Necessity for sex education in Indian schools

Written by Nihila

Edited by Mehul Shah

Illustrated by Shravan Bakkiyaraj

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The word ‘sex’ has been a taboo in India for decades and openly discussing sex and sexuality is considered immoral, vulgar and inappropriate. Not normalising discussion about these topics goes all the way back to schools; most high school graduates can likely relate to a common experience: the anticipation surrounding that particular biology chapter. It's the chapter that sparks excitement among students but often leaves teachers hesitant to delve into the details. Consequently, they may rush through the topic, assign it as ‘self-study,’ or even skip it altogether. Does this ring a bell? The stigma associated with the topic starts at that time.

Research has proven that with all the hormonal changes that are happening in the bodies of teenagers, it's natural for them to be curious about sex and their sexuality. The only constructive approach to this is discussing and educating teenagers about reproduction, gender identities and the concepts of intersectionality in a healthy way. We need to understand that restricting or preventing them won’t help the kids but make them resort to illegal ways like watching porn and reading pornographic texts from dubious sites. 

In India, sex education is almost non-existent in rural areas while in urban areas it is limited only to reproduction. But in reality, sex education delves deeper into diverse gender identities, the importance of respecting boundaries, and the cultivation of healthy interpersonal skills. By educating individuals about the importance of consent, personal boundaries, and methods for preventing sexual abuse, sexual education plays a crucial role in fostering a more equitable and just society. But this line of thought is not shared by all the people in the country. Some believe that discussing sex education will increase risky behaviour and motivate students to indulge in sexual activities. In fact, in states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka the government has banned sex education in schools. But myths about sex education leading to precocious sexual acts among students have been busted with various scientific evidences. Moreover, a significant 88% of the youth express the opinion that sex education should commence in primary school. Furthermore, 66% point out that teachers at both primary and secondary levels lack the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively impart sex education. Additionally, 90% of the youth advocate for providing parents and teachers with factual training to equip them with the skills needed to address this subject matter.

There are multiple reasons for sex education not being compulsory in India. Some of the reasons are parents' apprehension, teachers' discomfort, various people’s organization protests and lack of societal acceptance of normalising sex education. But, this shouldn’t stop the Indian government from coming up with a comprehensive well–planned curriculum for sex education. The Government of India under the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Health and Family Welfare developed an adolescent education program in 2020 to address sexuality education for children and adolescents. Unfortunately, this faced backlash from society because of the narrow perspective and conservative mindset of the people.

This situation calls for an immediate need for action, which is only possible by spreading awareness on the topic of sex education and removing the taboo and stigma associated with the word ‘sex’. Sex education should be made an integral part of the school curriculum and this could help students become aware and would lead to a healthy development of interpersonal skills. It is also important to change the mindset of the public including parents, teachers, media etc., through public awareness campaigns. Maybe in future, crime rates because of rape, domestic abuse, sexual abuse and sexual harassment could come down and people might be more broad-minded in accepting the LGBTQ+ community and other gender identities. The future could be a much better place than the present if this happens, ‘prevention is much better than cure’ and sex education could be an instrumental way of preventing people from committing atrocious deeds just because of their lack of awareness and ignorance.

#SexEducation, #EducationalReform, #SexAwareness, #BreakingTaboos