Sex education: Gujarat introduces own module

Experts say the contents keep in view cultural considerations and would not offend anybody. Integrated with physical education,the chapters cover not only “sex and related information”,as well as impart knowledge on reproductive health,but other issues such as voluntary blood donation,environment and its role on health,and communicable and non-communicable diseases. “Knowledge would be given as per maturity of the children concerned. The sessions will not be in way of lectures but interactive sessions,” said Dr Pradeep Kumar,Additional Project Director,Gujarat State AIDS Control Society (GSACS).

Of the total 8,000 government schools in Gujarat,the interactive sessions will start first in about 2,500 once the children are back after their summer vacations. The plan is to integrate the other government schools as well as private schools. “Once the module is seen to be accepted,it will be expanded further to other schools,” said another GSACS expert.

After several states banned sex education,a revised,toned-down module had been sent out last year. However,the government also gave the states the go-ahead to develop their own module. Among the eight states to have suspended the sex education manual in 2007 — Karnataka,Maharashtra,Kerala,Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh,Uttar Pradesh,Rajasthan and Gujarat — Kerala,Rajasthan and now Gujarat have adopted their own modules.