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Close on heels of the Karnataka state government, the Democratic Front government in Maharashtra has also imposed a ban on sex education books prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education taking a cue from BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The move seems to uphold the popular adage – No sex please, we are Indians .

Before the ban, the matter was hotly debated in the ongoing Maharashtra Assembly session with the Opposition tearing up copies of a CBSE book, and finally convincing the government to implement the ban.

Those who had been lobbying for the ban say the images in the book – that's at the centre of the government's decision – are just too graphic, which is why students in schools across the state will now not be exposed to them anymore.

But the ban has triggered off a heated debate in the states as educators, psychologists, even students do not agree with the government's ban. They say it is nonsensical to ban in school what students can get on the Internet and TV.

And as the ban is met with much public outcry, CNN-IBN discussed the following questions in the show India 360.

• Should sex education be taught as a subject in schools?
• How should a conservative country like India react to a challenge like sex education?

On the panel of experts were NCP MLC, from Maharashtra, Jitendra Avhad and Space scientist and former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, U R Rao,

Is sex scary?

When Jitendra Avhad was asked why does the word sex scare him since it’s not pornography, he said, “Today you have chosen a wrong man to represent a wrong side because I have always said that sex education should be taught in schools. But not from classes five, six and seven. It should come at a level when students need to understand what sex means.”

But when told that all over the world sex education is seen as part of public health strategy because in a world dominated by AIDS, children do need to know, Avhad underlined the need for the correct time to start imparting sex education.

He said that he was not opposed to a blanket ban on sex education in schools, but admitted that the government succumbed to political and religious pressure.

“The government never wanted it banned. But the political pressure was so much from, within, and outside the party and when other political parties came together, the government had no other alternative,” he said.

What is the right age?

What age is it suitable to teach children about sex? And how would one differentiate between a child of class six and one of class seven receiving sex education?

“I’m not even worried about the age even though Jitendra Avhad feels it is a bit too early. What’s important is that people who talk and for sex education, I don’t even know whether they have read the text or not. And if they haven’t, they should keep their mouths shut,” U R Rao said.

Rao said his problem was with the fact that the illustrations and graphics in the textbook are unnecessarily erotic.

“I have gone through the text. It is supposed to be prepared on the advise of WHO, but I don’t think WHO or anybody would have said anything about what should be written. But it is very explicit and the drawings are horrible. It talks about the actually enactment,” he said.

The former ISRO chairman pointed out that it was important to have a discussion and make sure the subject is taught by the right kind of people who understand the psychology of the students.

“It should also be written by the right kind of people and not in a fashion which instead of helping the children should mislead the children,” Rao said.

To teach, not titillate

So the basic idea is that children should be taught and not titillated. But at a time when the world is dominated by the Internet and television, shouldn’t schools provide some amount of sex education so the child becomes open and honest and realises what sex is instead of treating sex as some dirty underground business?

The panel agreed. But also said that if the content and images are explicit, “they give the wrong signals to the children.”

“We should have books written by competent people who have an understanding in child psychology and it should be taught by the right kind of people,” Rao said.

But does that mean that it should be sanitised and presented in a clinical fashion?

Rao disagreed and said the aim was “to tell children about the consequences of illicit sex, and not look at the erotic part of it.”

Right content, right teachers

All over the world sex education is seen as an intrinsic part of public health. As the threat of AIDS looms large al over the world children are encouraged to know about use of condoms, disease. Is the Indian mentality un-necessarily prudish? And how should a conservative country like India react to a challenge like sex education?

What is the basis of differentiation between a child who is 10 years old and that of 13 if they are both seeing the same things on TV and the Internet?

“It is a matter of understanding. Why do we have French Revolution in Class IX and not earlier. The curriculum should have a medical aspect to it.” Avhad said.

But considering there is also an ugly reality that a number of children are victims of abuse and harassment. Shouldn’t they be adequately empowered with knowledge to deal with situations like that?

“The mistake which going to be committed was that the teachers who didn’t know anything about sex education were going to teach it. I think it’s important to have teachers who know what the subject means,” Avhad said.

But does that mean that we are still being a little fearful about sex – that it requires a specialist technicians otherwise all children will become sex maniacs. Why can’t it be communicated as any other normal subject?

“You want physics to be taught by a person who is knows physics, same goes for history and literature. But you think sex education can be taught by anyone without even understanding the psychology of students,” Rao said.

He added, “It’s not the question of me being scared but essentially that children understand what is being taught and it is put in perspective. It should not arouse their sexual instincts.”

Final Comments

One of the viewers pointed out that exposure is greater today so schools should start teaching sex education from a younger age.

“I agree with that. But it should be taught by teachers who are well versed in this subject and are able to explain it to the children properly,” Avhad said.

But is there still a culture of fear and anxiety related to sex? Are we still giving too much importance to sex?

“Let me make it very clear that sex education is very important. But it has to be taught by competent people. The textbooks emphasizes on wrong things,” Rao said.

Meanwhile, the existence of AIDS has given a new sense of urgency to the topic of sex education. But if the matter isn't addressed quickly for another generation, sex could be an issue that's discussed only in the dark.

Results of the SMS poll:

Should sex education be taught as a subject in schools?

Yes: 89 per cent

No: 11 per cent

More on: sex education, Maharashtra, karnataka, ban, government, schools, India 360