US $ 26 million needed for OVC education

Swaziland needs at least US $26 million to meet the educational needs of its growing population of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in 2005, education minister Constance Simelane said this week. The primary school fees for the orphans would account for at least $8.7 million, but the costs of school uniforms, books, transport and other services have been also included in the education ministry's calculations. "We do not want these children to feel like they are different from the rest of their schoolmates who have both parents. If all goes well, we want to buy trousers and tunics for them, so that they do not feel out of place. This will require a lot of money," Simelane said at a press conference in the capital, Mbabane. The minister did not say where the money would come from, but with both the national debt and the government's budgetary deficit rising, education experts say there is little hope for sufficient funding to meet the growing number of OVC left in the wake of the country's AIDS epidemic. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said there are currently 69,000 OVC in Swaziland, with 120,000 anticipated by 2010. Government budgeted about $3.4 million for OVC in the 2004 school year, but was unable to raise that amount. As a result, many OVC are expelled from schools, while financially hard-pressed head teachers threatened to strike last month if the OVC debt was not paid, as promised, by the government. Simelane appealed to local communities to come up with the resources to assist their OVC. "We hope the public will help," she said. The minister called on all communities to make an inventory of their OVC, and hand it to the education ministry for assistance when funding is available.