Challenges on Lack of Sexual Education
Young people and adolescents although sexually matured have little or n o knowledge of sex education. The little knowledge some have are based facts and misconceptions gathered from/misinformed friends and media. These create confusions in the minds of young people (student). Some problems arising from lack of accurate information are as follows;
- A student (female) ran into the principal’s office screening when she first saw her monthly period. She had believed she might be bleeding to death
- Secondary school students found buying contraceptive pills from other students, thinking that it would protect them from being pregnant.
Parents and teachers see young people in different circumstances and contribute to their education in different ways. Parents live with the child and so have the opportunity to obscene the child among other children and in the family environment. The teacher will know more about his social adjustment, particularly he gets along with other boys and approach sex education from a different vantage point.
Even in the informational aspect of sex teaching at home and school or college can play a co-ordinate but different roles. In the school information can be imparted in a much more impersonal way without anxiety and tension. ‘The real role of the home is on the emotional side’. It is concerned mainly with the building of attitudes, the relationship between father and mother, the spirit of oneness and family cohesion, the living with and for each other.
According to Usunda (1987), sex education may range from a simple facts of life. It may include lecture given by a parents of film show in schools on topic like menstruation, embryological development or the danger of venereal disease infection, to a carefully planned and coordinated programmed from kindergarten to high school covering psychological, physiological and social aspect of sex.
Data
It is estimated that more than half of the over 20 million adolescents between the ages of 15-19 in the U.S. have had pre-marital sex. 20% of over 8 millions of the 13-14 age groups have also experienced the same. According to unions students, 80% of sexually active teenagers girls do not use contraceptives, studies reveal that more than one million teenage girls between 15-19 becomes pregnant every year in the U.S.
Although, we have no formal records to support adolescent sexual behaviour in Nigeria, there is evidence that sexual promiscuity is rapidly increasing. Students are sexually active and many of them do not use contraceptives. The rate of prostitution among students and youth in our cites is alarming. It is not usual to find students/youth moving about in the street while they are suppose to be in schools. The consequences of all these is that we are confronted with the problems of teenage pregnancy, death from abortion, stress of child bearing, early parenthood and sexually transmitted disease of which Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is now a major global public health problem. Beside a new group of single parents family is beginning to rise in the society due to divorces from forced weddings on account of pregnancy.
It is who says in this culture an perhaps in the developed world that girls (students) are presented with doubled standards. Boys engaged in sex easily while some of the girls could not, until they are married. No one raises eyebrow if a male students is flirting around with female students
For boys in secondary school, having sex is seen as a symbol of masculinity. They seduce their fellow female students through various meas. As Gordon puts it, ‘the boy says if you love me, you will have sex with me’. Boys use lines and we have to help girls with some replies. Don’t we know that the best oral contraceptives is still no? sex has never been a test of love.
According to Prof. Ajabor (1981) teenagers are susceptive to unplanned reproductive behaviour, unwanted pregnancy, abortions and added misconception about self, sex and other venereal diseases, premarital and extramarital sex, homosexuality, rape and other sexual perversion. In most cases, this lack of information about sex leads to more martial failure and higher rate of divorce for lack of understanding and dissatisfaction amongst couples.
Interest
In recent times, some highly placed Nigerians have shown interest in sex matter. This is an indication that most of our social problems would be possibly removed with the inclusion of sex education into the secondary school curriculum. According to the American journal of public health 1964. information concerning all aspects of human sexuality, including contraception has not been readily available for schools.
“Achievers of sexual behavior” (1977) tell us that “education and counselling on sex has been woefully lacking both with respect to retarded children and the society at large”.
Soura, D. gives us two reasons why sex education should be introduce in schools with regards to the factors that make it difficult for parents to impact sex education. ‘The level of education of parent particularly of mothers by and large is such that they have neither the knowledge nbor skill required for the task. Some of the parents who may have the requisite knowledge may find if difficult to present the information in a scientific and objective manner without making the child feel embarrassed.
Another factors of our cultural setting is the family pattern of living. The traditional family values, emphasizing authoritarian pattern with restricted communication between parents and children, create a generational gap, which makes discussion on any topic rather difficult if not impossible. This is specially true when it comes to a discussion of sex.
The features were pointed out by the association of social health in India but applies to Nigeria too.
