Several parents in this century have failed to speak to their children about sex. This has in turn caused troubles especially with minors having unprotected intercourse, ending up pregnant or infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
The Ministry of Education and Sports recently moved to approve Sexual Education framework of teaching primary school pupils dating and courtship, however, most parents think this is a mistake and government needs to stay in its lane.
Now, the framework expected to be unveiled by the Ministry this month, has clustered learners into five groups targeting pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. It's in upper primary cluster targeting learners aged 10 to 12 years that dating and courtship topics will be introduced.
The cluster targets learners from primary five to primary seven, while areas to be covered in the upper primary cluster under dating and courtship include; understanding that attraction to the opposite sex is natural; understanding that males and females are attracted by different things, understanding what dating relationships are and why they are not good for pre-teens, the influence of family and religion on the issue of dating, and how to resist the pressures that drive pre-teens into dating relationships.
A section of parents from Kigezi, will not take this. They claim government wants to spoil their children.
One of the concerned parents is Celestine Mucunguzi, a resident of Nyakabande Sub County in Kisoro district, who says that this move is not helpful to pupils at all. He argues that children below the age of 18 don't need to be educated about sex.
Annet Muhwezi, a resident of Nyakijumba in Kyanamira Sub County in Kabale district says that the move will increase sexual immorality among children. She says that the Ministry of Education should rather concentrate on improving sports to divert learners from sex-related issues.
Conrad Kimonge, another parent from Lower Bugongi in Northern Division, Kabale Municipality, says that the framework shows the government has run shot of ideas. He says that sex education should be left to parents and church leaders to teach the children.
“I am so disappointed with the government on this issue which is being brought. It’s unfortunate that they are hijacking the duties of churches and parents, these are things which parents are supposed to be teaching children like how to handle themselves and take control of their lives but if you see that government is coming in to teach dating, it means they don’t have anything to offer to the country, that why they are bringing these useless issues,” he argued.
Donatus Eguma Turinawe, a resident of Rushaki cell in Kabale municipality says that the topic of reproduction, taught in Basic Science, is enough to teach children how their bodies change sexually. He says that if sex education is introduced it may force children to practice what they will have been taught, which may increase what he called sexual wickedness.
