Poor participation undermines school HIV/AIDS program

Irawaty Wardany ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Wed, 06/04/2008 10:14 AM  |  Bali

A school-based HIV/AIDS education program, which has been acknowledged as a crucial element in the fight against the disease, is still being hampered by a lack of participation from schools on the island, the program organizer said Monday.

The program, which was commenced in 2006, combines classroom-based educational sessions on HIV/AIDS with extra-curricular activities through the Students Care Group for HIV/AIDS and Drugs (KSPAN).

"Last year the Bali governor issued a decree on the establishment of KSPAN in every junior high school and senior high school on the island, unfortunately not all schools made the establishment of such a group a priority," Oka Negara said Monday.

Oka is a member of the KPAD's ad hoc committee for the school-based HIV/AIDS education program.

"Most schools are hampered by financial problems. They can't finance the program," he said.

Currently, out of about 200 schools that have implemented the program and established their own KSPAN, only half of them regularly participate in activities organized by the Bali chapter of the National AIDS Commission (KPAD).

Oka said only half of 32 junior high schools and 32 senior high schools in Denpasar and three to five schools from other regencies on the island always sent members of their KSPAN to KPAD events.

Oka reminded the public that students could become an effective agent for disseminating information and knowledge on HIV/AIDS to the wider community.

"People should realize that students are the spearhead of the HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, because they belong to one of the most vulnerable groups to HIV/AIDS infection," he said.

This idea was what first inspired the KPAD to devise the school-based HIV/AIDS education program in the first place.

"We used to have HIV/AIDS prevention programs that we delivered trough seminars or workshops, and the results were disappointing because there were only several students who attended the events and the information did not last long," KPAD program coordinator Elyas Pawelloi said.

Initially, KPAD planned to introduce a special HIV/AIDS curriculum to schools. They abandoned the plan when they learned that prevailing regulations on education and curriculum made implementing the plan impossible.

"So we decided to integrate the HIV/AIDS education program with the related curriculum, like biology or sociology," Elyas said.

All of the regents on the island approved the program and in 2005 an ad hoc committee was established to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate the school-based program.

Prior to the implementation of the full-scale program, the KPAD conducted training to create a group of supervising teachers and peer educators. More than 700 students underwent the training.

"Bali is quite lucky because this program is supported by the regional administrations. Now, we have to strengthen and expand this program," Oka Negara said.

In order to do this, the KPAD has organized a three-day gathering of KSPAN's members starting Wednesday. Held at Pancasari village, Buleleng, the event will involve around 250 students from all over Bali.

"The event aims at establishing a network of cooperation among different KSPAN, as well as providing a forum for the students to share information," head of the gathering's organizing committee, Anak Agung Ketut Sujana, said.

The gathering will feature several activities and also poster and bulletin board competitions, discussions and debates.

Ebi, a second year student at SMA 4 Denpasar and a member of KSPAN, said she joined the group because she loves everything related to health.

"Besides, I love to talk so I think becoming a peer educator will suit me," she said.

She added that now she always tells her friends about the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

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