A taboo for thousands of years

In China, there are neither national guidelines nor a national curriculum for schoolbased sex education, so related content is incorporated into health education, which is included in the curriculum for physical education and health.

In 2008, the Ministry of Education issued a set of health education guidelines for primary and middle schools, which contained some references to sex education. However, very few schools have introduced health education as part of their core curriculums.

Sex-related content may be included in other classes, such as biology, which mainly focuses on the physical differences between men and women, or in classes about moral character and life, which may simply discuss close relationships.

Because Chinese schools do not make stand-alone provisions for sex education, there are few textbooks or teaching materials about the subject, especially at the primary level.

No nationally approved textbooks or teaching materials have been published, so schools ask their teachers to compile their own teaching materials, which are neither systematic nor complete.

Because sex education is not a stand-alone course during children’s nine years of compulsory education, there is no professional provision to train teachers in the subject in college education and teaching courses.