CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.3 Conclusion
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OVC as opposed to their strengths. Using the ecological systems theory, it was suggested that community-school partnerships should be encouraged. Monitoring and evaluation tools also need to be develop so as to measure the impact made.
The findings further showed that although the OVC programmes are hailed by all those interviewed, their sustainability is at stake because of inconsistencies in the way they are run.
Of major concern is the fact that the funding is not granted annually. While the District Coordinator stated that schools which benefit from the programme are funded over a three-year cycle, this does not seem to be the case, as some schools had not received funding since 2010.
It was also noted that R12, 000-00 is not sufficient to cater for the needs of OVC, with the respondents suggesting that the amount be increased and be in line with the number of OVC per school.
It was also established that OVC coordinators do not seem to be receiving enough support from the district OVC office. Officials do not visit schools to monitor the programme; the District Coordinator stated that they rely on the credibility of the OVC coordinators in schools. This suggests that the running of the programme is flawed. Furthermore, there is no tool to monitor the OVC school programme.
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Different and innovative ways need to be explored to strengthen community structures to support the continuum of care and address children’s needs.
Generally, the findings reveal that school principals, school OVC coordinators, teachers, and importantly, caregivers are grateful that the programme exists. It is also noted that principals in these schools (including the deputy principal) have been in management positions for long enough to also manage a project of this nature (OVC). However, deeper analysis demonstrates that schools and communities have not yet begun to interrogate the structural inequalities that leave some children more vulnerable to poverty than others. Partially, this is due to the fact that the current OVC school programme is needs-driven and ultimately overlooks the strengths and assets of OVC and their communities. Put differently, the government’s Policy Framework for OVC in school programmes is welfare-oriented, thus promotes hand-outs of food parcels and school uniforms, as opposed to empowering communities in OVC sustainability. Using the Ecological Systems Theory as a theoretical framework, it is concluded that schools’ OVC programmes alone are not a panacea for development of OVC. To ensure effectiveness and long-term sustainability, schools should collaborate with NGOs and families as they have a track record in caring for and supporting OVC with the relevant experience and skills.
Otherwise, the teachers’ perceptions will continue to view OVC programmes as another add- on activity resulting in stress and frustration as they have many other responsibilities that they have to contend with.
Regarding the sustainability of the OVC programmes, it is also observed that the current service delivery model is not working effectively. The funding of R12 000 a year is erratic with some schools receiving it as a once-off payment, while other schools receive the funding each year.
While it was stated that funding is allocated in a three-year cycle; allocation depends on
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functionality and good financial management and high schools are mostly targeted because orphans that are sometimes heads of families attend high school, as well as the fact that high school OVC are subjected to abuse, such as drug and alcohol abuse, and sexual abuse. Although this may be the case, the present situation clearly leaves a lot to be desired insofar as consistency, uniformity and transparency in the management of the programme is concerned.
It is observed that project management challenges result in poor service delivery. The Policy Framework for OVC in South Africa (2005) clearly states that “coordination of the effort and expertise of many government departments and developmental agencies and civil society is needed to reach OVC, avoid duplication and ensure optimal use of resources, and further adds that a dedicated coordinated structure for orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS on all levels (national, provincial, district and local) is central to the Policy Framework”.
Once-off financial assistance is linked to once-off training for some schools. This is clearly a major human resource constraint. It was also established that the training and support given to OVC coordinators is a once-off event that was last done when the programme was first introduced. There has been no follow up to ascertain if the teachers that received training are still at the same schools, or even still exist. As alluded to earlier, one OVC coordinator has not received training since she had joined in late, so she relies on the previous coordinator’s records. This is in contrast with the Policy Framework for OVC in South Africa (2005) regarding the training of personnel, wherein it is stated that “each department/ organization shall ensure that human resources employed and involved with orphans and other vulnerable children are sufficiently trained and appropriately skilled for their role/task”. Generally, there are clearly gaps in terms of ongoing support for OVC coordinators by the district office since only one school, the high school, receives this kind of support. While justifications were made
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for this situation, poor OVC in primary and high schools are vulnerable, regardless of age. The fact that the school coordinators are committed to helping OVC does not mean that they do not need support and be motivated to do more, especially given the fact that this is beyond their call of duty.
