the impact of hiv/aids on the education sector in tanzania

overall implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> six components <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
AIDS education programme.
All national and local NGOs and CBOs wishing to implement school-based activities
must also be registered with, and cleared by, <strong>the</strong> MoEC.
3.3.2 Interventions at <strong>the</strong> district level
At <strong>the</strong> district level <strong>the</strong> education sector implements MoEC circulars, directives and
guidelines pertaining to <strong>the</strong> interventions. It also collaborates with NGOs, CBOs, FBOs and
o<strong>the</strong>r sectors on HIV/AIDS school-based activities.
This study established that <strong>the</strong> Iringa Regional Education Officer and Iringa Urban
District Education Officer did receive copies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1993 and 2000 circulars, which represent
<strong>the</strong> cornerstones <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> AIDS education programme. The subsequent implementation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
stipulated interventions involved:
� arranging training seminars and workshops for teachers, in collaboration with zonal
and district school inspectors. The sessions mostly concentrated on school HIV/AIDS
and life skills education. Carrier subject teachers at primary and secondary schools
received fur<strong>the</strong>r training on how to teach <strong>the</strong> new parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> syllabus. Only one
primary and two secondary teachers were trained per school. O<strong>the</strong>r public sector
bodies and NGOs were also invited to make technical presentations on issues relating
to health, community development and social welfare. The local NGOs invited were
Uzazi na Malezi Bora Tanzania (UMATI) and <strong>the</strong> African Medical Research
Foundation (AMREF);
� establishing inter-sectoral collaborations, mainly with <strong>the</strong> health sector, to run
HIV/AIDS interventions in schools. For example, doctors, nurses and health <strong>of</strong>ficers
were invited to schools to make technical presentations;
� identifying NGOs and CBOs to participate in <strong>the</strong> prevention <strong>of</strong> HIV/AIDS and <strong>impact</strong>
mitigation in <strong>the</strong> education sector. The normal arrangement in Iringa Urban District is
for CBOs and NGOs to submit <strong>the</strong>ir proposed school-based work plans and budgets to
<strong>the</strong> district authorities, following clearance from MoEC headquarters. The authorities
analyse <strong>the</strong> proposal, advising changes as necessary and <strong>the</strong>n select <strong>the</strong> school to
participate in, and benefit from, <strong>the</strong> proposed scheme. Of <strong>the</strong> 26 national and local
NGOs working in <strong>the</strong> district, six NGOs – Iringa AIDS NGO Network (INGONET),
Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW), Iringa Development <strong>of</strong> Youth, Disabled and
Children Care (IDYDC), Tanzania Home Economics Association (TAHEA), UMATI
and AMREF – are actively working in district schools. The details <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir activities
are summarized in Table 3.3;
� conducting HIV/AIDS sensitization seminars. These seminars involved two to four
secondary school teachers and all headmasters or headmistresses. Unfortunately, not
all primary school head teachers could attend.
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