Church agency launches AIDS awareness education in schools in Bihar

Patna – In an effort to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in the eastern state of Bihar, the Patna Archdiocesan Social Service Centre (Sewa Kendra) has launched a new course on AIDS education for schools in the state.

The six–month course programme for students of class IX onwards is supported by the Bihar–Jharkhand unit of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and a State government body, the Bihar State AIDS Control Society (BSACS), SAR News has reported.

Inaugurating what is known as the “Gyan” project on August 30, at Navjyoti Niketan, Patna, additional project director of BSACS, Dr. Geetanjali Kumari, said the programme has been implemented in 3000 government schools and 6000 teachers have been trained by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

“I am happy that private schools under the leadership of Sewa Kendra have come forward to implement this programme,” she told some 60 participating principals, teachers, health workers, nuns, and other volunteers.

Asked why the course programme is aimed at the high schools, Dr. Kumari said nearly 50 percent of the new HIV infections are occurring in young people between 15–24 years old. This is partly because a large part of the world population is young: one fifth of the world population is between 10–19 years of age.

Secondly, since HIV/AIDS syndrome essentially a sexually transmitted infection, it affects the young sexually active people the most, Dr. Kumari said.

“A 140–page course module for teachers has been prepared by NACO, in collaboration with UNICEF. The module has been approved by the Central Government body, National Council of Educational Research and Training. The module will serve as a resource guide for teachers imparting education about adolescence, HIV/AIDS to the students,” she added.

Speaking on the importance of this course for students, Principal of Patna Women’s College, Dr. Sr. Doris D’Souza, said the fundamental risk for young people is their ignorance about issues on sexuality. For any formative programme of society, the good saying goes, “‘Catch them young’, but I say we must catch them younger,” she said.

“A disease can be prevented by having proper knowledge of it. Therefore, it is extremely important for the young students to know about sex so that such terrible disease like HIV/AIDS can be prevented,” she said.

On sex education, she said, children are happy when the whole truth is let known. “If we do not frankly let the children know about sex and AIDS, they would try to get partial knowledge, often–misguided information, through the Internet. It is imperative for parents, teachers and elders to teach the young about sex and AIDS,” she added.

“Besides, HIV/AIDS was a remote problem for us Indians some years ago. Now these are at our doorsteps. So in order to save the future, we must catch the future that is, children,” Dr. D’Souza added.

According to Mr. Ramakant Sharma, programme coordinator, the course encourages participation and the “syllabus has well worked–out lesson plans, questions and answers, quizzes, programmes for classroom discussions, group work, role plays, case study methods, etc.”

Nodal teachers will be trained on the “Life Skill Education” curriculum by recognized master trainers, said Mr. Sharma. Elaborating, he said, “Life skill education programme targets the behavioural change in the life of adolescents by imparting right knowledge and information on the transition during the adolescence period, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS.”

“The programme of implementation starts with workshops for principals and teachers of schools at various levels. The programme can be conducted by the principals in consultation with the Parent Teacher Association and governing body of each school,” said Ms. Rajshree, CRS programme coordinator.

“In the first phase of the Gyan Project, we are involving 65 schools in three dioceses in Bihar,” said Sewa Kendra Director, Fr. Sebastian Kallupura.