This would be the first collaboration of its kind. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), which is under the Ministry of Health, and the HRD Ministry will soon be joining hands to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among the youth. The issues bringing the two ministries together is the integration of AIDS in the curriculum at the secondary and higher secondary levels, and linkage of the school AIDS control programmes conducted separately by NACO and NCERT. According to officials, the HRD Ministry is likely to adopt the adolescent module prepared for AIDS awareness by NACO and disseminate it through the Central Council of Boards of Secondary Education. NACO and NCERT are also likely to develop a joint protocol to carry forward the school AIDS education programmes. The issues are likely to be discussed at a high-level meeting between senior officials of the HRD Ministry, NCERT and NACO to be held tomorrow at Shastri Bhavan. The meeting will also be attended by representatives from Unicef and UNFPA. The steps are being taken following HRD Minister Arjun Singh’s commitment — made in a dialogue with Unicef — towards preventing spread of AIDS through educational institutions. According to sources, this was a follow-up of Sonia Gandhi’s speech in the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok. On July 25, NACO had convened an inter-ministerial meeting which was attended by the chairman of Council of Secondary Boards of Education, as well as officials from NCERT and NACO. A decision to print its special training module in English, Hindi and other regional languages for wider dissemination in higher secondary schools was forwarded by NACO. The officials also agreed to rechristen the National Population Education Policy as adolescent policy with its focus on AIDS. Confirming the development, Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, project director, NACO said: ‘‘The Ministry of Education has to be applauded for their efforts to disseminate education on population matters and secondly on coming forward to seek synergy with National AIDS Control. Managing and containing HIV/AIDS is possible if the programme runs as a multi-sectoral one. For this to happen, each sector — education, industry, labour, youth affair — must develop ownership of the programme.’’ According to officials, while the details of the linkage of the AIDS prevention programme are likely to be finalised tomorrow, the integration of the subject in the curriculum will need more deliberation. The plan, officials say, is to cover over 1.5 lakh secondary and senior secondary schools by the end of the second phase of the National Aids Control Policy. The two ministries have decided to form a state working group in this regard. The group would comprise the SCERT, state AIDs control societies and Director, Education as chairman. A proposal of having adolescent representatives is also likely to come up later.
