Mixed reactions on sex education in JC curriculum

BABOKI KAYAWE and
GOTHATAONE MOENG
Staff Writers | Friday August 5, 2011 00:00

 

While some people think it should be struck off the syllabus, others believe it is necessary in this day and age where sexually transmitted diseases are rampant.

Sex education was the subject of debate at the two-day moral education pitso organised by the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoE&SD) to solicit ideas from tribal leaders, legislators, churches, teachers and students on the extent and breadth of sex education and issues of sexuality coverage in the JC curriculum.

Reverend Biggie Butale of Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO) said he is unopposed to sex education as long as it stuck to the basics, such as male and female anatomy, matters of contraceptives and how a baby is made. 'Teaching children about sex positions, sex orientation and matters of sexual gratification is diabolical.  It is no longer moral, it is immoral,' he said.

Parents were also able to give their views. Mosadi Baile, 40 from Mmankgodi village said sex education is an important component in instilling informed decision-making and should be part of the curriculum.  However, she said education developers should be mindful of the language they use as most junior secondary students are underage and using some words can corrupt their minds. 'They should be very careful of the depth of information they give out to these children as they may be tempted to experiment,' she said.

On the other hand, Polelelo Bareki of Lerala said he is opposed to any kind of sex education. 

'We were raised knowing that sex is taboo, and so we knew it was wrong.  If you teach children about sex at schools, then the next thing they will be pregnant,' he said.

An officer in the Adolescence Sexual Reproductive Health  (ASRH) policy division in the Ministry of Health, Gosata Rabantheng said for the vast majority sexual relations begin at the adolescence stage, the stage of junior secondary students.  She added that this is a stage characterised by changes, challenges and risk-taking hence it is a good time to invest in the future of the young person.

'Adolescence is a crossroads in life and is the gateway to the promotion of health,' Rabantheng said.

She added that through availing sexual reproductive health information through sex education in schools, the curriculum cultivates positive behaviours through access to sound and factual information, provision of counselling when needed and also allows for the provision of quality sexual reproductive health services.

According to Rabantheng, a combination of these interventions is important to achieve health development and sexual maturity as well as prevention of and response to health problems.

She added that the policy was adopted because the population is predominantly youthful and sexual reproductive needs of adolescents were neglected for too long hence impacting negatively in the country's developmental potential.

Meanwhile, educational psychologists Doreen Molosiwa, Khumoyame Khumalo and Lorato Legwaila have expressed support for sex education at this stage because sexuality is a vital aspect of teenagers' lives.  In their presentation at the pitso, the trio said the sexual behaviour of adolescents is, in most cases influenced by cultural norms, sexual orientation and issues of social control such as age of consent laws.

They said there is need for inclusion of the subject in the curriculum as sexual desire in humans usually begins to appear with the onset of puberty and that sexual activity in general is associated with a number of risks, including Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STIs) and unwanted pregnancy.        

'Sexuality is an important topic for adolescents who are at the age when sexual exploration begins, their drive to explore makes them a pivotal population in the HIV/AIDS pandemic,' they urged.

Furthermore, they said lack of education on practising safe sex methods and the likelihood that they will not use protection leaves teenagers at a high risk of contracting and transmitting STIs.  The educational psychologists also said today's youth engage in sexual exploration at younger ages than in the past.

They also argued that the current reality is that a large number of adolescents are sexually active.  Therefore, all adolescents should receive sex education and have access to health care resources.

Giving an overview on sex education in the JC curriculum, Molaodi Menyatso from the Curriculum and Evaluation division said the objective of the pitso was among others to expose learners to appropriate information on relationships and decision-making to resist social pressure and equip learners with appropriate life skills to make responsible choices involving sex and sexuality. 

Also commenting at the same forum Ndondo Keolebe from MoE said when developing the curriculum the age of learners should be paramount in the minds of developers given that their ages range between 13 and 16 years.

The Moral Education Pitso was convened following a national outcry earlier this year, after parents complained about a prescribed moral education textbook, whose content they deemed too explicit for secondary school students.