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An
intensive partnership between Department of Secondary & Higher Education and the
National AIDS Control Organization has paved new ground in mainstreaming HIV
prevention across different sectors.
Given the rising epidemic and the urgent need to implement a multisectoral solution, Shri Arjun Singh, the Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in Government of India took the initiative to convene an Inter-Ministerial meeting in October 2004 with Ministers and Secretaries of eight different ministries. A holistic multisectoral strategy for addressing AIDS was agreed to at the meeting, in line with the international experience that AIDS is a multisectoral problem and not merely a health problem.
This meeting resulted in accelerating the ongoing partnership between Department of Education and National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) to break new ground in HIV prevention efforts. Key components of the acceleration include:
A review of the ongoing efforts in the area of Adolescence & Life Skills Education with the close cooperation of NACO and UNICEF, with a view to harmonize approaches and support scaled implementation. Programs reviewed were the School AIDS Education Programme (SAEP), the Scheme on Co-curricular Activities on Skill Development in Adolescence Education (CASDAE) under the National Population Education Programme (NPEP), the Adolescent Reproductive & Sexual Health (ARSH) Project, and the HIV/AIDS components of the National Framework on Teacher Education. Several agencies involved: the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), the National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT), the Council of Boards of Secondary Education (COBSE), the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
Development of a detailed National Education Action Plan for integration of HIV prevention education. The Action Plan outlined specific outcomes and timeframes for scaling up the School AIDS Education Programme for co-curricular activities in classes IX-XII to 100% of the schools across by the end of 2005 and for meeting substantial targets in terms of the other pillars of the Adolescence Education, viz. incorporation in education policy, pre-service / in-service teacher education / training, incorporation in curriculum, and coverage of out-of-school learners through the Alternate Innovative Education Schemes (AIES) of SSA
and other adult education schemes.
Responsibilities were assigned to various nodal and partner organizations like the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT), Council of Boards of Secondary Education (COBSE), Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), Central Tibetan School Authority (CTSA), National Literacy Mission (NLM) and the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and each organization was asked to develop their own activity-wise Action Plans with specific outcomes and timeframes in tandem with the National Action Plan.
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