‘Do not retire HIV positive teachers’
Feb 10, 2006
THE education ministry has directed schools to stop retiring HIV positive teachers.
By Carol Natukunda
THE education ministry has directed schools to stop retiring HIV positive teachers.
The assistant commissioner for personnel, John Baptist Semakula, yesterday said living with HIV/AIDS did not weaken one’s teaching ability.
“No school, headteacher, or district manager has the authority to retire a teacher who is HIV-positive. A teacher should be able to teach after receiving the right treatment. Being HIV-positive doesn’t mean you are incompetent,†he said.
“We need teachers, as long as they are still able to serve. It is only when someone is too incapacitated to work, that they should retire,†he added.
Semakula said this at a two-day workshop to review the HIV/AIDS training kit for the education sector at Sports View Hotel, Kireka in Kampala.
The workshop, under the theme ‘From Policy to Practice’ was sponsored by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the ministry.
Semakula said there was stigma in several districts, forcing many of the teachers to resign.
“We are grappling with so many cases from district managers, especially in Tororo. There is so much abuse and stigma. As such many have withdrawn from teaching. We also have an uphill task convincing those who have not yet been tested to go for testing,†he said.
UNESCO chief Omare Okurut said there was need to deliberately support activities that will reduce risky behaviour.
“AIDS affects the quality, or class attendance, yet education is the key to other aspects of life.We cannot touch HIV/AIDS, but we surely can touch the effects,†Okurut said.
THE education ministry has directed schools to stop retiring HIV positive teachers.
The assistant commissioner for personnel, John Baptist Semakula, yesterday said living with HIV/AIDS did not weaken one’s teaching ability.
“No school, headteacher, or district manager has the authority to retire a teacher who is HIV-positive. A teacher should be able to teach after receiving the right treatment. Being HIV-positive doesn’t mean you are incompetent,†he said.
“We need teachers, as long as they are still able to serve. It is only when someone is too incapacitated to work, that they should retire,†he added.
Semakula said this at a two-day workshop to review the HIV/AIDS training kit for the education sector at Sports View Hotel, Kireka in Kampala.
The workshop, under the theme ‘From Policy to Practice’ was sponsored by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the ministry.
Semakula said there was stigma in several districts, forcing many of the teachers to resign.
“We are grappling with so many cases from district managers, especially in Tororo. There is so much abuse and stigma. As such many have withdrawn from teaching. We also have an uphill task convincing those who have not yet been tested to go for testing,†he said.
UNESCO chief Omare Okurut said there was need to deliberately support activities that will reduce risky behaviour.
“AIDS affects the quality, or class attendance, yet education is the key to other aspects of life.We cannot touch HIV/AIDS, but we surely can touch the effects,†Okurut said.