Jones, U. F. (1980) noted that ‘the school with is educative processes is the one logical agency to which society must turn for relief from an ever increasing burden of problem and needs a follow up ways or may lose their control thereby causing informal education in failing to achieve essential objectives.
As Ukeje B.O. {1978} succinctly puts its schools should show the students the relationship between cause and effect in health and sex transmitted diseases. He emphasized the need to make students understand that sex transmitted diseases have natural causes and that they are not the inevitable dispensation of malignant spirit and that the sure ways of preventing sexually transmitted diseases is to prevent the conditions which make the diseases possible.
Kola {1981} in an article published in the Nigeria observer entitled “in support of sex” says that in as much as a uniform curriculum is not yet feasible in our school, programmers could be tailored to the needs of teenagers and also to the sources of the community to the economic, political education demands. Teenagers need guidance in this sensitive and important area although a large percentage of us are engaged in sexual relationship few have accurate information about sexual functions.
Ajabor L.N. {1981} in his inaugural lecture provides data to show the magnitude of problems, which we impose on our teenagers as a result of the society’s refusal to give our children sound sex education. The data show us the percentage of criminal or induced illegal abortions and this account for the high level of sexually transmitted diseases among the young population.
Turner C.E. {1970} says that the high divorce rate, unhappy marriages not ending in divorce, illegitimate births, criminal abortion, sexual maladjustment, venereal diseases, prostitution and sex crimes are unwholesome conditions in the society which testify to the failure of the home, the school and community in the meeting of the needs of children and youths. Sound sex education can prevent some of these conditions and alleviate others.
Edge P. {1974} stresses the need for the prevention of boys and girls for the physical changes, which are occurring at the adolescent period. She emphasized the need to prepare girls who are approaching their first menstrual period. And boys should be prepare for natural emissions. These occurrences, she says really do cause a lot of worry, depression and fear on the youth that does not know the reason for such phenomena.
If adults and schools continue to hide honest information on sex matters from children, the consequences which follows may be so disastrous as to paralyze even our education. Dr. Madubuike in the Nigerian statement blames the fallen standard of education on the upsurge in school environment, making it difficult to produce enough qualified teachers to cope with the standard. This is a direct result of population explosion which family planning institution as a subject of sex education institution as a subset of sex education will aid in eliminating those factors which make the work of teachers difficult.
Risby J.F. {1968} in his article stressed that parental toleration of schools role in sex education pears to be increasing markedly responses to questionnaires distributed in Derbyshire provide further evidence. One of the questions was “Do you think that schools should offer sex education at same stage”? and the responses were some said yes, zero {0}answered No, 4 said undecided and one {1} gave no answer.
Sex is a taboo in the society, majority of parents even oppose the teaching of sex education at school. They assume that this awareness is immoral and could potentially make their children promiscuous. In any case, most adolescents would prefer to turn to peer groups than to discuss with their parents. We have learnt of secondary school girls and other youth that have carried pregnancy to term deliver the babies in the bush and abandoned them in street trashcans or latrine. Cases of this nature abound not only in Nigeria but else where.
It has been found or shown that the more these students known about sexual matters, the more responsible he is in his or her sexual behaviour. The individual is likely to be less sexually active.
Religious and traditional or cultural beliefs carried over from childhood also affect the type and nature of sex education they give to our children. Some religions or tradition forbids open discussion on sex. Words or information, which would have, convey appropriate meaning to certain sexual ideas is deliberately avoided. Even names of parts of reproductive organs are avoided. Parents seem unwilling to express ideas naturally and they feel embarrassed when their children ask question regard sex matters. This is turn embarrass the children and they do not ask again. However, it is known the religious and cultural teaching on sex education stress its moral values.
As series of observations have shown parental wish or desire for teaching of sex education in schools. While noting the cardinal role of sex education is personality development, the society has to actively pursue a policy for initiating the instruction of sex education in our school without minding the view of few individuals who are hesitant towards the introduction of sex education because of their religious conation carries them to irrationality.
Some parents have unfortunate experience and are emotionally maladjusted and unstable. Consequently their attitude becomes warped and unwholesome. Therefore, the attitude of their children is likely to be biased and unsound. Some children come from homes where disturbed relationship between parents has profoundly confused them. They may come from home with unrest and anxiety or from broken home. When this is the case, children are rubbed of wise sex guidance. Fortunately many husbands and wives who have had great and united marital experience transmit a positive and wholesome attitude to their children regarding human sexuality.
