This paper is a contribution to the debate on preventative education concerning HIV/AIDS.

The purpose of the study is to record VCT practices and services between June 2003 and June 2004 within the South African higher education sector. These case studies seek to establish a baseline and to reveal valuable lessons learned as well as good VCT practices.

La thématique du VIH/SIDA dans ses rapports avec l'Education est apparue dans l'agenda de recherche 2002-2010 du ROCARE en tant que deuxième axe prioritaire de recherche parmi les huit priorités dégagées lors de la Session de Stratégie de Février 2002.

While it has long been suspected that HIV prevalence among educators is high, there has been no scientific study to assess this.

Education plays a key role in the development of any society.

One of the key determinants for the loss of public educators in South Africa is mortality due to AIDS. This report presents an estimate of the number of educators who died from AIDS in 2004, including the projected distribution of AIDS deaths by age group.

The decision to change one's job is usually preceded by a process of job evaluation and determining alternative employment opportunities. Dissatisfaction with the workplace can be a strong incentive to seek alternative opportunities.

The evidence presented in this report shows that the health of our educators is a source of concern because the prevalence of HIV is high. The determinants are multiple: behavioural, knowledge deficit, lack of self-efficacy skills, migratory practices, gender, and alcohol misuse.

Analysing the extent and severity of HIV/AIDS among educators without looking at the broader context within which schools operate, provides only a partial understanding of the immense challenges facing the education sector in South Africa.

Increasing the salience of schooling in countering the AIDS epidemic suggests the need to confront many of the challenges posed by current education and school systems.