Linda High School, Livingstone, Zambia

School Reception Linda High school lies about two kilometers south-east of Livingstone City. It was opened in 1963 with only three members of staff: Mr. Kombe (Head), Mr. AM Sibetta and Mr. RCW Pelly. A total of over 400 members of staff have since passed through the school. In the early years, most member of staff were expatriates as there was a serious shortage of manpower soon after Independence. From a meager teaching staff of three in 1963, by 1973 the number of teaching staff had swelled to over 38. Despite this positive trend, most of the Zambian teachers that were taking over the teaching posts were not as qualified as most of the expatriate teachers.

Initially, Linda High School was called Livingstone Day secondary School untill somewhere between 1972 and 1974 when its name was changed to Linda Secondary School. It became Linda High School in 2001 when school Boards were introduced throughout the country. The school has a pupil population which fluctuates between 900 and 1200 pupils each year. In addition, it has another stream of about 500 pupils who learn in the afternoon, known as the Academic Production Unit (APU). There is also a night school specifically targetted for adults who wish to up-grade their Ordinary Levele School Certificates. Night School was introduced in 2003 under government initiative and has an enrolement of 30-40 students.

Zambia is amongst the countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS epidemic. This scourge is spreading like fire, not only among the adults but more so amongst the youths due to lack of proper education. 15.6% of adults aged between 15-49 years are infected with HIV (DHS 2001) with 23% in urban areas and 10.8% in rural areas. Amongst the towns in Zambia, Livingstone has the highest rate of infection, standing at 31.8% (Zambia Central Statistics 2002). Linda High School being in this town has not been spared. An unofficial survey carried out by one of the teachers at Linda High School in November 2003 revealed that 51% of grade 10s and 11s (aged 14-19 years) are sexually active. 5% of girls of this age group are single mothers. 33% are orphaned with single parent and 11% orphaned with both parents lost to HIV/AIDS.

Impact of HIV/AIDS in School
Zambia has 7% of its homes headed by children. Many of these have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS. This is quite evident even at our school. A lot of children at this school and elsewhere are dropping out of school because no one is there to support them. Girls are more vunerable because they have to look after the sick at home while at the same time attend school. This reduces concentration and some children are traumatized due to the loss of their beloved ones or bread-winners. There is also a general increased absenteeism due to sickness of children or their relations or guardians. School has also lost many teachers through HIV/AIDS, thereby putting undue strain on the remaining staff.