DTERT has been involved in the propagation of AIDS awareness among adolescent students in High Schools and Higher Secondary Schools since 1997 in collaboration with TANSACS. Initially, only ten schools per district got benefitted and gradually the programme spanned out to benefit 15,000 students of Std IX and XI annually. In response to nation-wide protest against the use of explicit content in AIDS Education Training manuals sponsored by UNICEF and NGOs, it was decided to edit the training manuals and rename the training as “Life Skill Education Programme since 2004.

Red Ribbon Clubs have been established in all 30 DIETs 43 Aided TTIs and 680 Private TTIs and 9 Government TTIs all over Tamil Nadu. Red Ribbon Advisory Councils have been formed in each Teacher Training Institute to propagate awareness among student-teachers on HIV/AIDs, unwed motherhood, teen age pregnancy and its adverse impact on the health of young women. The RRC advisory committees have ensured installation of RRC board in a prominent place. Doctors and experts from Primary Health Centres, Government Hospitals and Health Department have visited the RRCs in TTIs and DIETs and sensitised the student-teachers and discussed issues pertaining to adolescent health. So far, 1,04,060 student-teachers studying in 762 Teacher Training Institutes have got the benefit from the Red Ribbon Club Activities.

• Offering counselling and guidance to peers and acquaintances on HIV and Adolescent health-related issues.
• Provide care and support to HIV +ve persons who do need them and
• Sensitize DTEd peers on adolescent health issues and ways to empowerment.