Sex Education Should Be Made Mandatory In Schools! By Kanishka Singh

(Author: Kanishka Singh, pursuing B.A. LLB (1^STyear) from Banasthali Vidyapith, Jaipur.)

INTRODUCTION

Sex Education which is the subject of debate among various experts, which has been discussed by various experts as to whether Sex Education should be taught in schools. Nowadays, due to the rapid development of information there has been an increase in demand to provide sex education in schools, the youth are usually very eager to learn all the new things that came to them especially abstract things like Sex. There are many who support the move, while there are some who are against it. While many believe that school students are in the right position to offer sex education, there are others who say that school students are not mature enough to understand the implication of the subject. Therefore, both teachers and parents need to give their children or students the right concepts of sex before being misled by indecent magazines and irresponsible media.

Ideally, children will get all the knowledge whatever they need at home from their respective parents and in order to break this chain, a massive step must be taken to teach children about sex education and make them aware about the true meaning of sex education. The following essay is based on the same issue. It is noticed that to prevent heinous crime against women there has been an increasing demand to impart sex education in schools. So, this essay will depict that sex education should be implemented in schools because it is considered as an important source of information as it consists of various education programs which are good at giving information and appropriate moment for the development of skill and enlighten attitude in a formal way through lesson within course of instruction. This issue is being highlighted in this essay as it will also deliver the correct information to the teenagers in order to make the right choices in life due to occurrence of many sex related social problems among the teenagers.

Sex Education is not only the responsibility of teachers but also it would be joint responsibilities of the following:

1. Parents
2. Teachers
3. Local authorities and Governments

Sex Education: What is it?

It originates from the Latin term ‘sexus educatio’. It is a term used to describe education about sex, sexuality, contraceptive methods, physical developments and relationships, how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, the importance of safety, opinions and principles about sex.

Programs of Sex Education

The types of education children should receive can be broadly classified into two categories:

1. Comprehensive Sex Education: This program starts in early childhood and continues through high school. It also seeks to manage both safety and emotional concerns regarding sex along with basics birth control and sexual consent. It brings up different sexuality topics including safe sex, contraceptives and condoms in order to reduce the risk of unintended pregnancy and infection with STDs, including HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, masturbation and body image.
2. Abstinence-only-until-marriage-programs: It is also known as Sexual Risk Avoidance Programs. It also teaches set of values which is morally correct for all the students. It usually fails to discuss about the topics such as abortion, masturbation and sexual orientation. It discusses condoms only in terms of failure rates and limits sexual expression.

Let’s take an example, at present time in United States, the rate of teen birth and abortions is highest with teenagers as compared to other western countries where a number in million going through pregnancy every year. According to reports and surveys, there occurs many cases of sexually transmitted diseases. At the same time. Saharan Africa, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia has also reported the highest number of teen pregnancy in the world. Developed countries like Japan and South Korea, their teen pregnancy rates are the lowest rates in the world.

And hence, the question arises- Should Sex Education be implemented in schools?

So, most probably sex education should be implemented in schools as it helps to reduce the teen pregnancy rates and school is the only appropriate place that can give the information regarding sex and sexual protection method and it also protect the teenagers and children which would be considered best for the children rather than social media or any other source.

The following key points are maintained to impart of Sex Education in schools as given below:

• Boys and girls who are both entering adolescence need to learn all aspects of physical and emotional changes they will be undergo as they grow older.
• It is the current need to provide sufficient information about the physical and psychological differences between the sexes, that they behave differently at different ages.
• Sex education in high schools helps youngsters to be more prepared for life changes like puberty, menopause etc.
• It is observed that girls would not get shocked, panic and afraid at their first menstruation, once they already had the knowledge about it.
• It is also noticed that in more cases parents don’t feel comfortable in talking about sex related issues with their children. So, it becomes responsibility of school or institutions to provide the adequate education in this regards in right direction at the right time.
• Sex Education in school will provide children with the knowledge of understanding the intentions of ill-minded people and those having covetous eyes and how to stay away from them.
• In this digital world, various adult content is readily available to children as a result of the internet, pornography is very easy, if children are not taught properly about it, they may end up in wrong circle of friend and spoil their own life.
• Sexual safety is a part of science so it has to be taught to both teachers and parents as well.
• It is also noticed that in day-to-day life, children and women are vulnerable being violated, especially if they are kept ignorant in sex education.
• Sex education also acquaints on sexually transmitted infections to stay healthy.
• It is also noticed that in rural India that teen pregnancy cases are increasing enormously. So, sex education will play crucial role to prevent it.
• Sex Education also help the children to understand the body structures and skill of interpersonal relationship among opposite sex.
• As per medical science, the best time to give sex education is when the child experiences physiological and psychological changes in their body and hormones.

The above changes occurred during the adolescence. So, schooling age is one of the utmost and suitable stage to teach sex education to mold them to become the useful citizen for both the society and the nation.

RESEARCH REPORT

“According to SIECUS, the Sexuality and Education Council of the United States, 93% of adults surveyed support sexuality education in high school and 84% support it in junior high school. As a matter of fact, 88% of the parents of junior high school students and 80% of parents of secondary school students believe that Sex Education schools makes it convenient for them to talk to their teens about sex. Also, 92% of adolescents’ report that they want their parents to talk about both sex and to have comprehensive-in school sex education. Moreover, a “study, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research on behalf of the U.S. Department of health and Human Services, found that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs are ineffective.”[1]

STRUCTURE OF CURRENT NATIONAL PROGRAMS IN INDIA

The current program of sex education included in the Indian curriculum is called as FLE and was proposed by the National AIDS control Organization and the Ministry of Human Resources and Development. The main objectives of family life can be broadly classified as:

1. To develop emotionally stable children and adolescents who feel safe and secure enough to make decisions about their conduct without taking away from their feelings.
2. Providing sound knowledge not only to the physical aspects of sexual behavior but also to its psychological and sociological aspects, so that sexual experience can be seen as part of a person’s total personality.
3. Develop standards of behavior and conduct that will ensure that youth and adults determine their sexual and other behaviors by considering its long-term effects on their personal development, the well-being of other individuals and the welfare of society overall.

CONCLUSION

Children and adolescents need right information from the right sources about sex, sexual relationships and various other related issues to make the right decision for their present and future. They need to understand what can happen if there are misconceptions about sex, which in turn becomes dangerous. After all, it is often said that education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world. Education gives us the tool to improve the quality of life in modern society both economically and socially. In this current and risky world everyone is adopting new techniques to prevent ignorance and to generate more awareness. We must realize the demand and importance of implementation of Sex Education in schools. Hence, the students who are our future generations will be well prepared to face all the unexpected obstacles in their future to achieve nation’s goals.

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[1] Joshua Campbell, Sociology & Education, pg. 113