Education
This section looks at education issues which affect orphans and other vulnerable children. Other sections look in more detail at issues relating to early childhood development and school age children .
Key points about education and orphans and other vulnerable children are:
1. Education is vital to the development of children and young people in a number of ways.
2. HIV/AIDS is having serious effects on the education sector. Many teachers are sick or have died. The cost of education is also increasing because of the need to train more teachers.
3. Orphans and other vulnerable children, particularly girls, may miss out on educational opportunities. They may also not perform to their full educational potential. They may also face stigma and discrimination in school.
4. The Convention on the Rights of the Child has many implications for education. Relevant rights include the rights to equality, basic education, privacy, an environment that promoted health and access to information.
Importance of Education
Education is vital to the development of children and young people in a number of ways. It aids their psychosocial development. It is vital for their future opportunities. It helps reduce their risks and vulnerabilities. For example, it can contribute to reducing their risks of contracting HIV infection.
Effects of HIV/AIDS on the Education Sector
Documents in this section do not all agree on the effects of HIV on the education sector. Some claim that it is having severe effects. The effects that are claimed occur because of the level of HIV infection among teachers. This leads to increased absenteeism through ill-health and attending funerals. This affects the quality of education provided. As teachers die of AIDS, this reduces the number of teachers available. It also increases the cost of education because of the need to train more staff to replace those that have died. Some argue that teachers should be a priority for receiving treatment with antiretroviral drugs because of the important role they play in providing education to children and young people.
Others claim that there is little real evidence of these effects in studies which have been done to document the consequences of HIV/AIDS on the education sector. They argue that the number of teachers needed is declining because of a decline in the number of learners in school.
Effects of HIV/AIDS on Children's Education
Orphans and other vulnerable children, particularly girls, may miss out on educational opportunities. Maternal orphans are more vulnerable than paternal orphans. Children who have lost both parents are most vulnerable of all. The reasons why orphans and vulnerable children miss out on educational opportunities are considered in more detail in a section which explores issues of access to education . They may also not perform to their full educational potential. They may also face stigma and discrimination in school.
Children's Education Rights
The Convention on the Rights of the Child has many implications for education. Relevant rights include the rights to equality, basic education, privacy, an environment that promoted health and access to information.
Resources
Building Blocks: Asia: Education (Eng)
This is one in a series of seven 'Building Blocks: Asia' publications which seeks to explore the impact of HIV on children's education in Asia.
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, 2006, PDF, 24 pages, 377 kb
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UNESCO HIV/AIDS Impact on Education Clearinghouse (Eng)
This webpage contains hundreds of downloadable documents exploring the impact of HIV/AIDS on Education as well as the ways in which education can mitigate the effects of the epidemic. There is also an online calendar of upcoming HIV/AIDS-related events.
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Letting them fail: Government neglect and the right to education for children affected by AIDS (Eng)
This report highlights the way in which governments have neglected to address the issue of children affected by AIDS missing out on their education.
Human Rights Watch, 2005, PDF, 59 pages, 363 kb
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Building Blocks: Africa-wide Briefing Notes: Education (Eng)
This is one in a series of six 'Building Blocks' publications. It seeks to explore the effects that HIV has on children's education.
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, 2003, PDF, 17 pages, 335 kb.
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Building Blocks: Africa-wide Briefing Notes: Education (Fre)
This is one in a series of six 'Building Blocks' publications. It seeks to explore the effects that HIV has on children's education.
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, 2003, PDF, 24 pages, 354 kb
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Building Blocks: Africa-wide Briefing Notes: Education (Por)
This is one in a series of six 'Building Blocks' publications. It seeks to explore the effects that HIV has on children's education.
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, 2003, PDF, 24 pages, 354 kb.
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AIDS, Public Policy and Child Wellbeing: Chapter 12: Mitigating the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Education Demand, Supply and Quality (Eng)
This document is the twelfth chapter of a major publication which looks at the relationship between HIV/AIDS and education.
Coombe, C., UNICEF, 2002, PDF, 52 pages, 167 kb.
The Impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic on the Education Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa (Eng)
This is a detailed and comprehensive report of a research study carried out in 41 schools in three countries, Botswana, Malawi and Uganda. It looked at a wide range of issues relating to HIV/AIDS and education.
Bennell, P., Hyde, K. and Swainson, N., Centre for International Education, University of Sussex, 2002, PDF, 129 pages, 550 kb.
The Rights of Children and Youth Infected and Affected by HIV/AIDS: A Trainers Handbook: Module 3 Education (Eng)
This training manual provides a practical training course for people wishing to approach issues affecting orphans and vulnerable children from a human rights perspective. This is the third module on education which has three sections focusing on raising awareness.
Strode, A. and Barrett Grant, K., SCF, 2001, PDF, 37 pages, 672 kb.
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Public Policies and the Orphans of AIDS in Africa (Eng)
This article, published in the British Medical Journal in June 2003, is the result of work conducted for the World Bank by two consultants, who visited programs working with orphans and vulnerable children in Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania.
Bhargava, A. and Bigombe, B., World Bank, 2003, PDF, 3 pages, 107 kb.
USAID Response to the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Basic Education in Africa (Eng)
This report looks in general at the problems created for the education sector by HIV/AIDS and, in particular, looks at their implications for USAID.
USAID, 2002, PDF, 11 pages, 1233 kb.
Community-based Paediatric HIV/AIDS Survey - Kasese District, Uganda, 2002 (Eng)
This detailed report documents a study carried out in Kasese district of Uganda which sought to analyse the situation with respect to HIV/AIDS and children.
Wamai, G., Barton, T., SCF-UK,
Second National Conference on Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children: Facing Challenges, Ensuring Futures - Namibia: OVC and Education (Eng)
This document is based on a report of a conference on orphans and vulnerable children held in Namibia. It focuses on a presentation and discussion relating to a study conducted in the education sector.
Tjikuua, C., Namibian Directorate of Developmental Social Welfare Services, Ministry of Health and Social Services, 2002, PDF, 8 pages, 344 kb.
Responding to the Educational Needs of Children and Adolescents Affected by AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa (Eng)
This report documents a meeting which took place in Washington in 2001 where issues relating to education and HIV/AIDS were discussed.
Rosen, J.E., USAID/Synergy, 2001, PDF, 38 pages, 142 kb.
AIDS, Public Policy and Child Wellbeing (Eng)
This document is the introduction of a major publication which provides a setailed overview of issues relating to the impacts of HIV/AIDS on children.
Cornia, G.A., UNICEF, 2002.
2002 East and Southern Africa Regional Workshop on Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: Implementing the UNGASS Goals for Orphans and Other Children Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS; 25-29 November 2002; Windhoek, Namibia (Eng)
This is the report of a workshop which brought together stakeholders in East and Southern Africa to reinforce awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on children and their caregivers and to build commitment to action particularly at the government level.
Loudon, M., UNICEF, USAID, SIDA, NORAD, International Save the Children Alliance, UNAIDS, FHI, Government of Namibia, 2002, PDF, 46 pages, 802 kb.
Education and HIV/AIDS: Ensuring Education Access for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: A Training Module (Eng)
This module has been developed for the training of key stakeholders within the education sectors of World Bank client countries, nongovernmental organizations, and church-based groups involved with interventions to benefit children orphaned by AIDS and other vulnerable children.
UNICEF/World Bank, 2005, PDF, 101 pages, 1322 kb.
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The Role of Education in the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS (Eng)
This document elaborates on the contribution of education to the protection, care and support of OVC as set out in the Global Strategic Framework.
UNAIDS Inter-agency Task Team on Education and HIV/AIDS, 2004, PDF, 337KB, 17 pages.
HIV/AIDS and Education: A Strategic Approach (Eng)
The strategy presented here is about using education’s life sustaining power to fight AIDS. It shows the centrality of education to HIV prevention, and its use in reducing both the risk of HIV infection and people’s vulnerability to HIV.
UNESCO, 2002, PDF, 453kb, 65 pages
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Education and HIV/AIDS: A window of hope (Eng)
This paper puts forward directions that can be used to inform the planning and implementation of programming around HIV/AIDS and education.
World Bank, 2002, PDF, 1650kb, 104 pages
