This paper aims to explore issues of gender in relation to planning for education development in the context of tackling HIV and AIDS. It is becoming increasingly clear that as far as sub-Saharan Africa is concerned, unless measures are taken to mitigate the impact of AIDS on the education system and children in particular, it is unlikely that universal primary education will be achieved by 2015. Other regions of the world cannot afford to be complacent as many national epidemics continue to grow in magnitude. While responding to the impact of AIDS is an important planning dimension, it is also vital to address HIV prevention in schools too. These two aspects need to be considered in developing national education strategies as mainstream issues and interventions need to be tailored to the state of the national epidemic.