NCERT opens revised syllabus of Sex Education for public Scrutiny

National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), on the advice of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has decided to revise the previous released sex education syllabus with quick effect. NECRT on Tuesday after concluding the meeting with NACO has decided to delete the ‘objectionable’ contents and picture materials from the books prepared to teach the school’s student.

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Now, the focus of education will be shifted to ‘how to be abstinence’ from ‘how to use the condom for safer sex. The teachers will stress on ‘prevention is the best cure’ for HIV and other sexually transmissions infections (STIs), said a NCERT official to the media.

Seven states including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra had objection on the current syllabus prepared for educating school-level students and asked NCERT and NACO to delete the objectionable contents including graphics pictures of human physiology and anatomy from the syllabus.

NACO has also advised NCERT to prepare such a syllabus that can suit to rural public too and also allow the states to make it more flexible according to the local areas and cultures.

The purpose of this sex education would be providing proper and complete sex education in the right direction so that students can protect themselves from wrong and incomplete sources of education, which is more malicious to them.

The revised syllabus would be finalised by the end of October after getting suggestions, opinions and comments of general public. The states will hold meetings with teachers, NGOs and other stakeholders and if any valid points found would be included in the respective states’ curriculum.

“The revised module will be available for public scrutiny and workshops will be held in various places. We will adopt a consensual approach. We will release the book only after getting parental and teachers' consent,” said NACO Director Sujita Rao.

NACO has also elaborated that a class of 30-minute duration of all the boys and all the girls would be arranged separately once in every week in which students would discuss about sexually transmitted infections and HIV.

Male teachers will teach boy students and lady teachers will educate girl students about HIV, AIDS, its route of spreading, and prevention methods.

To check the impact of education, it would be mandatory for the teachers to ask questions to the students about given lecture at the end of the class. The program of study related to HIV and AIDS will cover the origin of HIV virus, its prevalence in the world and in India, why women and children are most vulnerable to getting infected and what its modes of transmission are.