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

FOREWORD
THE COLLABORATIVE ACTION RESEARCH PROGRAMME
IIEP and its partner ministries <strong>of</strong> education launched <strong>the</strong> collaborative action research
programme in 2003. This initiative is designed to contribute to mitigation and prevention <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> HIV/AIDS pandemic in three countries – Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.
The focus <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> research activities is essentially needs assessment. This, in turn, will help to
prioritize options for <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> policy, training and o<strong>the</strong>r measures to enable <strong>the</strong>
education sector to streng<strong>the</strong>n its internal capacity in two critical areas. These are to respond
to <strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> epidemic on its staff at all levels and to maintain progress towards EFA
goals.
Objectives
The collaborative action research programme is designed to achieve <strong>the</strong> following
objectives:
� to identify problems related to <strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> HIV/AIDS on <strong>the</strong> education sector and to
prioritise areas for action;
� to formulate responses to gaps identified in current policy, leadership practices and
management capacities;
� to develop a database to track patterns and trends in HIV/AIDS-related teacher and
student absence, abandonment and mortality;
� to formulate effective mitigation and prevention measures based on a qualitative
assessment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> HIV/AIDS on selected schools and <strong>the</strong>ir surrounding
communities.
Expected results
The programme is expected to produce results on two levels. Initial activities will
produce five diagnostic studies and recommendations for specific responses to <strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> epidemic on <strong>the</strong> education sector. The first two studies will be carried out in all three
countries. The final three studies will be implemented selectively. The studies will examine
<strong>the</strong> <strong>impact</strong> <strong>of</strong> HIV/AIDS on <strong>the</strong> following areas: educational leadership and policy;
educational governance; enrolment, attendance and instruction in district schools; selected
schools and communities, and tertiary educational institutions. This phase will also lead to
<strong>the</strong> production <strong>of</strong> a handbook <strong>of</strong> research tools, policy recommendations and best practices, to
facilitate replication <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> research programme in o<strong>the</strong>r countries.
As <strong>the</strong> research progresses, <strong>the</strong> needs identified in <strong>the</strong> diagnosis stage will be used to
formulate policy frameworks and recommendations, and training and organisational
development strategies. The ministries <strong>of</strong> education <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> co-operating countries will
implement, monitor and evaluate <strong>the</strong>se strategies, in partnership with IIEP and o<strong>the</strong>r technical
and financial partners in <strong>the</strong> donor community.
iii