Originally published October 14 2005
South Africa sees school dropout rate rise with onset of HIV
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Deputy minister Enver Surty, during an address to the South African Human Commission, which held public hearings on the right to basic education, mentioned concern over rising dropout rates among those infected with HIV/AIDS.
Johannesburg - The national education department says it has made remarkable progress in providing education to all, but has expressed concern at problems including high dropout rates due to illnesses including HIV/Aids.
The statement was made by deputy minister Enver Surty during a submission to the South African Human Commission (SAHRC) public hearings on the right to basic education, the government news agency BuaNews reported.
The hearings are being held to assess if the department is meeting its mandate to provide education, and to find common ground on the definition of the right to basic education.
Surty said recent statistics indicated that about 97 percent of children of school-going age were enrolled at schools - meaning that the country was almost reaching the universal enrolment rate.
"This shows that there is access to education," he said.
He said the department realised that the right to basic education could not be accomplished while some pupils were learning on hungry stomachs.
The multimillion-rand nutrition programme varies from province to province depending on their respective needs.
"No students can be denied their progress report or the right to learn because of the parents' inability to pay school fees," said the deputy minister.
Other efforts included the upgrading of skills of thousands of teachers so that the department was able to produce quality education.
With lack of infrastructure singled out during the hearings as being a challenge to many schools, especially those in rural areas and townships, Surty attributed this to underdevelopment.
"...This makes it hard to build a new school in an area without electricity, water and sanitation ...
services which are provided by the local government.
Surty said all spheres of government should have an integrated approach in pursuing quality education.
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