Launch of The Education Sector Policy on HIV and AIDS
Highridge Teachers College
September 21, 2004

Remarks by Dr Kiertisak Toh, USAID/Kenya Mission Director

“Good Morning Honorable Prof George Saitoti, Minister for Education, Science and Technology…, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am honored to be with you here today to launch this important document: The Education Sector Policy on HIV and AIDS.

HIV and AIDS add another challenge to the education sector. It has adversely affected the sector. It has made a difficult situation of managing rapidly increasing enrolment following the universal primary education policy that the Ministry has successfully implemented even more difficult.

Mr. Minister, as you are fully aware, HIV/AIDS can undermine any gains which education may have made in terms of enrolment, gender equity, and overall quality improvement. It is therefore important to manage the problem in the sector. The Policy document for the sector hence is very timely. And I would like to congratulate the Ministry for providing the leadership and for facilitating the development of this document with many development partners.

The Ministry, UNESCO and USAID-funded University of Natal Mobile Task Team, or MTT have been collaborating since July 2003 to develop a comprehensive policy on HIV and AIDS for the education sector. And today we see the fruit of that collaboration and hard work. I congratulate all parties who have been involved in making this possible. This policy document will provide guidance and recommendations to everyone who cares and is committed to work to address the serious HIV/AIDS problem in the sector. The populations this policy document addresses include policymakers in the Ministry of Education and the Kenya Government generally, but also educators, students, administrative and support staff of the entire sector; Teachers Service Commission; the Kenya National Union of Teachers; the Commission for Higher Education and all other departments.

Mr. Minister, we also hope that the policy document we are launching today will help to inform members of Parliament if the draft HIV and AIDS Bill is introduced. Important policy areas include, for example, AIDS Prevention, AIDS Care and Support, and HIV and AIDS in the Workplace.

Developing a policy document is only good if it is widely known and implemented. In this regard, USAID is assisting the Ministry to disseminate the policy to all eight provinces, which I understand will take place over the next three weeks. Over the following few months, another USAID-supported organization, Internews, will work with the Ministry to develop radio programs to articulate various aspects of the AIDS policy in an effort to educate the general public.

Another area of importance for policy implementation is the collection of appropriate information. USAID through the University of Natal Mobile Task Team will work with the Ministry to develop a District Education Management and Monitoring Information System (DEMMIS.) This information and monitoring system will facilitate the collection of suitable data at the district level to measure and monitor the impact of HIV/AIDS on the education sector.

The monitoring system is based on a monthly submission made by schools that captures a limited number of key management and HIV/AIDS indicators. With the information and monitoring system, we will be able to know for example:

• change in enrolment and dropout rates;
• absenteeism and permanent attrition of teachers and pupils (including reasons for this);
• loss of contact time;
• pregnancy rates; and
• any increase in the number of orphans

With this information and knowledge, it will enable the Ministry and the Teachers Service Commission to better plan and provide for the human resource needs within the education sector in the face of the AIDS epidemic. Over the last 14 months, the Ministry of Education Planning Department, TSC and other partners have laid the groundwork for the establishment of this information and monitoring system. Over the next 8 months the system will be piloted in several districts.

Mr. Minister, let me mention another area of USAID support which I think you would agree is important in addressing the impact of AIDS epidemic in the education sector. USAID has supported the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) through a link with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The Federation is one of the largest unions in America and represents a constituency of 1.3 million educators. The Kenya National Union of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers together hold sensitization workshops for head-teachers, teachers and KNUT staff on HIV and AIDS. This collaboration will continue over the next two years and will be expanded to include support for HIV testing as well as to set up a program to assist HIV+ teachers to access care and anti-retroviral treatment.

USAID is also providing a Ksh. 12-million grant to the Ministry that will further support activities in three areas: dissemination of the policy, training of teachers in teaching HIV and AIDS, and development of an MIS to address the impact of the AIDS epidemic. In the areas where headteachers and teachers have been sensitized about HIV, USAID is assisting the Ministry to train teachers to implement the AIDS syllabus in primary and secondary schools. This will increase the number of informed educators who can then provide students with information that will enable them to protect themselves from HIV infection. The activity will be implemented with the help of the Center for British Teachers (CfBT), in collaboration with DFID. CfBT has already trained teachers in 200 schools in Nakuru with USAID assistance, and over the next 8 months they will be focusing on 115 schools in Mombasa, Nairobi and Meru.

Mr. Minister, again I’d like to congratulate you and your colleagues in the Ministry for your strong leadership and collaboration given to all of us who are involved in the education sector. The policy document that we are launching today is a good beginning and an important step toward addressing the HIV/AIDS problem in the sector. It will, however, be only as good as the extent to which the recommendations outlined in the document are adopted and implemented.

Thank you.

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