New Delhi: “Comprehensive Sex Education” will be part of the curriculum in all schools and colleges, the Centre has informed the Supreme Court.
This is in accordance with recommendations of a committee set up by the Centre.
The 26-member national expert committee, headed by an additional secretary and the Women and Child Development Ministry was given the task of examining issues related to the right to privacy of adolescents who were engaging in consensual sexual relationships, with particular reference to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The plan would be implemented after the Court approves it, the government said, as reported by The Times of India.
The report submitted by the committee has been accepted by the government and will be implemented across the country, additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati said while appearing before a bench of Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan.
The report was submitted after the Supreme Court directed the Centre to examine measures to prevent cases involving adolescent relationships and minor pregnancies from being c
riminalised under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, News18 reported.
The committee, which included experts from TISS, clinical psychologists, representatives from various central ministries, state governments, NCPCR, and NLSA, said that subjects on “comprehensive sex education” and “child sexual abuse” should be included in the core syllabus in schools.
Basic concepts of hygiene, safety and body parts and the concepts of safe-unsafe touch can be made part of the syllabus at the foundational stage, the panel added.
It has been recommended that adolescent education should be introduced in the schools and colleges in alignment with the National Education Policy – 2020. The committee has suggested that the NCERT develop the curriculum accordingly.
“Current adolescent education programmes, which integrate safety and security concerns with awareness on age-appropriate aspects of comprehensive sex education, may be reviewed and supplemented, as deemed fit so, as to fulfil NEP’s core principles of holistic development, critical thinking and building life skills,” the committee said.
“From primary school level onwards, a dedicated expert teacher should be assigned, and classes on these topics should be held mandatorily for at least 15-20 minutes, twice a week. Special meetings should be held for parents, guardians, and teachers to inform them about the developmental milestones of children and the importance of sex education,” the report stated.
Senior advocates Madhavi Divan and Liz Mathew, who were assisting the apex court as amici curiae, while appreciating the report, underlined the need to enumerate “comprehensive sex education”. The Supreme Court said that it will study the report and pass an appropriate order.