Education
There are education issues which affect orphans and other vulnerable children. Besides issues relating to early child hood development and school age
Key points about education and orphans and other vulnerable children are:
- Education is vital to the development of children and young people in a number of ways.
- 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.
- 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 discrimnaation in school.
- The convestion on the children rights 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
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 educaation. 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 children has many implications for education. Relevant rights include the rights to equality, basic education, privacy, an environment that promoted health and access to information
Accessibility to Education
This part looks at issues which affect the access of orphans and other vulnerable children to education. Issues of access particularly affect school age children. Other sections cover issues regarding HIV/AIDS and life skills education and the role of schools. Many of the barriers to accessing education are the same as those which prevent children from accessing health care.
Key points about the access of orphans and other vulnerable children to education are:
- Barriers to education are similar those which prevent access to health care. They include lack of money, involvement of children in household duties, stigma and discrimination, reduced education provision and quality, low value placed on education by some families and the fear of infection.
- There are a wide range of initiatives which have been tried to improve the access of orphans and other vulnerable children to education. These include reducing costs, changing the way education is provided, increasing access to education in other ways and improving educational quality.
- A number of key principles have been established regarding access to education. These are based on lessons learned from practical experience.
The Importance of Accessibility to Education
Ensuring access to essential services is one of the five key strategies identified in the global strategic framework introduced in 2004. Education is one of those essential services.
Barriers to Access to Education
Things which prevent orphans and other vulnerable children gaining access to education include:
- Cost of Education - Many poor families are unable to send their children to school because of the costs involved. These may be direct costs, such as school fees. They may also be indirect expenses, such as cost of uniform, school supplies, transport and food.
- Household Duties - Many orphans and other vulnerable children are expected to spend considerable time in household duties. This may involve care for sick adults and younger children. It may also involve contributions to household livelihood. For example, this might involve agricultural or wage labour. In some cases, children and young people may be withdrawn from school to do such duties. This withdrawal may be short or long-term. Girls are affected more than boys.
- Stigma and Discrimination - Orphans and other vulnerable children may experience stigma and discrimination in school. This may result in them not attending school.
- Reduced Education Quality and Provision - HIV/AIDS is seriously affecting the education sector in severely-affected countries. Some teachers are ill and dying from AIDS. This may be reducing the number of teachers available to school and the quality of education provided by those schools.
- Some Families do not Value Education - Some families may not see education as a priority, particularly for girls and children with HIV. In many cases, this is because they see survival needs as of higher priority.
- Fear of infection - This is particularly the case for children with HIV/AIDS. However, children with HIV/AIDS are able to attend school normally.
Action to Improve Accessiblity to Education
Many activities have been introduced which seek to try to improve the access of orphans and other vulnerable children to education. These include:
- Reducing school-related costs - There are various ways of doing this. These include eliminating school fees or meeting them in a different way. They also include subsidising other expenses or providing in-kind support to schools that admit orphans and other vulnerable children. An example of such in-kind support would be providing World Food Programme rations to children through school.
Changing the way education is provided through community schools, interactive radio education and vocational training centres.
- Increasing access indirectly - This might involve strengthening the economic position of orphans and other vulnerable children through microfinance. This would make them more able to pay. Other indirect methods include local advocacy and building the capacity of community care coalitions.
- Improving Educational Quality - This might involve adapting curricula to make them more relevant to orphans and other vulnerable children, training teachers in meeting children's psychosocial needs and in using community-based volunteers to support the work of teachers.
Key Principles
Key principles for increasing accessibility to education include:
- Targeting all vulnerable children in an area, not just those affected by AIDS.
- Creating affordable schooling.
- Giving priority to non-formal education as well as formal education.
- Activities which are based on community need and community participation.
- Increasing management capacity at both national and community level.
- Linking short-term relief to longer-term policies.
- Ensuring safety at school for girls.
- Ensuring that increasing access to education also increases quality.
- Evaluating what works and what doesn't and sharing this information.
- Stigma and discrimination
- Protection from abuse, exploitation, neglect and trafficking
- Legal support
Contact Details
Address: Plot 20 Bukoto Street Kamwokya- Kampala.
P. O. Box 70556 Kampala- Uganda
Email asod_uganda@yahoo.com
Tel: +256 7852 029 671 /
Office: +256 414 533 993
| About HIV/AIDSEducationAbout street childrenStigma and discriminationEarly childhood developmentOlder PeopleChild headed householdsVolunteersPrisons and detention centersConflictPsychosocial supportAdvocacyLife AwarenessHealth CareEconomic EmpowermentChild LaborAppropriate ServicesLiving EnviromentsRunning a programprisons centresSchool age ChildrenVocational trainingAgricultureMonitoringNutritionLinks to other sites |
