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Parents, teachers oppose sex education as a subject in schools and ...... |
In the face of stiff opposition from parents and teachers, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has decided to drop its decision to introduce sex education as an independent subject for Class IX, X, XI and XII students.
The state education department's Syllabus Review Committee, which had recommended the inclusion of the new subject, will meet senior Board officials on Thursday. In all likelihood, it will withdraw its recommendation on sex education and press for inclusion of two other subjects — stress management and human rights.
While sex experts believe the Board is denying the students a legitimate source to learn about a subject integral to their growth, thus forcing them to turn to cheap texts and films available in the market, parents believe their children's impressionable minds are not yet ready for 'adult' material.
"Our children are not mature enough to understand the nuances of sex education. The chances of their misinterpreting the information are very high and hence we are opposing it," Suresh Lad, president, Jagrut Palak Sangh, said.
Strangely, teachers concur with this view, though their objections are based more on the feeling of discomfiture they think they may feel in the class discussing sex.
“Teaching sex for an entire year would be a major problem for teachers. Unlike other countries where sex education is openly taught in schools, we cannot do so as the structure of our society is different. Our culture and ethos do not permit us to discuss sex openly... we could end up corrupting our students,” Mumbai Junior College Teachers Union president Amar Singh said.
Sex expert Dr Mahendra Watsa, however, warns that both teachers and parents seem to be equating sex education with lessons on physical intimacy alone. “As conceived by the opposing parents and teachers, sex is not only about physical intimacy between couples. It also includes values, respect for the partner, understanding one's own body and the changes it undergoes,” he said.
The SRC, which was asked to recommend ways to make HSC/SSC syllabi more modern in their outlook, had recommended that stress management, human rights and sex education be included as independent subjects from academic year 2006.
However, when the Board sought the views of parents and teachers on this, the response was overwhelmingly against teaching sex education in schools and junior colleges.
Board and education officials are now pretending that they never seriously considered sex education as a subject.
The time, in fact, could not have been more ripe. Several schools across the state are switching to the Delhi-based CBSE and ICSE boards because their curriculums are more in tune with the needs of today's students.
The rising level of competition was one of the reasons why the Maharashtra Board had asked its Syllabus Review Committee to come up with recommendations to change HSC/SSC curriculums.
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