Young, rural teachers most at risk
A junior teacher working in one of the poorer province and at a rural school with poor matric results is more likely to be HIV positive, according to a groundbreaking study released by the Human Sciences Research Council.
The study revealed that large class sizes were much more prevalent in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape where around 60% of classes had more than 46 children to one teacher. These were also the provinces where the HIV prevalence was found to be high.
The richer provinces such as Gauteng, the Western Cape and the Northern Cape also reflected much higher school fees.
Based on HIV tests carried out on 17 088 teachers across the country it was found that 12,7% were HIV positive. This is below the prevalence of the general population thought to be around 16%.
‘African educators were most likely to be HIV positive compared with other groups; they are also more likely to be part of low economic status and more likely to be placed in rural areas without their families,’ said principal investigator and Executive Director of the HSRC, Dr Olive Shisana.
HIV prevalence was found to be the highest in the 25 to 34 age group (21,4%) followed by the 35 to 44 age group (12,8%).
Shisana’s calculations also showed that at least 10 000 of the 356 749 teachers in the country needed anti-retrovirals with immediate effect.
‘There would be a large benefit (to the education system) if anti-retrovirals were introduced soon, especially to young educators. The system is hemorrhaging teachers from the top and the bottom,’ said Shisana.
She revealed that teachers with better education (degrees), better pay and more work experience were less likely to be HIV positive.
Shisana expressed her concern over findings that 70% of teachers reported not using a condom during their last sexual act. ‘It is clear that an HIV prevention campaign needs to start (among teachers),’ she added.
HIV prevalence was found to be high among teachers who were forced to work away from their homes and families.
According to the study the HIV epidemic among teachers seemed to be driven by multiple sexual partners (particularly among men), low and inconsistent condom use, having significantly younger (among men) sexual partners, migration and mobility (spending nights away from home) and gaps in knowledge of HIV transmission.
‘We do not want to stigmatise educators with HIV workplace programmes, but there needs to be a comprehensive workplace healthcare programme put in place,’ said Shisana.
Click here to access the study.
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