CBSE, UP BOARD PREFER TO BE CONSERVATIVE
PRAYAGRAJ: Despite increasing population, there seems to be a reluctance in using the term family planning while teaching children in schools.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the UP Board have included the subject in the course curriculum for class 10 students under ‘science’. But the schools and the boards seem more comfortable in handling ‘population’ as a topic for senior level students instead of mentioning family planning directly, experts say.
In a science unit for class 10 students, the CBSE has included ‘Our Environment’ with the topic ‘Reproduction’.
Information like need for and methods of family planning and safe sex versus HIV/AIDS has been included in this topic, says Alpona Dey, principal of Ganga Gurukulam school, Phaphamau.
In class 9, social science is being taught with a unit on ‘India and its people’. The unit has the topic ‘population’, wherein students are taught about population size, distribution, age-sex composition, population change, migration and the national population policy.’
The class 9 students of geography also have a chapter on ‘population’, she says
In class 12 also, students learn about population growth, birth and death rate in a biology chapter on ‘organisms and population’, the principal says.
The UP Board, which has also introduced NCERT books for its students, has made class 10 science students learn the need for and the methods of family planning, safe sex versus HIV/AIDS besides delivery and reproductive health, says RD Shukla, principal of Abhinav Vidyalaya, Dandupur, in Prayagraj.
In class 9, the students of geography have a chapter on ‘Contemporary India’ and a unit on ‘population’. The class 12 geography students also have a unit on ‘population’ wherein they are learning about population distribution, density, increase and sex ratio, he adds.
“The time has come to inculcate family planning topics in mainline education in a big way at every stage. If you want you, can call it family education, but it is necessary that knowledge as well as attitudinal change is brought about,” says PK Sahoo, dean (arts) and professor of education department at Allahabad University.