NACO to review sex education material

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NACO to review sex education material

New Delhi: The apex body responsible for controlling AIDS in the

country is ready to review the sex education material it provides to

schools in the wake of several states raising objections but will

advise them not to ban the subject.

Speaking for the first time on the controversy, National AIDS Control

Organisation (NACO) Director General K Sujatha Rao said her

organisation agreed that the material, which is only for teachers of

senior secondary schools, should not be brazen or explicit.

" We are open to setting up an expert committee to review our

material. They could bring changes if they find something which hurts

people's cultural sensitivity but without compromising on the

message, which should be loud and clear, " Rao said.

Describing the move by governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,

Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh to ban sex education

as " hypocrisy " , Rao said this would particularly impact children from

poor families who depend on schools for providing the right

information.

The Union health ministry will take up the matter with state

governments. " The ministry doesn't want these states to take a hasty

decision against imparting life-skill education, which also talks

about sexual health and HIV, " she said.

" Banning sex education is hypocrisy on their part. It is rubbish and

totally nonsense that we don't need sex education. Our survey has

shown that teenage boys are indulging in casual sex. Fifteen per cent

of total deliveries in India involve teenage girls, " Rao explained.

According to NACO, there are 5.2 million people affected by HIV in

the country and 57 per cent of them live in rural areas.

Clarifying that the sex education module, especially books with

pictures that raised a storm, is meant for senior teachers to

understand and then impart knowledge to children, Rao said the

material gives basic information to adolescents about the body and

physiological changes they are likely to experience.

Trained teachers educate children about the need to say no to peer

pressure, sex and risky situations and about HIV-AIDS, sexually

transmitted diseases and contraception, she said.

If sex education is not imparted to children, they could make wrong

decisions that could have an adverse impact on their future and

health, Rao said.

Apart from the five states that have banned sex education, Kerala has

suspended it while putting it under review.

" How can we close our eyes to the truth that they need right

education, otherwise they will get wrong information from the

Internet or TV, " she said.

" When they don't get information from their parents and teachers,

they turn to peers or the media, which is usually not the right

(source for) information, " Rao said.

A recent survey conducted by NACO among 40,000 youth across the

country revealed that 8.4 per cent had non-regular sexual partners in

the past six months, putting them at risk of contracting infections.

Less than half of the sexually active adolescents use condoms

consistently, the NACO survey showed.

" We have found that those children who were taught life skills were

able to tackle risky situations in a better and wise manner, " Rao

said.

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