Nigeria: CSOs fault removal of sex education from educational curriculum
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) accused Education Director Mallam Adamu Adamu of the National Educational Research Development Council (NERDC) on Tuesday for removing sex education from Nigeria‘s educational curriculum.
Executive Director of Education
Executive Director of Education as a Vaccine, Ms. Toyin Chukwudozie, speaking on behalf of 53 organizations, in a statement in Abuja, disagreed with the directive.
The Nigerian News Agency reports that the minister at the 66th Ministerial Session of the National Council of Education (NCE) had given the directive to remove sex education from the curriculum.
The minister argued that sex education should be left to parents and religious institutions and not taught in schools in a way that would further corrupt young children who have access to phones and technology.
But Chukwudozie
But Chukwudozie said that anyone who has interacted with the curriculum will know that it is designed to provide support and guidance to teens and young adults.
”These young people need to navigate through the changing phases of their lives that are so critical, and that they mostly experience while going through basic and upper secondary education.
“This development is very unsightly and erodes 20 years of progress made by education and other state and non-state actors to provide a comprehensive education that meets the needs of students at different levels.
Family Life and HIV Education
“It appears that the minister has not been given the proper information and advice on the Nigerian Family Life and HIV Education (FLHE) curriculum, the path to having this curriculum and the impact for adolescents and the young.
” The FLHE curriculum was approved by the NCE in 2002 due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the continuing rise in incidents among adolescents and youth.
“It is imperative to adopt strategies that put this vulnerable group at the center of prevention and response, one of those strategies was the adaptation to the school curriculum,” he said.
According to Chukwudozie, the FLHE curriculum is a planned educational process that encourages the acquisition of factual information, the formation of positive attitudes, beliefs, and values, as well as the development of skills.
She said that this would help them deal with the biological, psychological, socio-cultural and spiritual aspects of human life.
He said the curriculum was intended to provide information and skills that were necessary for young people to make rational decisions about their bodies.
He added that the curriculum was not against any religious or cultural group or teachings in the country.
It is pertinent to mention that parents, teachers, traditional and religious leaders, policy makers and executors from all the states of the federation actively participated in the drafting of the content of the FLHE.
“As with a curriculum that has been in place for 20 years, enormous resources have been invested in making this implementation effective by government, donors and civil society alike.
” From research, numerous consultations and workshops to effectively incorporate it into school subjects working with the NERDC, to training teachers so they are equipped to effectively deliver lessons.
“The implementation addresses and supports students in navigating experiences that come with their social, physical and mental development,” he said.
Freetown Manifesto
The executive director also recalled that in June 2022, the minister signed, on behalf of the government, the Freetown Manifesto on Gender Transformative Leadership in Education, pledging, among other things, to support strategies to address harmful gender norms in education. the pedagogy.
Ministry of Education
According to her, the FLHE is a strategy that the Ministry of Education has used to achieve this.
“Civil society groups reject this sudden setback. We, as Nigerian parents, educators, students, and advocates, look forward to conversations on how we will improve the quality of FLHE program delivery and its long-term sustainability.
“We urge the 36 education commissioners to properly brief the minister on the implications of such a declaration and to fully support the implementation of FLHE with the allocation of adequate resources to reach millions of Nigerian students with life-saving information and skills to reach their full potential.” potential”. she said.
African Girls Empowerment Network
Among the 53 CSOs that endorsed the declaration are the African Girls Empowerment Network, the African Network of Adolescents and Young Persons (ANAYD), the Alliances for Africa (AFA) and the Amaclare Connect and Development Initiative (CIDA).
Association for Reproductive and Family Health
Others are the Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARHF), the Association for Positive Youth in Nigeria (APYIN), the Bella Foundation for Child and Maternal Care, Bridge Connect Africa (BCA) and the Cara Development Foundation (CDF). ).
Cedar Seed Foundation Center for Girls
Also on the list are the Cedar Seed Foundation Center for Girls’ Education in Africa (CGE), the Children and Youth Protection Foundation (CYPF), the Child Shield Initiative, the Civil Society Coalition for End Child Marriage in Nigeria, the Deaf Women Aloud initiative and DoFoundation International. (www)
Source
https://nnn.ng/csos-fault-removal-of-sex-education-from-educational-curriculum/#Civil%20Societ
Categorías
