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Seminar on the impact of HIV/AIDS on land reform in KwaZulu-Natal
Hosted by the Southern African Regional Poverty Network and the Centre for HIV/AIDS Networking University of Natal, Durban
Scott Drimie
and
Deborah Heustice
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[Briefing note]
[Seminar proceedings]
[Delegates]
[Annexures]
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Seminar proceedings
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2.2.2 The impact on education
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- Peter Badcock-Walters, HEARD
Mr Badcock-Walters has considerable experience in monitoring the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS and more specifically the impact that it will have on the education system in the SADC region. When comparing the impact and trends of the South African situation with that of the 14 countries in the SADC region it is clear that the effect of HIV/AIDS that we are experiencing in South Africa is not unique. He also stressed that the focus of the problem cannot just be with those infected. Many more people are affected by the pandemic and their needs will have to be accommodated. We need to ask ourselves what kind of society and what systems will be left in the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Mr Badcock-Walters made the point that the government has an amazing opportunity to start now with systemic reform to ensure that it makes the changes necessary to enable it to cope in a system affected by HIV/AIDS.
Turning to education, he stated that HIV/AIDS is the largest management
issue facing education and will impact every aspect of management,
teaching and learning for decades to come as well as the social
environment in which education occurs. The primary impact of HIV is that
it will explode the scale of existing systemic and management problems in
education, with the result that the sustainability of the system is at
risk. He says that managers and educators are 70% more at risk than
the general population.
Mr Badcock-Walters presentation is attached as Annexure Five.
He said the impact of HIV/AIDS on the education system could be seen in declining enrolment; drop-out rates and attrition were increasing and growing numbers of teachers were leaving the system, both as a direct and indirect result of HIV/AIDS. As the education system did not exist in isolation of other systems in the province there would be a knock on effect in the rest of the systems. The impact on education will impact the communities in which it is provided and mirror dynamic changes in population and the needs of those populations. In particular, he noted that the decline in the number of experienced teachers in communities would have a consequent effect on availability of teachers to guide and influence community life. The impact on education could also reduce the flow of skilled labour and increase the flow of unskilled and dependent labour, which resultant implications for land and agriculture. Child labour on the land and in the home might also increase.
He stressed that the impact of HIV/AIDS is not uniform throughout the province but geographically variable with identifiable “hot spots”. While there are many reasons for this, there are strong correlations between areas of high HIV/AIDS infection, households in poverty, socio-economic deprivation and areas of greatest impact on the education system. Policy makers and planners would plan far more effectively if such correlations and variations in impact were taken into consideration in policy, planning and implementation (not only in education, but also in land reform, agriculture and health). He also outlined a number of other important lessons or considerations for land reform:
- Population profiles are changing dynamically with the most economically active group at greatest risk;
- Growing numbers of dependent orphans, school drop-outs and other vulnerable children will be seen
in the community and in migration patterns;
- Household and community ‘wealth’ will decline due to loss of bread
winners and subverted expenditure;
- There will be a decline in the number of experienced teachers in
communities and consequently in their availability to guide and
influence community life;
- Growing incidence of illness and mortality will change the
social patterns of community life and work;
- Demand projections for land, services and systems
may require major revision;
- Impact on education will reduce the flow of skilled labour but increase
the flow of unskilled and dependent labour;
- Incidence of child labour on the land and in the home may increase;
- Demand for training in land use coupled to access may
increase, with capacity to stem the degree of likely migration.
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