Canaan Mdletshe

Canaan Mdletshe

Patricia Lebenya, national chairman of the IFP Youth Brigade, has called on the government and the Education Department in particular to consider adding HIV-Aids to the school curriculum.

Speaking in parliament this week, Lebenya said it was time the government acted decisively to combat the spread of the pandemic, especially in schools.

"HIV-Aids has claimed many lives and it will continue claiming more if we don't provide proper education to our youth," she said.

Lebenya said since there was no cure for the disease, adding it to the school curriculum could be just what the doctor ordered.

"A preventative measure would be if we had a dedicated school subject on the matter, so that we can teach pupils from a young age not only about sex, but also about HIV-Aids prevention," she said.

Lebenya also called on the state to take action to combat the violence that has turned schools into war zones.

"The IFP has noted with shock the increasing number of deaths of pupils at the hands of other pupils, and teachers by pupils. In the last couple of weeks, we heard reports of school ground deaths," she said.