campuses
9 March 2007
Minister of Education Naledi Pandor today outlined priority activities to be
undertaken to boost the contribution of the higher education sub-sector towards
the national AIDS response.
The driving force behind these activities is the Higher Education HIV/AIDS
programme (HEAIDS), which was initiated by the Department of Education in 2000
and is managed by Higher Education South Africa (HESA), the body that
represents the country's vice-chancellors.
The Minister made her announcement at a function held in Pretoria to launch
the HEAIDS Plan of Action for the next three years.
"What distinguishes HEAIDS in the period ahead is the new emphasis on
working to address HIV/AIDS collectively, as the higher education sub-sector,
rather than as a group of loosely linked institutions," Minister Pandor said.
"In this period, we have received the very substantial funding allocation of
�20 million* from the European Union and this guaranteed source of finance
allows us to work at a meaningful level on national interventions."
Institutions of higher education have a dual role to play in relation to
HIV/AIDS:
* They have an internal responsibility to protect and assist the higher
education community of approximately 740 000 students and 43 000 staff
members.
* They have a duty of academic leadership to the nation as a whole which rests
on relevant teaching, research and community outreach programmes.
The Minister announced an immediate allocation of millions of rands to
institutions from the Department of Education's budget. "This is to ensure that
individual institutions have the resources to sustain their HIV/AIDS
interventions whilst the new plan of action gets into gear. It is really
bridging funding to the institutions that will, in the longer term, share in
the development funding provided by the European Union."
She also indicated that the area of teacher training had been selected as a
special focus for HIV/AIDS curriculum innovation and skills development.
"We recognise that we must equip our teachers to deal more effectively with
the challenges they will face as they enter the classroom. We are going to
develop much more detailed content on HIV/AIDS in the teaching curriculum and
to spend time on building the skills needed by lecturers to adequately respond
to the circumstances of those living with the virus or affected by its impact
on their families."
Minister Pandor also announced that work on a national higher education
prevalence survey on HIV/AIDS had already started. The survey would involve a
sample of 25 000 students and staff members and would not only establish how
prevalent HIV was on South African campuses, but would also assist in
understanding beliefs, attitudes and behaviours relevant to HIV/AIDS.
She said HEAIDS believed they were not reinventing the wheel by conducting
yet another combined prevalence and social survey. "We cannot simply assume
that students follow the national and provincial HIV patterns established
through national surveys. In many ways, students are not 'typical' of the
general population. They are more educated than their peers. They are more
likely to be living away from home at a young age. They probably have higher
career aspirations, clearer goals, and better employment prospects. All of
these factors could have an impact on their exposure to the risk of HIV
infection. Whether these or other factors actually do play a role is something
that we need to find out," commented Minister Pandor.
The results of the survey would strengthen various HIV/AIDS programmes
established or expanded on campuses countrywide in the first phase of HEAIDS's
operation - including peer education and voluntary counselling and testing.
Professor Barney Pityana, chair of HESA and vice-chancellor of the
University of South Africa, was one of the vice-chancellors present at the
launch.
He summed up the purpose of HEAIDS: "The programme is as much about
community and it is about development. In the face of HIV/AIDS, we need to
create a higher education community that enables students to avoid HIV
infection and, if they are HIV+, to live positively, supported by the best
available treatment. It is also crucial that we understand the epidemic's
impact on nation-building: the country needs not only skills but also a healthy
and highly educated citizenry that is able to carry us forward, as a nation, to
a better future."
* Note to editors: The �20 million donated by the European Union through the
European Programme for Reconstruction and Development will translate into about
R160 million. The conversion is a little more complex than a straight
multiplication by the �/R rate.
For additional information, materials and to schedule interviews, please
contact:
Tebogo Matlou:
Cell: 083 435 0957
E-mail: tebogom@meropa.co.za
Thembakazi Skenqa:
Cell: 072 332 3708
E-mail: thembakazis@meropa.co.za
Enquiries:
Lunga Ngqengelele
Ministerial Spokesperson
Tel: (012) 312 5538
Cell: 082 566 0446
E-mail: ngqengelele.l@doe.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Education
9 March 2007
