000

11 Uganda 2,000,000 14

Malawi 1,000,000 14 Zambia 1,100,000 19

Namibia 120,000 12 Zimbabwe 1,300,000 19

S. Africa 2,200,000 11

Source: Children on the Brink 2004

Some HIV/AIDS-related Demand Some HIV/AIDS-related Demand QuestionsQuestions

What is the likely future size of the school-age population?

Are all children entering school? Are they entering at the correct age? Do many enter at older ages?

Are all children completing school? Is dropout increasing? What is the drop-out pattern for girls? For orphans? Do children who have left school re-enter again at an older age?

Is there much movement of children from one school to another?

What are the reasons for any of these occurrences? Why do some children not enter school? Why do some drop out? Are there signs of families being broken up or migrating in search of employment?

Answering our QuestionsAnswering our Questions

• Do we have the answers to the questions on the previous slide?

• What information systems should we establish so that we could give reasonably accurate answers to these and similar questions?

• Note that better answers to questions like these would make us better managers of education, even if there was no HIV/AIDS

Impacts on SupplyImpacts on Supply HIV/AIDS has negative impacts on the ability to provide education

because: Teachers and other educators are dying in increasing numbers

and at comparatively young ages—and it may take some time before they can be replaced

Teachers who are ill are often unavoidably absent—and there is nobody to take over the affected classes

Family and community funerals are leading to increases in absenteeism

Rural posting of teachers is becoming more difficult because teachers who are ill want to be near health facilities

Teachers take up employment in other areas where AIDS has created vacancies

Impact on the Costs of EducationImpact on the Costs of Education

HIV/AIDS is resulting in: New costs for replacement teachers and

additional management personnel Payments of salaries to absent or sick personnel The lost training costs of teachers and students

who die young Premature payment of terminal benefits The costs of ensuring OVC access The costs of introducing preventive education

(new materials and teacher training) Additional management costs (HIV/AIDS

units, AIDS-in-the-Workplace training , etc)

The Impact on ManagementThe Impact on Management Every education system has its inadequacies and

management problemsHIV/AIDS makes these worse It also adds new problems

Some areas of particular need: Human resource planning and management in an

environment of uncertaintyResource mobilization and financial flows—

spending money efficiently and effectivelyHIV/AIDS workplace issuesAn HIV/AIDS-informed educational management

information systemHarmonising donor and partner involvement

Impact on the Quality of EducationImpact on the Quality of Education Education’s major outcomes—learning achievement

and personal formation—are threatened by: frequent teacher absenteeism, with classes being

left for days (even weeks) to learn on their own learners frequently absent or dropping out shortages of teachers in specialised areas such as

mathematics or scienceconcern for the sick at home interfering with

ability to concentrate on teaching and learning repeated occasions for mourning in schools,

families and communitiesunhappiness and fear of stigmatisation and

ostracism on the part of both teachers and students who have been affected by HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS Impacts on the HIV/AIDS Impacts on the Process of EducationProcess of Education

In school and college settings, HIV/AIDS affectsSocial interactions (because of illness,

stigma, orphanhood, frequent deaths, etc)Curriculum content (because of need to

develop preventive education)Development and dissemination of

materialsTraining of tutors (trainers) & teachersMonitoring and evaluation

The Impacts of HIV and AIDS The Impacts of HIV and AIDS on Educationon Education

HIAIDS affects The context within which education systems function

The ability of education systems to function

What we want from our systems of education

HIV/AIDS Presents a Twofold HIV/AIDS Presents a Twofold Challenge and OpportunityChallenge and Opportunity

The epidemic presents educators with the challenge and the opportunity to

improve and reform existing systems

transform education

Opportunity in the Crisis of HIV/AIDSOpportunity in the Crisis of HIV/AIDS The impacts of HIV/AIDS, though calamitous, do not

necessarily lead into a developmental cul-de-sac The epidemic presents a challenging opportunity for

growth, reform and development Vigorous community responses are revitalising society In education, AIDS has created a greater sense of

urgency in efforts to attain the Education-For-All (EFA) goals

The epidemic is leading to greater concern to find ways for putting an end to gender discrimination, in education, as elsewhere

The crisis presents an opportunity to re-think and re-design many of our approaches to these and similar issues

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Opportunities for Improvement and Opportunities for Improvement and ReformReform

A comprehensive education sector response to HIV/AIDS will embody opportunities for improvement and reform, in such areas asGreater involvement of the communityMore interactive student-centred learningGreater focus on skills-based learningDeeper and more effective partnershipsDecentralisation in reality as well as in intentHarmonious and mutually beneficial relationships between

MOEs and teachersAdoption of more streamlined procedures Information about the system and EMIS

Transforming EducationTransforming Education• Education has long been a prisoner of its past, with much stress

on the academic• HIV/AIDS calls for a critical re-thinking of this and all aspects

of educational provision• In education, as elsewhere in a world with AIDS, it can no

longer be business as usual• It can no longer be education as usual• HIV/AIDS challenges educators to work out the kind of

education that will prepare children and youth to live responsibly, productively, creatively, hopefully and happily in the world they face—a world that differs very radically from the world that existed 30 years ago when most of our education systems were designed

The Four Pillars of LearningThe Four Pillars of Learning One possible paradigm for a transformed model of

education is based on four principles: Learn to know: communicate comprehensive and

accurate information Learn to do: foster the acquisition of skills—learning,

manual, psycho-social, health, nutrition and other skills that will support one as a person throughout life

Learn to live together: promote an accepting, caring, rights-based, non-judgmental approach to every person

Learn to be: strive for the development of life-affirming attitudes, skills and value systems that will help learners be creatively responsible for themselves and their decisions

Practical Exercise, 1Practical Exercise, 1

Identify ways in which HIV/AIDS has affected:

1. The economic context within which the education system functions in your country

2. The social context for education3. The cultural context for education4. The health context for education

Practical Exercise, 2Practical Exercise, 2

Identify ways in which HIV/AIDS has affected the ability of the education system in your country to function in terms of

The demand for education The supply of education The costs of education The quality of education

Is HIV/AIDS having any impacts on education that are in danger of being overlooked?

Does HIV/AIDS have any positive impacts on education or are the impacts all negative?

Practical Exercise, 3Practical Exercise, 3

Identify ways in which HIV/AIDS has affected the way the education ministry in your country thinks about the kind of education it wishes to offer in terms of

Curriculum changes Skills-based education Radical re-thinking of the systems and content of

education Greater and more active involvement of the

community in the management and provision of educational services

Is there anything more that needs to be done?