Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

On sex education

This refers to the article “Case for sex education in schools” (Jan. 26). It is unfortunate that a country which is expected to emerge as a superpower in future has the largest number of HIV-infected people and its youngsters continue to indulge in unsafe sexual practices. It would be naive to ignore the risks of exposure to the Internet and the media in the name of morals and conservative values. Besides implementing the AEP in CBSE-affiliated schools, the government should extend it to all streams of education and adopt a comprehensive approach to spread sexual awareness among the youth.

Sonal Goel,

New Delhi

It is only natural for the young to be curious about sex. Therefore, they take recourse to any available source of information to satisfy their curiosity. The best way to impart awareness on the subject is to introduce sex education in schools. No doubt, it is a sensitive subject and needs to be handled carefully. If the syllabus is developed in a systematic manner and taught by competent and well-trained teachers, there need be no apprehension about achieving the desired results. It may also be a good idea for schools to seek the services of experts, instead of the regular teaching staff, to teach the subject.

K.K. Cherian,

Bangalore

Sex education is meant to make youngsters scientifically aware of the subject. The different components of sex education should include physiology, anatomy, psychology, pathophysiology, and information on sexually transmitted diseases. Specialists should be recruited to educate students and they should be monitored by an ethics committee. Unfortunately, we do not take sex education seriously because there exists a huge communication gap between the political leadership and the scientific community. There is an urgent need to mitigate the problem in view of the growing burden of HIV infection, which is further exacerbated by HIV-TB co-infection.

Hemant Kumar Mishra,

New Delhi

There is a real need for appropriate sex education programme for adolescents, and it will only grow in future. The range of misleading information children are exposed to — advertisements, movies, and the Internet — is enormous. It is our duty to equip them with the necessary knowledge.

The life skills model provides the right approach. Conservatives should identify the real culprits — some elements of popular culture and abuse of wealth — of moral corruption.

Ramakrishna Bantu,

Hyderabad

We should have a basic public health and sex education policy for not only adolescents but also the public at large. There are too many wrong notions about sex. Sex education is the need of the hour because there is too much sex in the minds of the young and the media.

Koti Sreekrishna,

Mason, Ohio

It is not necessary to impart sex education in schools to create awareness among the young. Sexual abuse comes from all quarters — relatives, colleagues and strangers. It is necessary to teach the young how to overcome and protect themselves from such contingencies than about sex.

Sex education is against our culture and tradition. It was not part of the curriculum of our fathers and forefathers. But the societies they lived in were calm and harmonious. Today, movies and politics have vitiated the atmosphere in the citadels of learning. We need a complete overhaul of the education system. It should be innovative and useful and lead us to a path of peaceful survival and co-existence.

Gururajan Ramachandran,

Udhagamandalam

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