HIV/Aids knowledge gap at SA schools

A RECENT education report suggests knowledge about HIV/Aids at South African schools is deteriorating and the Department of Basic Education looks set to review its programme.

The department’s director-general, Mathanzima Mweli, said this week that the preliminary results of the 2013 Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality report (SACMEQ 4) indicated that South Africa had regressed in terms of HIV/Aids education.

He described this as a “challenge” and a “weakness”.

In September, the portfolio committee on Basic Education discussed the report.

It was the third such report in which South Africa featured, following SACMEQ 2 in 2000 and SACMEQ 3 in 2007.

Tests

The South African data on which the report was based was collected from 7 046 pupils and 298 schools across the country.

Teachers – who taught maths, reading and life orientation at Grade 6 level – and Grade 6 pupils themselves took HIV/Aids knowledge tests.

A presentation on the report, tabled before the portfolio committee in Parliament, revealed the average score in the tests for Grade 6 pupils in 2007 was 503, but in 2013 it dropped to 468 – the fourth-lowest score of 14 countries that took part.

In 2007, South Africa was the sixth-highest scoring country. The teachers’ average score dropped from 799 to 773.

In terms of pupils’ attitudes towards people with HIV, the following was found:

In 2007, when asked if they would allow an HIV-infected teacher to teach, 23% said no, 54% said yes and 23% they were not sure they would.

In 2013, when asked the same question, 27% said no, 40% said yes and 31% were unsure.

In 2007, when asked if they would allow an HIV-infected pupil to attend school, 22% said no, 57% said yes and 21% were unsure.

In 2013, when asked the same question, 26% said no, 43% said yes and 29% were unsure.

In 2007, when asked if they would take care of an infected relative, 16% said no, 57% said yes and 27% were unsure.

In 2013, when asked the same question, 20% said no, 47% said yes and 29% were unsure.

Mweli said the department had been instructed by the Council of Education Ministers to review the HIV and Aids programme.