THOHOYANDOU - It is estimated that 20 percent of teachers, close to 100 000 children and some 15 percent of lecturers in South Africa are HIV positive.

“Teaching in the world of HIV & AIDS therefore means that higher education institutions are obligated to change the way they do things, the way they teach, how they research.” This is according to Dr Thidziambi Phendla, Director of the Unesco International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa at the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria.

Speaking at the spring graduation ceremony of the University of Venda (Univen) over the weekend, Phendla said that, over the past two decades, nothing has more devastated the quality of education and provision of teachers in African nations than the HIV & AIDS pandemic. “Despite growing South African literature on the biomedical aspects of HIV & AIDS, understanding of the educational meaning, impact and consequences of the pandemic is still limited.

“This demonstrates the urgent need for research that leads to an informed action plan that addresses the crises facing the educational needs of teachers and children living with HIV & AIDS,” says Phendla. “We must change the public’s attitudes towards schools and we must change our image of schools and what they do. We must enable teachers to create a learning environment that is orientated towards social and self-empowerment.”

Phendla says this topic is particularly relevant at present as September has been declared as “Life skills: HIV & AIDS” month by the Department of Education.

Univen’s Centre for Quality of Life already has an active HIV & AIDS unit that embarks on awareness programmes and offers voluntary testing and counselling. It also provides institutional support for prevention and care for the infected and affected, and includes issues around HIV & AIDS into the university curriculum.

According to Phendla educational institutions are agents of change and must conduct vigorous campaigns around life skills. “Encourage activities focusing on abstinence, HIV and teenage pregnancy prevention, substance abuse, care and support and health relationships among learners. We need teachers who can respond to the needs of our country,” she said.