ANTECEDENTES DE PINCEL Y CHOCOLATE

In an amendment to the Children’s Protection and Adoption Act (Chapter 5:06:501- 502) Zimbabwe (2001a) established the Child Welfare Council. The Council comprises representatives from the Ministries of Education and Health, the Registrar of Births and Deaths, Justice, Local Government and the creation of employment, the Police Force, private voluntary organizations, the Council of Chiefs; an association that the Minister considers represents local authorities and a Director. It would appear that the Council was composed in such a way as to provide expertise that would deal holistically with children’s issues. The functions of Council include advising the Minister on any matter relating to the welfare of children; monitoring the overall situation of children in need of care and trying to ensure that their welfare and rights are furthered; promoting and encouraging the coordination of activities of organizations which have as their object the promotion and protection of the rights of children; and administering the Child Welfare Fund.

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990:2) refers to the right of all children to education on the basis of equal opportunity. Articles 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 25 of the Charter address issues relevant to this study. Article 7 is concerned

with the right of children to freedom of expression; Article 8 states that every child has the right to free association and freedom of peaceful assembly in conformity with the law; Article 9 is concerned with freedom of thought, conscience and religion; Article 11 with the development of the child’s personality, talents, mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; Article 12 recognizes the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in recreational activities and to participate freely in cultural life and arts and Article 25 states that any child who for any reason is permanently or temporarily deprived of his family environment is entitled to special protection and assistance.

The Government of Zimbabwe’s policy document on HIV and AIDS (2000-2004) integrated and prioritised education in all preventive strategies. In the same regard, in 1999, the Government of Zimbabwe increased its commitment to addressing HIV and AIDS by collecting an ‘AIDS Levy’ (a 3% surcharge on taxation) and out of these funds emerged the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), which supports the education of vulnerable children. Orphans are included in this category (USAID/Zimbabwe 2002:36). The Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) provides financial resources to vulnerable children including orphans, children of unemployed and/or chronically ill breadwinners and children from poor families and reserves ten percent for disabled children. The Impact Assessment (2002:48) on the Education Sector in Zimbabwe noted that although BEAM was an appropriate programme, it had operational challenges that compromised its success. Amongst the observations were that a lack of selection criteria delayed the processes of selection and the disbursement of funds. Because selection was done only once a year there was a failure to respond to crises that befell other children during the year. The capacity and resources were no longer adequate to cover food, clothing and shelter. The monitoring and evaluation exercise of the programme were not robust especially in terms of ascertaining beneficiaries, expenditure and operational modalities. A case in point is the community-based system of allocating funds, which can easily exclude from the BEAM programme deserving children who live in one district and attend school in another.

The Zimbabwe Education Act as amended (1991), by endorsing education as a human right, caters for rights that are immediate prerequisites for the satisfaction of basic needs, as they are ends in themselves. Educational policies shifted from increasing

access to educational institutions at independence (1980) to emphasizing and consolidating quality, equity and relevance of education in about 1990 (Impact Assessment 2002:9). Amongst the many innovations in the educational system, was the introduction of HIV and AIDS/Reproductive Health and Life Skills education in the schools curricula in 1993.

The Zimbabwean education system is similar to the British one, which includes pre- school education, seven years of primary school education (grade one to grade seven) and secondary school education from form one to form six (six years of secondary education). Students obtain a General Certificate of Education (GCE) after form four, after which most of them enter the job market, training colleges and apprenticeships. Only after high school (Form five and six) is it possible to proceed with tertiary education. The educational system compares well with those of most English- speaking countries in Africa (Machingaidze, Pfukani & Shumba 1998:6-8).

In Zimbabwe most schools are urban (high and low density) and rural schools. In Harare there is also a peri-urban category. The type of school differs according to the governing and financing authorities; for instance, there are government schools, rural council schools, farm and private schools, mission and municipal schools. Some schools are for boys only, some for girls only and some for both. Some schools are day schools only, some boarding schools only, and some both boarding and day schools. Inherent in the setting and type of schools are socio-economic issues that have the potential to influence the learning outcomes of students –orphans as well as non-orphans (Machingaidze et al 1998:6-8). Orphans can access and enrol into any of the categories of schools mentioned above, in the same manner as non-orphaned students, with the sole obligation of meeting the schools’ requirements. Therefore, learning within the Zimbabwean school system occurs in a non-discriminatory way for all students, including orphans, irrespective of their background. School education is no longer just subject-specific but incorporates an HIV and AIDS, sexual reproductive health and life-skills component that is relevant to the current environment with its high prevalence of HIV infection.