It was also established that although the schools have a government-funded nutrition programme, some OVC still come to school in the morning with empty stomachs, while the food is only available three or four hours later. For the first half of the day that orphan is unable to concentrate because he or she is hungry. This poses a challenge insofar as the amount and specification of funding is concerned, because not all principals are able to secure sponsorships for additional porridge or bread and butter in the morning as in the case of school B.
Due to the lack of an effective system, the psychological and psychosocial well-being of OVC is not efficiently catered for. The study established that some orphans show signs of unresolved issues; some burst out crying in the middle of a class because they miss their parents, while others hallucinate that they see their late parents. Some are also reportedly suicidal (especially at high school) because they cannot cope with the death of their parents. This is cause for concern.
While the appointment of school lay-counsellors is a step in the right direction in addressing the psychological well-being of learners, particularly OVC, it is not enough as OVC require ongoing psychological support because their academic performance is sometimes compromised by their distress. Some of the OVC’s psychological problems cannot be addressed by a lay counsellor, but require a professional psychologist. One principal alluded to the fact that more psychologists should be made available for such cases, even if it means
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one psychologist for a certain group of schools. Ongoing visits by local social workers would also be beneficial in keeping track of OVC’s social needs. The principals and teachers in Ntuzuma would also benefit from the in-school psychological practitioner model adopted in former Model C schools. Currently, teachers in the three schools have to switch between teacher/lay counsellor roles and responsibilities, which can lead to burnout. Some children experience scholastic difficulties which require professional assessment that cannot be performed by a school lay-counsellor.
Moreover, it was evident that caregivers are not well-informed about the OVC programme.
One of the guiding principles of the Policy Framework for OVC (2005) is “to ensure that communities and stakeholders, including OVC and their primary caregivers and families, are involved in the planning, decision-making, implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes”.
Due to uncertainty around long-term sustainability, school principals are reluctant to keep caregivers and parents informed about how the OVC programme is run, especially in terms of what caregivers should expect, lest they create false hope. In addition, the financial statements for the OVC school programmes are not consistently audited and the programme lacks monitoring and evaluation strategies. In the end, caregivers are informed once funding is available and they are grateful to receive assistance. Clearly, this reinforces earlier assertions that the OVC school programme does not encourage community participation.
The findings illustrate that attempts have been made to turn schools into inclusive centres of care and support for OVC. However, financial and human resource constraints in the structures that support this programme cannot be overlooked. It is against this backdrop that this study
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argues for a multi-sectoral approach to the care and support of OVC in schools. As noted in the literature review, local and national NGOs are leading actors in caring for and supporting OVC.
Since schools cannot cope with the demands made of them, there is a need for multi-sectoral collaboration between schools and communities to address the needs of OVC. The major challenge in the current structure is that there is no working collaborative partnership between schools and communities. The benefits of such collaboration would include avoiding duplication of services, the sustainability of services in schools and improving the lives of OVC. This multi-sectoral approach is in line with the ecological perspective adopted for this study. Ultimately, it is argued that the cycle of poverty can be eradicated if such projects are run with increased community participation through NGOs that have a proven track record in the field of care and support for OVC. The current system, that depends solely on class teachers and OVC coordinators, whose primary role is teaching and learning, is unrealistic. This study argues that the community is critical in the socialization of children. Schools are not a panacea for development. Rather, they promote a charity model through welfare as opposed to assets- based community development.
It also emerged that there is no proper system to identify and recruit OVC into the school programme. This reinforces the earlier findings that suggest that the current structures that support OVC in school programmes are inadequate. Therefore, it is argued that the identification of OVC should capitalize on local knowledge to promote community ownership.
A standard set of criteria for OVC identification could provide guidelines for this process within the national policy framework. It was established that, while some children’s parents are both still alive, they are subjected to poverty, while some of the orphans at the school are relatively well off. This suggests that the community is best placed to determine who qualifies as OVC.
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It is believed that the findings of the study will make a positive contribution to the growing body of research on projects that work with children in deprived communities.