UNESCO - EFA Global Monitoring Report

Box 4.10. South Africa: teachers’ unions focus on HIV/AIDS



An important type of targeted approach is undertaken by teachers’ unions and associations themselves. The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) for example, has for a number of years had a gender officer and gender committee, which has helped to raise awareness about specific gender issues. The focus of SADTU in the 1990s was to help to create equal conditions of employment for female and male teachers (e.g. in relation to salaries and pensions) to rectify the lack of female teachers in leadership and management positions. The officers and committees reported a great deal of government resistance to dealing with gender issues.		More recently, the focus shifted to the impact of HIV/AIDS on teachers. Initiatives include: -leading the Education International and World Health Organization collaborative HIV/AIDS project, together with the Ministries of Health and Education; - a survey of the prevalence rates and impact of HIV/AIDS on teachers (with other research partners); - life history research on teachers living with HIV/AIDS; - negotiations with the Ministry of Education to ensure that HIV/AIDS becomes a compulsory part of the core curriculum for teachers undergoing pre-service training; - campaigning for more attention to life skills teaching in the curriculum.



Source: Chisholm and McKinney (2003).

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