Parents blink at explicit sex education
But supporters say it is the best way to keep children safe
● Parents of teenagers cannot live in a bubble thinking their children are completely inactive when it comes to sex, an educational psychologist warned.
This follows serious concerns by lobby groups about the proposed sex education lessons that will be featured in the new Life Orientation learner work books.
The workbooks titled Scripted Lesson Plans, being developed for pupils in grades 4-12, are being piloted in five provinces.
The initiative forms part of the basic education department’s comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programme, which is aimed at addressing the scourge of HIV/Aids, sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies.
Freedom of Religion SA — an organisation promoting religious freedom — wrote to the department in July demanding it disclose at the beginning of each year the content that will be taught during sex education lessons.
The Family Policy Institute, supported by seven church groups, has now written to basic education minister Angie Motshekga calling for the scrapping of the CSE programme.
In the workbooks, grade 9 pupils who are sexually active are advised not to wait to have a discussion about condoms in the middle of sexual activity as no-one’s judgment is clear “in the heat of the moment”.
An “11-step learner guide to using male condoms correctly” is contained in the life orientation workbook on sexuality education.
Pupils are advised to avoid “gimmick or novelty condoms”.
“If you use a lubricant, make sure it is water-based, for example, KY Jelly and Playtex, not oil-based, for example cooking oil, Vaseline, baby oil, etc.”
The pupils are asked to write down the steps that are important to remember when using a condom.
Meanwhile, the grade 7 workbook — aimed at 13-year-old pupils — states that they may ask the question: is it okay to masturbate?
“Masturbation is normal and will not hurt you. Many boys and girls masturbate.”
The workbook tells them that having sex is one of the most important decisions “you will ever make. Why not take your time and think it through?
“However, if you decide to have sex, talk to a health provider about which type of birth control is best for you.”
Grade 11 pupils are asked to indicate the levels of risk(not a risk, risky, or a high risk) for anal sex, oral sex, masturbation and “touching your partner’s genitals without intercourse”.
Matakanye Matakanye, general secretary of the National Association of School Governing Bodies, representing 9,000 governing bodies, said that though the grade 9 workbook preaches abstinence, it also teaches pupils how to use a condom. “It is contradictory and ends up confusing children.”
He said parents complained that they were not consulted before the workbooks were given to pupils.
“There are parents who say they are going to tell schools to let their children to leave the room when sex education is taught.”
Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney with Freedom of Religion SA, said such a programme “will sexualise our children by teaching them how to have sex, rather than the consequences and responsibilities of sex”.
“Unlike maths, sexuality education can never be value-neutral and remains the right and prerogative of parents.”
She said stakeholders such as parents must be consulted and not just informed about the proposed “provocative content” that will fundamentally shape the most vulnerable.
But a grade 9 teacher from an all-girls’ school in Soweto said she had not received any complaints about the workbook.
“Most of these things they already know about. I don’t think hiding things from learners will help them in any way.”
Andreas Baron, an educational psychologist, said programmes such as CSE were far more successful in reducing unwanted teen pregnancies than programmes teaching abstinence only.
3.1% THE PERCENTAGE of schoolgirls who fell pregnant in 2017 2,716 THE NUMBER of girls aged 14 and younger who gave birth in 2017/2018
“We cannot live in a protected, idealistic bubble thinking that grade 9s are completely inactive when it comes to sexuality. Rather provide them with the correct tools and knowledge where safe and healthy sexuality can be discussed.”
Health department figures reveal that between April 2017 and March 2018, 117,010 girls aged 19 and younger gave birth at public health facilities, including 2,716 aged 14 and under.
Basic education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said that to prevent pregnancy, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, it was important for learners, especially those who are sexually active, to understand how to use a condom correctly.
“The activities on risk levels [in grade 11] are mediated in the classroom by the teacher and provided in discussion for learners to form opinions,” he said.“Teachers are guided through a structured, activity-based educator guide on how to teach these concepts.”
Mhlanga said the scripted lesson plans provided age-appropriate information to avoid risky behaviour and infections. He confirmed the lesson plans were being tested in districts in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape — those with a high HIV prevalence.