A study of HIV/AIDS and life skills education delivery in primary schools in Morogoro region, Tanzania

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of HIV/AIDS and Life Skills education delivery in primary schools in Tanzania. Specific objectives were to investigate pupils’ views about the effect of HIV/AIDS and Life skills teaching in primary schools in Tanzania; assess pupils’ knowledge related to HIV/AIDS and Life skills education and investigate the effects of pupils’ background characteristics on their knowledge about HIV/AIDS and Life Skills education in Primary Schools. The study was both quantitative and qualitative, using a questionnaire as the main data collection instrument. The study involved 450 standard V, VI, and VII pupils from 10 schools in Morogoro Municipality. The study revealed that, though a majority of pupils reported to have been taught about HIV/AIDS and related subjects, a majority of them demonstrated very low levels of knowledge about these issues. This raised questions about the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS and life skills teaching in schools. The low levels of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and life skills education can be attributed to a lack of coverage of some of the critical topics such as contraception, condom use, reproduction and birth, and sexual decision making. Additionally, a majority of respondents reported that they did not know the places where they could obtain important sexual and reproductive health services. This implies that health education in schools is not linked to health service delivery points in communities. On the basis of the findings of this study, it is recommended that there should be a review of the school curriculum with a view to strengthening the teaching of HIV/AIDS and life skills education. Additionally, schools need to establish a linkage with health service delivery points to enhance young people’s access to information about sexual health and the services provided.