echarcha
March 27th, 2001, 10:42 AM
Surat youth need sex education: Study
SURAT: Lack of sex education has left majority of the students in the age group of 16-18 years in the city with little knowledge about various aspects of human reproduction, making them vulnerable to unhealthy sexual attitude.
A study conducted recently among students of class 11 and 12 in secondary schools by the city-based General Physicians' Association found that most of the students were ignorant about the minimum required days for conception, knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and concept of safe sex and contraception.
Over 90 per cent of boys and girls knew about AIDS but were unable to differentiate between other STDs and various fertility-related disorders, according to Dr Hitendra Thakore. Over 67 per cent of boys and 89 per cent of girls had no knowledge or idea about these sexual disorders including prevention of STDs.
Use of condoms appeared to be the most known fact among them, followed by monogamy as means to avoid unsafe sexual practice, Thakore said. However, only half of the boys and one-third of the girls under study showed their awareness about these safe sex methods.
Avoidance of extra marital relations was cited by only one-fourth of the students as a means to safe sexual practice and more emphasis was laid on abstinence from sex or celibacy, the study revealed.
The training followed by evaluation of perceived awareness about sex education among the students consisted of lectures on various aspects in small batches of 50 students and that too in the regional language.
The lectures were on anatomy and physiology of reproductive systems, various STDs and their prevention, prevalent myths about sex and sexual behaviour, conception and contraception, Thakore elaborated.
Though AIDS was not covered separately in the training, it was emphasised adequately while discussing various STDs by a team of trainers comprising one psychiatrist, one gynaecologist and a general physician.
Significantly, the study revealed that preferred sources of sex education among both boys and girls were doctors and health workers, followed by school teachers. Parents were preferred by only six per cent of boys and three per cent of girls while family relatives were definitely not a preferred choice among them, contrary to general belief.
However, a change in the perception towards sex was observed after the training both in boys and girls, emphasising the need for such trainings for the youth.
Thakore informed that more than two-third of boys and nearly 10 per cent of girls found the duration of the training inadequate while most of the students advocated that the preferred average age for training in sex education should be around 15 years for both the sexes.
It may be mentioned that while efforts to impart sex education for adolescent in developed countries is abound, such efforts are very few in India, a country with increasing number of HIV/AIDS cases.
In the mid-1990's, the Delhi-based National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) attempted a country-wide survey for the need of sex education among school students but nothing concrete have taken shape so far, opined a city-based school teacher.
More at: http://www.timesofindia.com/today/27mahm1.htm
SURAT: Lack of sex education has left majority of the students in the age group of 16-18 years in the city with little knowledge about various aspects of human reproduction, making them vulnerable to unhealthy sexual attitude.
A study conducted recently among students of class 11 and 12 in secondary schools by the city-based General Physicians' Association found that most of the students were ignorant about the minimum required days for conception, knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and concept of safe sex and contraception.
Over 90 per cent of boys and girls knew about AIDS but were unable to differentiate between other STDs and various fertility-related disorders, according to Dr Hitendra Thakore. Over 67 per cent of boys and 89 per cent of girls had no knowledge or idea about these sexual disorders including prevention of STDs.
Use of condoms appeared to be the most known fact among them, followed by monogamy as means to avoid unsafe sexual practice, Thakore said. However, only half of the boys and one-third of the girls under study showed their awareness about these safe sex methods.
Avoidance of extra marital relations was cited by only one-fourth of the students as a means to safe sexual practice and more emphasis was laid on abstinence from sex or celibacy, the study revealed.
The training followed by evaluation of perceived awareness about sex education among the students consisted of lectures on various aspects in small batches of 50 students and that too in the regional language.
The lectures were on anatomy and physiology of reproductive systems, various STDs and their prevention, prevalent myths about sex and sexual behaviour, conception and contraception, Thakore elaborated.
Though AIDS was not covered separately in the training, it was emphasised adequately while discussing various STDs by a team of trainers comprising one psychiatrist, one gynaecologist and a general physician.
Significantly, the study revealed that preferred sources of sex education among both boys and girls were doctors and health workers, followed by school teachers. Parents were preferred by only six per cent of boys and three per cent of girls while family relatives were definitely not a preferred choice among them, contrary to general belief.
However, a change in the perception towards sex was observed after the training both in boys and girls, emphasising the need for such trainings for the youth.
Thakore informed that more than two-third of boys and nearly 10 per cent of girls found the duration of the training inadequate while most of the students advocated that the preferred average age for training in sex education should be around 15 years for both the sexes.
It may be mentioned that while efforts to impart sex education for adolescent in developed countries is abound, such efforts are very few in India, a country with increasing number of HIV/AIDS cases.
In the mid-1990's, the Delhi-based National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) attempted a country-wide survey for the need of sex education among school students but nothing concrete have taken shape so far, opined a city-based school teacher.
More at: http://www.timesofindia.com/today/27mahm1.htm