Purposes of sex education
Souza D. says that the real purpose of sex education is to transfigure a “boy-child and a girl-child” into “manhood” and “womanhood” respectively and he further explains that sex education intimately bound up with the whole of education for life and maturity. It has an impact on body emotions, mind and heart, hence
- Sex education can not be separated from the education of the whole person towards mature living.
- Sex education must be related to future role which adolescents are expected to play in the home and in society.
- Sex education should be integrated with social and moral values.
Ilewellyn Jones in his “every woman” says that parents should be the example.
They should not expect their “teenagers to develop sexual responsibility when adults seems to be rejecting it and when society seem to be fragmenting.
The adolescents need understanding, love and she talk to her parents as strangers. If parents are unable to answer her questions regarding social, moral and sexual attitudes, they have failed as parents and should not blame their child if she appears to have failed them.
The profession or professional qualification of the parents is likely to affect the type of sex education they give to their children. A parent whose profession is in the field of health or medicines is most likely to be well prepared and willing to give sex education to the children. The information given by such parents is likely to be scientific and accurate although it may be highly technical. However, experience has shown that such parents sometimes find it embarrassing and difficult to give their own children the required information on human sexuality.
If adults do not give teenagers the sex information they need, they turn to peers and peers have been found to be the major source of sex information and it is mostly inadequate.
Many parents assume that providing sex information will encourage permissive behaviour on the part of their adolescents but research evidence demonstrates that adolescents who receive sex information from their parents or from someone close or important to them for example, teacher, behave more conservatively and responsibly {Lewis, 1973; Miller et al 1976 and Shebetal (1975} such adolescents are less likely to engage in premarital intercourse at likely early age and when they do, are more likely to use contraceptives.
Loaye {1960} further stresses that a lot of propaganda could be done through audio-visual aids, that means good films on matters concerning sex education from which the students can gain the right attitude of sex be showed. After the film whatever is not clear to the pupils should be explained. He also said that it was lack of opportunity or time for those people to meet and discuss, learn and contribute to such an integral or aspect of education that leads to anti-social behaviour in adolescence.
Laoye {1960} suggested that sex education should be taught in schools and the subject should be taught by those teachers who teach biology, health science, nature study or any allied subjects and also related topics such as reproduction and fertilization should also be taught.
He also said that married teachers will be in the best position to teach the subject effectively without any anti-social behaviour resulting from it. Efforts should be made so that boys and girls could gain more experience about sex such as arranging for them to visit marriage guidance, clinics, hospitals and infant welfare clinics.
Beko {1985} however is of the view that sex education should be taught in school because few parents can handle the plumping aspect of sex education by helping adolescents to understand physiology.
He further says that teenagers relieve sex education from peers, which is no doubt misinformation, and to correct the wrong concepts therefore, there is need for sex education in school. The lack of proper sex education has put many teenagers pregnancies in Nigeria on the increase. Very important about teenagers marriage is that it has a higher rate of broken homes today in the country because they were not prepared for it. There is therefore the need to emphasis sex education since it is through that youth can be helped to develop an understanding of social behaviour.
Also, Bernard {1973} said that sex education should be introduced and presented to the youths as an interesting subject, which they as human beings should feel very importance of sex education to guide the teenagers is sensitive and to integrate the forces of their person so that they can enter into matter and more meaningful partnership.
According to Callista {1978} the teaching of sex education in secondary schools is very necessary in order to guide sexual promiscuity among students. Too much more is needed by adolescent hence he said it should be handled by religious bodies.
He stresses further that parents should also contribute by advising their children on the implication of sexual act to prevent them from forming habit. This measure will instill fear in their children and prevent any pre-school sexual activities.
Oyegbemi {1960} say that man must as early as possible in life be enlightened on his biological origin. The origin must be related to its proper place of priority, sex education is thus ideas, not aimed at debasing morality and neither will it endanger the chastity of girls, but rather it will teach them the true thing about sex between male and female by making the natural reality of sex more clearer to them.
Sex education will not teach the practice of coitus, but the implication of its occurrence between two teenagers of opposite sex and how to avert it or its consequences, which include unwanted pregnancy.
Nwanze (19870) is of the view that there is need for sex education and if youth are sexually educated, they will be able to control the number of children they will give birth to in future and also to control explosion of population.
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