Several policies and laws provide a panorama for addressing issues confronting children who have been orphaned and made vulnerable owing to HIV and AIDS. The policies on the rights of all children help keep the issues on our daily agendas (Smart, 2003).
2.6.1 Children’s rights
According to the Bill of Rights, every child has a right to education (Howe & Covell, 2005; Wood and Daniels, 2008; Kalenga, 2010). Howe and Covell (2005) further point out that education is the fundamental key to promote citizenship. However this right is hindered by frequent absence of these learners from school particularly the eldest due to numerous obstacles they experience such as looking after the sick for example of either
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one of the parents or the sibling (Sylvester, 2007). In most cases orphaned learners’ daily attendance is very bad and in some schools no initiative is taken. The teachers claim that they are overwhelmed with overcrowded classrooms so they cannot cope to track them (Kendall and O’Gara, 2007). Wood and Hillman, (2008, p.31) point out that “vulnerable children often perform poorly at school and their dropout rate in parts of Botswana are reported to be unacceptably high.” Robson and Sylvester (2007, p. 266) point out that
“their performance was affected because they had to wake early to draw water from communal taps and deliver it around the township to raise money for food or school requisites”. The implications is that the future of a nation will be in jeopardy if our children are denied of their right to free basic education, therefore, the government and all stake holder, has to come up with plans to help OVC to concentrate on their studies while their basic needs like: (shelter, food, clothing, medications, writing materials etc) which often distract them from focusing on their studies are being taken care of.
2.6.2 Children’s Rights in Jeopardy
The rights of children are planned to present a structure for policy and implementation agreeing to the enhancement of social and human development of children within a protected environment, and improving the circumstances of all children. In the setting of high prevalence of vulnerabilities posed for children, it is expected that the rights of children as outlined nationally and globally would serve as guideline for the development of strategies. The UNAIDS (2006). Global Procedures on HIV and AIDS and Human Rights state that:
One vital thing understood about the HIV and AIDS epidemic is that universally recognized human rights standards should guide policy-makers in formulating the direction and content of HIV-related policy and should be an essential part of all aspects of the national and local response to HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS 2006).
2.6.3 The Convention on the Rights of the Child
The emergence of the Agreement on the Rights of the Child in 1989 has led to an enactment of legislation focusing on children and their protection. The South African government is also a signatory to the Agreement on Children’s Rights and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Smart, 2003). Regarding this exploration,
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Barnett and Whiteside (2002) mention that the rights of children may be threatened by the orphan pandemic. The International Agreement on the Rights of the Child in principle provides a protective context for children. For this analysis, an examination of some of the rights of children provides a guiding context in understanding the implications and role of local responses to HIV and AIDS for teenagers. Barnett and Whiteside (2002) mention that the rights of children may be threatened by the orphan pandemic. As noted by Strode and Grant (2001), responses in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic have to be rights based if it is to protect our children and youth.
The AIDS pandemic has a negative impact on children’s rights, preventing them from being protected and to take part in their society, and on their ability to protect and manage themselves. One of the enduring traumas for affected children is that the discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS can put certain of their rights, such as their rights of access to care and learning in risk of others, like their right to confidentiality (Fox et al., 2002).
2.6.4 National Policy and Initiatives on OVC in Public School
The Declaration of Commitment of the United Nations and General Assembly Special Session on Children held in June 2002 (UNGASS), of which South Africa is a signatory, mandates countries to develop policies and strategies to provide care and support to OVC.
By 2003, countries were expected to have developed, and by 2005 to have implemented, the national policies and strategies (Smart, 2003). The emphasis was to build and strengthen families and communities to provide supportive environments for all learners including those orphaned and made vulnerable as a result of HIV and AIDS (Department of Social Development, 2005). Below is a discussion of the plans and initiatives relevant to issues of orphaned and vulnerable learners in South Africa. The policy emphasizes on orphans and vulnerable children and seeks to minimize the unfavourable conditions of young people. The policy therefore emphasizes the need to reduce the social, economic and developmental consequences on the learners as a way to curb the pandemic which causes vulnerability in the education system. It provides procedures for the controlling of the pandemic in schools and refers to support for both learners and educators living with or affected by the pandemic (Department of Social Development, 2003). The Policy Framework for orphans and other children affected by the pandemic and made vulnerable
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in South Africa therefore, honors the commitment to the children made in the UNGASS declaration (Smart, 2003).
The aim of the Policy Framework is to provide an empowering setting for more effective delivery on commitments to orphans and other young adults made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS at legislative, policy and programmatic levels. It also encourages flexibility, and effective harmonization and coordination between various legislation, policy and regulation within and between governments and between stakeholders at all levels (Department of Social Development, 2005). In other words, the plan to care for and support OVC is based primarily on the understanding that no single department, ministry or sector can be exclusively responsible for addressing issues of orphanhood and the vulnerability of children.
Therefore, the question that this study wants to pursue is how to explore the experiences of the primary school educators of teaching AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in Pinetown area of KZN and how these educators can be equipped to respond effectively to the needs of these learners orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. The above ideas have provided guidelines for care and support of OVC. The guidelines ultimately depend on being aware and understanding the legislation, policies and initiatives, as well as the mobilization of resources, essentially building on the innovative programmes which already exist.
2.7 The challenges experienced by AIDS orphans and vulnerable children