Introduction of Sex Education as a Subject in Schools
Introduction of Sex Education as a Subject in Schools. To better prepare teens for the challenges associated with sexual activity, members of parliament advocate for the teaching of sexual education in public schools.
Legislators are outraged by the high rates of teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS infections, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Legislators have demanded that the state provide sex education in schools as a means of resolving this issue, which puts teens at considerable risk.
The motion was proposed by Representative Njeri Maina of Kirinyaga County, who requested the federal government to order the State Department of Basic Education to incorporate thorough instruction on sexuality, health, and wellness into the curriculum of significant topics.
Some senators don’t think there’s a compelling need for thorough health education because they think that if sex education is taught in schools, young people in this country would be introduced to sexual conduct at a younger age.
A delegate from Langata named Phelix Odiwuor agreed with the idea but questioned what it meant to be “comprehensive” and what other problems it addressed.
Introduction of Sex Education as a Subject in Schools
The Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) declined requests to provide comprehensive sexuality education in Kenyan institutions in 2021.
Civil rights organizations had made it a priority to inform students in schools about HIV and other STIs, contraception, and methods of preventing unintended pregnancies.
However, this concept was rejected, according to Jacqueline Onyango, the Senior Deputy Director in Charge of Curriculum and Research Services, because such actions would be viewed as a breach of a child’s constitutional rights under Kenyan law. Onyango is in charge of the Curriculum and Research Services.
Because KICD considers students in elementary and secondary schools to be juveniles and as such lack the legal capacity to make their own decisions regarding consent to sexual relations, it is unethical to inform them of contraceptives.
According to the Kenyan Institute for Child Development (KICD), such knowledge is inappropriate for kids between the ages of 10 and 17 in accordance with the country’s constitution.
According to the Kenyan Institute for Child Development (KICD), efforts have been made to include sexuality education that is appropriate for Kenya in the primary and secondary curricula in Kenya.
According to Onyango, “sex education is actually incorporated into our educational system; for example, when they are young, we teach them about the parts of their bodies; when they are in upper primary, we teach them about reproductive health; and as they progress, the lessons become more complex.” In fact, our school system includes sexual education.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, more than 160,000 young women between the ages of 10 and 19 got pregnant or were married, according to a report commissioned by the previous president Uhuru Kenyatta.
After COVID-19 was discovered in the middle of March 2020, an order to close educational institutions was given for a nine-month period. The report attempted to assess the outcomes of this decision.
According to the results of a 2017 poll by the research and policy group Guttmacher Institute, more than one-third of Kenyan youngsters between the ages of 15 and 19 had engaged in sexual activity.
Currently, about one-fifth of persons engage in sexual activity. Even though only 4 out of 10 sexually active, unmarried adolescent females want to use modern contraception, the majority of them want to prevent becoming pregnant.