Accepting the advice of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) quickly came up with revised sex education syllabus yesterday. On Tuesday, the NECRT, in a meeting with NACO, decided to remove the ‘objectionable’ contents and images from the books prepared to teach “sex education” to the teenage students.

The NCERT stated that the focus of the sex education has been shifted from “how to use the condom for safer sex” to “how to be abstinence”. The education will empahasize on ‘prevention is the best cure’ for HIV and other sexually transmissions infections (STIs).

Seven states including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra had objected to the current sex education syllabus. The states had asked NCERT and NACO to remove the objectionable contents including images of human physiology and anatomy from the syllabus. NACO advised NCERT to fabricate the syllabus suiting to rural public and cultures.  

According to NCERT & NACO, the focus of new syllabus would be providing proper and complete sex education in the right direction. The new revised syllabus would be finalised by the end of October after getting suggestions, opinions and comments of general public. The states will hold meetings with teachers, NGOs and other stakeholders and if any valid points found would be included in the respective states’ curriculum.

NACO Director Sujita Rao said, “The revised module will be available for public scrutiny and workshops will be held in various places. We will adopt a consensual approach. We will release the book only after getting parental and teachers' consent.”

NACO explained that classes of 30-minute duration of all the boys and all the girls would be arranged in the schools separately once in every week. The classes would focus on sexually transmitted infections and HIV. The male teachers will teach the boys, and the lady teachers will enlighten girls.