Sex Ed: A Heated Debate

Some parents are up in arms about the proposed new lesson plans for schoolkids. We asked experts to weigh in

- Marelize Grbich

IT’S a far cry from the coy talks about “the birds and the bees” many adults remember from their own schooldays.

In fact, the sexual education classes that are on the cards for South African schools will probably make some parents blush.

Masturbation, condom usage, gay relationships, oral sex – the new lesson plans, aimed at learners from Grade 4 upwards, definitely don’t shy away from confronting issues that are taboo in lots of households.

When information about the new lessons, which will soon be part of kids’ life orientation (LO) classes, leaked out in the media recently, many parents expressed outrage.

“My children won’t set foot in that class!” one wrote on Facebook. “Rather give kids more maths and science classes than the nonsense they’ll be taught.”

“I want to decide as a parent when my child is ready and discuss the necessary with them,” another said.

Parents and teachers have every reason to be concerned, says Michael Swain, executive director of Freedom of Religion South Africa (For SA). “Some of the content to which children will be exposed is nothing less than soft porn.”

The organisation shared examples of the lesson plans on its website. They include sketches of male and female genitalia, graphic instructions about the proper use of condoms, a picture of a man lying on top of a woman and another of two men kissing.

This kind of detailed sexual education will expose children to things they’re not emotionally ready to process, Swain believes. And it will lead to problems, he predicts.

“How do children process information? By practising what they’ve learnt,” he says.

But in a statement the department of basic education insists its intentions have been misunderstood.