By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
An all women Non-Governmental Group, NGO, the Nigerian Feminists Forum, NFF, has condemned the recent directive by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu calling for expungement of any sexual education content in the Nigerian education curriculum.
The group has also called the Minister of Education to withdraw the directive to remove sex education content from the nation’s school curricula.
In a press release made available by the NFF, the group condemned totally the Education Minister’s directive, with a strong reason that Sex Education in schools is public health and the rights of young people to know.
“The NFF believes that the directive is ill-advised and stems from a place of ignorance on the value of sex education as a right and vital aspect of health education and holistic wellbeing of school-aged young Nigerians.”
Adamu had requested that the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC, review the basic education curriculum and to remove any sexual education content being taught in Nigerian schools.
The minister had said that sex education should not be taught in Nigerian schools but rather taught “through other means known to man”, including instinct, socialization and religious and cultural instructions.
According to the feminists group, sex education is imperative to protect young people from the harmful effects of deviant sexual behaviors, adding that inclusion of it in school curricula will play an important role in preparing the young generation for a safe, productive, fulfilling life in a world where HIV/ AIDS, Sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, illegal abortion, gender-based violence and related issues still constitute serious risks.
NFF, therefore, said,” The Nigerian government cannot afford to neglect the right to health and holistic well-being of millions of school-aged Nigerians, the repercussions of such carelessness will negatively impact all aspects of the Nigerian society.”
As a country grappling with severely weak health and social systems and services, the government must be proactive in providing access to information that protects its youth population and discard misleading information about the existing sex education curricula in
the country, the group opined.
Meanwhile, the NFF has urged the minister to ensure that the sex education curricula in the country is in line with the International
technical guidance on sexuality education.
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