AIDS orphans, infected children and those whose relatives have the disease experience problems at school. Family responsibilities reduce school attendance and anxiety affects their concentration. A lack of teacher training and the large size of classes reduce the quality of teaching. An absence of counselling, nutrition and equipment also interferes with their education.

Research from the UK’s University of Newcastle and the Zambian Institute of Special Education shows that Zambia is one of the countries worst hit by the AIDS epidemic. Nearly 40 percent of the population has the disease and life expectancy has dropped to 33. Interviews with teachers and children show how they feel about children affected by HIV and AIDS and their experience of school. Teachers think that there is too much focus on preventing the disease and not enough on the problems it creates in education. Teachers are not trained in providing appropriate emotional support to pupils affected by HIV and AIDS.

A persistent lack of funding limits schools’ abilities to provide a good education for students. The Ministry of Education and other agencies require funding to fill 9,000 vacancies for trained teachers. A restructure of the traditional education system is required to provide ways of learning that will meet the needs of children affected by the epidemic. The study finds that:

• Pupils whose parents die drop out of school due to poverty, new responsibilities and the loss of their parents’ guidance.
• Boys and girls are equally affected by problems. Some orphans say they are bullied, particularly those whose parents have died of AIDS.
• The decline in teachers is partly due to death. Of the teachers who remain, 95 percent are trained but sanctions imposed by The World Bank have prevented new teachers from being hired for the past four years.
• Teachers do more for children than teach them. They give them food and clothes, keep orphan registers and try to get bursaries.  
• There is no systematic identification of children in need and little funding for emotional and psychological support.
• New curricula are helping young people to develop income-generating skills, health and social skills. These may reduce problems such as teenage pregnancy, which stops girls from completing their education.

Zambia aims to provide basic education for all its children. In addition, it needs to make schools more caring and suitable for children affected by HIV and AIDS and provide them with more flexible opportunities for learning. This is what is meant by ‘inclusive’ education. The study recommends that the Zambian Government and other agencies should:

• develop systems for efficient recording and monitoring of staff and students affected by HIV and AIDS, so that appropriate support can be provided
• improve the staff to student ratios in schools
• prepare and support teachers to deal with large class sizes and to deal with the social, emotional and educational needs of students
• increase the number of students enrolling in upper-basic level education (grade seven and beyond)
• collaborate to help students who have difficulty in attending school so that they have access to alternative opportunities to learn, such as distant learning. These can be supported by radio broadcasts and independent learning resource packs.

Source(s):
‘Moving Towards Inclusive Education Policies and Practices? Basic Education for AIDS Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Zambia’, International Journal of Inclusive Education 11 (4), pages 417-430, by Sue Robson and Bonaventure Kanyanta Sylvester, 2007
‘Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in Zambia: the Impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic on Basic Education for Children at Risk’, Educational Research 49 (3), pages 259 – 272, by Sue Robson, and Kanyanta Bonaventure Sylvester, 2007

id21 Research Highlight: 26 February 2008

Further Information:
Sue Robson
School of Education
Communication and Language Sciences
University of Newcastle
Joseph Cowen House
St Thomas Street
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)191 2226568
Contact the contributor: Sue.Robson@ncl.ac.uk

School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences (ECLS), University of Newcastle, UK

Other related links:
'Dealing with HIV/AIDS – not all households are equally affected'

'Education for All by 2015: the bad news'

'Top of the class: African education sector responses to HIV and AIDS'