The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
5 August 2008
editorial
Revelation by the deputy secretary general of Teachers Union of Tanzania, Mr Ezekiah Oluoch, that Aids-caused deaths among teachers in the country is projected to reach 27,000 per year by 2010, explains the gravity of the situation and threat posed by the scourge to the education sector.
According to UNAids, nearly 30 million people are living with HIV in Africa and their premature deaths rob the continent of vital skills. In addition to its devastating effect on the general population, HIV is taking its toll on teachers across the continent putting enormous pressure on schools, particularly in rural areas.
The question is how will children learn when the teachers fall ill regularly or are dying at a faster rate than they are being trained?
We thus urge the Government to devise policies to help cope with the impact of the virus through expanded, effective prevent measures against the disease and whenever possible, provide the teachers with Aids-fighting antiretroviral drugs.
More importantly, HIV positive teachers should be helped deal with the problem and to support their pupils who have been orphaned or infected by the virus. In this regard, we strongly recommend that HIV/Aids be taught in all teachers training colleges as part of the curriculum.
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