Indian Government Considering School-based Sex Education Program

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Indian Government Considering School-based Sex Education Program

Faced with the warnings that India's infected people could outnumber South Africa's in the next decade unless urgent measures are taken, the government is looking into school-based programs. Until recently, parents, educators, and bureaucrats had resisted the introduction of sex education for teenagers at school. Some argued that such programs would only encourage promiscuity. However, the centrally funded National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) prepared a School AIDS Education module in 1999, drawing on the experiences of scattered programs in operation since 1995 under the umbrella of extra-curricular school activities. Some states are now gradually introducing these programs in senior classes. One of NACO's objectives is to attain an awareness level at least 90 percent among those in the reproductive age group.

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Some say this targeted approach should yield results.

"In a country where sex and sexuality are taboo, mass awareness drives have obviously failed," says Dr. D.K. Neogi, head of the virology department of the Calcutta-based School of Tropical Medicine. "The only way to make people more conscious is through one-to-one counseling."

Despite doubts expressed by some experts, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have taken the lead in the campaign to spread awareness. As they tailor their programs to cater to local needs, their success stories have attracted the attention of government agencies and national and international bodies. With as many as ...

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