EENET asia Newsletters : Third issue November 2006 Contents

Education Sector Response to HIV and AIDS in Indonesia

EENET Asia - Indonesian Working Group

More than four million Indonesian children between the age 6 and 15 are out of school. Some children never enrol while others drop out or are expelled from schools because of violence, drug abuse, pregnancy or their HIV status. Where does the education system fail? How can it better respond to the realities and challenges facing children young people today?

How Does the Education System Fail?

It failed me when my school chose to keep their reputation and hands clean, and ask my mother to take me to go to school somewhere else when they found out that I was using drugs.

It failed one of my friends when her school decided that keeping a pregnant student in the school is a very bad thing and kicked her out of school without any follow-up.

It failed my neighbour and one of my best friends when he decided that he was an agnostic. He was open about it, because he thought that a man should be free and that freedom included the freedom to choose ones faith. The school wouldn’t tolerate his stance and decided that he had to leave school even if he was one of the brightest students in his class.
I was lucky, after they kicked me out from one school, another school accepted me or at least they allowed me to go to school there. I continued school for a couple of years and managed to finish my junior high school before I became a chronic drug addict. You may ask: What is the point of your article if being accepted by another school didn’t prevent you from becoming a drug addict? But, what would have happened if I had been able to stray in my first school? Not being rejected? Not sent to another school? What would have happened if I had received drug counselling?
In high school, I could no longer control my drug consumption and my life became terribly chaotic. I dropped out during the first year of high school and went to a rehabilitation centre. After a six month programme, I relapsed, then, I joined another programme, relapsed again, and so on.

I finally managed to stay clean four years ago. Now, I work at the United Nations as a Civil Society Liaison Assistant with UNAIDS. Five years ago, when I realised I needed to change and start a new life, I believed that if I really wanted to change, I could do it. I believed that after I learned to manage my life, I could get a job, earn some money to support my self. But I never dreamed that I could support a family, but now I have a good job and a family of my own.

Because of the education I have, even though it is not on a very high level I have hope for the future now - I just received my high school diploma a few weeks ago through an out-of-school education programme. I dare to dream now, because I speak some English, I now how to operate computers, and I have other skills that life and school has taught me.
Most people are not as lucky as I have been. The community as well as the family of my friend and neighbour, who was an agnostic, tried to force him to give up what he believed in - freedom of choice and freedom of religion. However, he remained faithful to his conviction. He was therefore never accepted into any high school and was left without an education. What a terrible consequence for a young man who was once the brightest student in the school. His life was ruined because he remained true to his conviction, which had nothing to do with his abilities and performance in mathematics, science, language or any other subject matters.

No school wanted to accept my friend who was pregnant. She overdosed on drugs at the age of 19. As a result a young boy now has to grow up without a mother. I always wonder: How will the school and education system treat him? Will he become one of “us”? Will he become one of those children that the school will give up on? Because the education system failed us when they gave up on us…

Rico Gustav
Civil Society Liaison Assistant
UNAIDS, Jakarta
email: sgustav.unaids@un.or.id

How can we prevent children and young people from being abandoned by the education system? How can teachers be equipped and empowered to assist their students in the transition from child to adulthood, exploring life and testing boundaries without experimenting with drugs and without becoming infected with HIV or any other sexually transmitted infection? The Curriculum Centre under the Indonesian Ministry of National Education has attempted to respond to some of the challenges described by Rico Gustav above. Through their initiative local education authorities, headmasters and teachers will in future be better prepared to address the challenges facing children and young people in our communities in a constructive way.

Integration of HIV and AIDS into the Curriculum on District Education Unit and School Level

The new national Curriculum [KTSP] is designed to be adjusted and implemented on district education unit and school level. A key principle of the Curriculum is that it should be student or child centred - focusing on the individual potential, abilities, needs and situation of the students - ensuring their well being. The inclusive and child friendly approach makes the integration of HIV prevention and AIDS response in different subject matters more effective.

Including facts, concepts, problems and other relevant issues facing students, schools and communities in connection with HIV and AIDS into the new Curriculum is part of a wider national strategy to reduce the risks of HIV infections among students in schools.

The implementation of a comprehensive education programme on HIV prevention and AIDS responses is based on Decrees No: 9/ U/ 1997 and No: 303/ U/ 1997 issued by the Minister of Education.

How to Integrate Issues Related to HIV and AIDS into the Curriculum?

1. Search for facts, concepts and other information on AIDS, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections [STI] especially focusing on:
   
   • The connection between drugs and other forms of substance abuse with HIV and AIDS.
   • The impact of drug abuse and HIV and AIDS on the life of the children and young people who are infected or affected.
     

2. Select the content related to drugs, HIV prevention and AIDS response that can be integrated into regular lessons in different subject matters.
3. Set the objective of teaching according to the target for each subject matter without reducing the content and message on HIV prevention and AIDS response.
4. Adjust the content to the abilities, age and maturity of the students.
5. Develop interesting teaching and learning activities without reducing the target for the subject matter as well as content and message on HIV prevention and AIDS response.

Series of workshops for teachers have been held in East Nusa Tenggara and Jakarta which are two of the provinces with the highest prevalence of HIV infections in Indonesia.

A. Fachrani and Noor Indrastuti
Curriculum Centre
Ministry of National Education
Jakarta Indonesia
Email: noorindrast@yahoo.com

Ideally issues related to HIV prevention and AIDS response should be part of all pre- and in-service teacher education programmes. UNESCO is therefore currently revising their ‘Teacher Education and Training Manual - Reducing HIV/AIDS Vulnerability Among Students in the School Setting’. The revised version of the Manual will be tested out in the Master’s Degree Programme in Inclusion and Special Needs Education at the Indonesian University of Education [UPI] in Bandung in West Java already in December. The manual will later be piloted in universities in Indonesia and possibly in Malaysia.

In June, UNESCO, IDP Norway, Plan International, Save the Children UK and Braillo Norway launched a pilot version of a ‘Compendium on Agreements, Laws and Regulations Guaranteeing All Children Equal Right to Quality Education in an Inclusive Setting’ as a part of their Education Sector Response to HIV and AIDS within the framework of Inclusive Education. A final version of the ‘Compendium’ is currently being developed in co-operation with the Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Justice, the National AIDS Commission and UNAIDS - This will be published in time for the World AIDS Day on 1st December.

A successful Education Sector Response to HIV and AIDS will depend on all key stakeholders co-ordinating their efforts. With the initiatives from the Ministry of National Education, the National AIDS Commission, UNESCO, UNAIDS, IDP Norway, Plan International, Save the Children UK, Braillo Norway and a host of local organisations of persons infected or affected by HIV and AIDS, Indonesia has certainly made huge steps in the right direction.

EENET asia Newsletters : Third issue November 2006 Contents