Fallacies in policy and strategies to introduce sex education in the Basic Education curriculum in Kenya
Abstract
Since the introduction of the 8-4-4 system of education in 1985, many Kenyans accepted the new system including religious institutions. However, the introduction of Social Education and Ethics in the curriculum was not supported by religious institutions. After five years, it was realised that SEE had content that was contrary to the tenets of major religions in Kenya. The SEE was substituted by CRE, IRE and Hindu religious education in 2005 bundled together as religious education upon agreement between religious institutions and the Kenyan Government. There has been concern that school going children are sexually active and as a result teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise. Social Education and Ethics had not helped in imparting the required virtues of respect, honesty, obedience and morality among the youth as envisaged initially. One of the proposed means of curbing this menace is to introduce sex education and provide contraceptives to school going children so that can protect themselves. The reproductive health care bill 2014 proposes that children be taught sex education and how to have safe sex. Sex education has many challenges, where it has been introduced it has had no major impact; there are still high teenage pregnancies and STI among teenagers. The question is, why is sex education failing? These research paper explorers the fallacies associated with sex education as a means of reducing teenage pregnancies and SITs among school going children.
Description
Abstract only
Since the introduction of the 8-4-4 system of education in 1985, many Kenyans accepted the new system including religious institutions. However, the introduction of Social Education and Ethics in the curriculum was not supported by religious institutions. After five years, it was realised that SEE had content that was contrary to the tenets of major religions in Kenya. The SEE was substituted by CRE, IRE and Hindu religious education in 2005 bundled together as religious education upon agreement between religious institutions and the Kenyan Government. There has been concern that school going children are sexually active and as a result teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise. Social Education and Ethics had not helped in imparting the required virtues of respect, honesty, obedience and morality among the youth as envisaged initially. One of the proposed means of curbing this menace is to introduce sex education and provide contraceptives to school going children so that can protect themselves. The reproductive health care bill 2014 proposes that children be taught sex education and how to have safe sex. Sex education has many challenges, where it has been introduced it has had no major impact; there are still high teenage pregnancies and STI among teenagers. The question is, why is sex education failing? These research paper explorers the fallacies associated with sex education as a means of reducing teenage pregnancies and SITs among school going children.
Since the introduction of the 8-4-4 system of education in 1985, many Kenyans accepted the new system including religious institutions. However, the introduction of Social Education and Ethics in the curriculum was not supported by religious institutions. After five years, it was realised that SEE had content that was contrary to the tenets of major religions in Kenya. The SEE was substituted by CRE, IRE and Hindu religious education in 2005 bundled together as religious education upon agreement between religious institutions and the Kenyan Government. There has been concern that school going children are sexually active and as a result teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise. Social Education and Ethics had not helped in imparting the required virtues of respect, honesty, obedience and morality among the youth as envisaged initially. One of the proposed means of curbing this menace is to introduce sex education and provide contraceptives to school going children so that can protect themselves. The reproductive health care bill 2014 proposes that children be taught sex education and how to have safe sex. Sex education has many challenges, where it has been introduced it has had no major impact; there are still high teenage pregnancies and STI among teenagers. The question is, why is sex education failing? These research paper explorers the fallacies associated with sex education as a means of reducing teenage pregnancies and SITs among school going children.