By P.K.Balachandran
Colombo, January 26 – Earlier this month, sex education in schools became a subject of serious concern in Sri Lanka following the discovery of a link to an adult website in the course module prescribed for Grade 6 English students.
The controversy was brought to rest only when the Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Harini Amarasuriya, clarified that there was no connection between the ongoing educational reforms and imparting knowledge about homosexuality.
In Sri Lanka, as elsewhere, sex education at the school level is opposed by religious and cultural groups. F.E. Dias, president of “Cultura Vitae” is quoted by the Catholic News Agency as saying that sex education in schools “corrupts children early in life and would erode moral foundations and normalise values-free promiscuity.”
According to the British Journal of Religious Education, religious figures fear that sex education “undermines their authority.”
The controversial module for Grade 6 was withdrawn promptly, and a multi-pronged inquiry was instituted. But the Prime Minister emphasised that discussions were underway to introduce an age-appropriate sex education program for children, with the objective of reducing sexual abuse.
She added that the Health Ministry, the Family Health Bureau, and the National Child Protection Authority had requested the Education Ministry to include sex education in the school curriculum. The National Child Protection Authority had told the government that child sex abuse is a serious issue in Sri Lanka and that it is essential to educate children on protecting their bodies.
Teenage Pregnancy
The UNFPA defines a teenage pregnancy as one occurring in girls aged 10 to 19 years. Annually, an estimated 21 million pregnancies occur among adolescents aged 15 to 19, across the world, with around 50% being unintended. And the numbers are increasing.
There is an increase in teenage pregnancy in Sri Lanka too. The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs said that teenage pregnancies numbered 15,000 in 2024. The UNFPA said in 2023 that anecdotal evidence suggested an increase in teenage pregnancies that were not fully captured by official data.
The UNFPA report pointed out that preventing adolescent pregnancies would be crucial for lowering maternal mortality, promoting gender equality, and enhancing adolescent well-being.
Socio-Economic Aspects
The UNFPA report also pointed out that Sri Lankan policymakers should focus on preventing and addressing the socio-economic impacts associated with teenage pregnancies.
Despite progress in reducing teenage pregnancy rates in Sri Lanka, certain districts continue to experience high rates due to broader socio-economic, educational, and cultural factors. The key contributors to this situation are – low education levels, early school dropping out, gaps in Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), limited access to contraception, early romantic relationships, health inequalities, maternal migration to distant lands, and poor parental supervision.
The key contributors to this situation are – low education levels, early school dropping out, gaps in Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in schools, limited access to contraception, early romantic relationships, health inequalities, maternal migration to foreign countries and poor parental supervision.
These factors underscore the need for comprehensive interventions targeting both individual behaviours and structural issues to reduce teenage pregnancies effectively, UNFPA says.
Risks in Teenage Pregnancy
Teenage pregnancies carry significant health risks for both the mother and child. These include maternal anaemia, hypertensive disorders, poor fetal growth and low birth weight. Giving birth under the age of 20 more than strains the female’s underdeveloped body.
According to the World Health Organisation, mothers aged 10 to 19 years are at higher risk of eclampsia (hypertensive disorders in pregnancy characterised by the sudden onset of seizures), puerperal endometritis (a postpartum infection), and systemic diseases than those in their 20s.
It’s as harmful for the child as it is for the mother. The baby may be underweight, premature, or diagnosed with severe neonatal conditions like sepsis or respiratory distress. It is bound to take a toll on their mental health.
Young people deserve accurate and complete sex education, also in order to avoid Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and mitigate their effects.
Internet and Social Media
Whether sex is discussed in classrooms or not, everything is on the internet nowadays. Being so accessible, it’s pretty much a requirement to have proper sex education in schools. Children are smarter than one would give them credit for.
Ashreena Kaur and Sarah Jamil say in their paper on Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE), that children start to discover the sensations of their bodies from as young as 18 months old through kisses and cuddles, and pick up the markers of sexuality through observation.
The world-wide Youth Wellbeing Project reported that in 2017, the average young person viewed porn for the first time at age 13. By 2019, a third of students under age eight had tried to access porn. Therefore, it is wise to start sex education in schools, Kaur and Jamil recommend.
Sex Education in Sri Lanka
A study, entitled “An analysis of Knowledge and Attitudes of School Children’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Education’” conducted by Prof. K. Karunathilake of Keleniya University, makes recommendations based on his survey of students, teachers, principals and parents.
Dr. Karunathilake found that 78% approved of the teaching of sexual and reproductive health in schools. But only one third considered current teaching as adequate for a satisfactory knowledge about the physical changes in adolescence, pregnancy and the reproductive system.
The level of knowledge was poor. For example, over 2/3 of the students believed that immunization could prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections .
Teachers preferred external resource persons to impart Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), although students preferred teachers to do so. Most parents considered themselves inadequate to provide sexuality related information to their children. Therefore, parents endorsed the provision of formal school-based CSE, mostly as a protective measure that would safeguard children from sexuality information accessed through the internet.
The tendency of adolescents to seek information from their peers was attributed to inadequacies in teaching due to the lack of well-trained teachers. Parents identified the Health Science Teacher as the most suitable conveyor of sexual and reproductive health information for school students.
Principals felt that unless the Ministry of Education provided factual knowledge through the school system, students were likely to satisfy their curiosity by accessing websites with unsuitable content using mobile phones and computers.
But most felt that CSE should be taught from 12 years of age, as it was essential that by age 15, adolescents should be knowledgeable and able to “protect their health”.
Over 50% of respondents in the National Youth Health Survey 2012 identified the need to reorient the government health service delivery system to provide youth specialized health services. This is seen in the increasing attendance at the ‘Yovun Piyasa’ centres in government hospitals, Dr.Karunathilake notes.
A World-wide Inadequacy
Sexual education is inadequate all over the world. In the Asia-Pacific region, less than a third of students surveyed felt that sex education was taught well in their schools. In the US, more than 50% of adolescents had not received sex education before their first intercourse.
In 85% of the 155 countries surveyed, policies or laws relating to sexuality education exist. More countries report policies to mandate delivery at the secondary education level than at the primary level.
However, the existence of policy and legal frameworks does not always equate to comprehensive content or strong implementation.
Surveys show that students frequently feel that they received information too late and would have preferred sexuality education to have started earlier in their schooling.
When to Start?
Figuring out the best time to start sex education in schools has been a debate for many years.
Some parents express concern that early sex education may expose children to complex topics prematurely, potentially leading to confusion or anxiety. However, many experts advocate initiating sex education at a young age, emphasising its value in safeguarding children.
It was found that comprehensive sex education beginning in kindergarten can prevent child sex abuse. Sex education equips children with essential knowledge about their bodies and relationships.
By law, all primary schools in the Netherlands must provide sex education. Keeping it real has led to the Netherlands having one of the lowest rates of teen pregnancy in the world. In Sweden sex education starts at grade five, where they discuss topics like puberty, body development, and even masturbation. In China, comprehensive sexuality education in schools became mandatory in 2020, even at the kindergarten stage, to provide age-appropriate sex education to minors.
However, while most countries report that they have some curricula in place, a more detailed analysis suggests that curricula often lack the breadth of topics needed to make sexuality education effective and relevant
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