Several schools in Bangalore do not teach sex education which is against the National Education Policy 2019.
According to Dikshita.B, a student of Vivekananda Public School, “It is important to have sex education in schools as it gives more knowledge about society and sex and with the education that we get through the topic, it ensures our safety as well”.
The National Education Policy 2019, introduced by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and implemented in May 2019, says secondary schools should include sex education.
According to Manjula M Swamy, Headmistress Incharge of Vivekananda Public School, “Everything is in the hands of the management. So if they agree to introduce the subject, we will definitely introduce it”.
According to Indira.G, Director of Vivekananda Public School, “Children are much more aware today about the subject through internet, social media etc. So we didn’t introduce it yet. But we are going to introduce the subject this year.”
The data given by Samagra Shikshana/Shikshana Kirana, under the Department of School Education and Literacy, says there are over 6,000 schools in Bangalore. However, according to the syllabi, some more schools like Kengeri High School, Vikas Vidya Mandira, Gangothri Public School etc do not teach sex education.
According to Aarti Ahuja, Leadership and Communication Trainer of Enfold NGO, “Sex education is important for the safety of children. If they google it, they might get only half information about the subject. So sex education is also important for the students to get appropriate information about it”.
The member of Enfold NGO also says that parent awareness should be there to have sex education in schools. Let’s see what waits for the students of secondary schools.
