This study investigated the question: Have the Amathole District Municipality Schools and higher education institutions established and successfully run Health Advisory Committees (HACs) in accordance with stipulations of the National Policy on HIV/AIDS for Learners and Educators in Public Schools Act No.27 0f 1996 (DoE, 1996). The main focus of the study was to determine the existence and the performance of HIV/AIDS Health Advisory Committees in 16 senior secondary schools selected from the Amathole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The two main research questions which the study seeks to interrogate are: Does any of the selected 16 secondary schools have HIV/AIDS Health Advisory Committees? And if HIV/AIDS Health Advisory Committees had been established in any of the schools, are they managed in accordance with the stipulated guidelines of the national education policy? The decision to investigate this phenomenon stemmed from the researcher’s observation that schools might have failed to establish and to effectively manage the HAC. This assumption was based upon the fact that in rural schools located among the less educated and illiterate rural masses, semi-educated and illiterate parent members of the school governing bodies are more likely to be poorly informed about HIV/AIDS and might not be aware of the importance setting up committees and running them efficiently. The study used a survey as its research design. Surveys typically rely on large scale data, e.g. from questionnaires ,test scores, attendance rates results of public examinations etc., all of which would be enable comparisons to be made over time or between groups. Data was collected by means of questionnaires which were analysed using SPSS. The findings produced evidence that backed the above assumption. The study revealed that Data and the findings indicated that some schools in the Amathole District do not have HAC. Instead of HACs, they have other health advisory structures. However, parents believed that there was the need for HIV/AIDS HACs in their school communities as they were considered capable of addressing health related challenges/ problems such as teenage pregnancy HIV/AIDS diseases, hygiene and healthy living style among the school stakeholders. The study concluded that the existence of the HIV/AIDS HAC is essential and necessary in all schools as it ensures a healthy living in the school communities as suggest by the findings of this study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wsu/vital:18466 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Mbayeka, Sizwe Michael |
| Publisher | Walter Sisulu University, Faculty of Education |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, M Ed |
| Format | xii, 215 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Walter Sisulu University |
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