APPENDIX P-- PROPOSAL THAT COURSES IN SEX EDUCATION AND SOCIAL HYGIENE BE INTRODUCED IN ALL TRAINING SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES FOR TEACHERS AND THAT FACILITIES OF STUDY BE PROVIDED THROUGH REFRESHER COURSES TO TEACHERS IN SERVICE AND OTHER SOCIAL WORKERS
Until the recent past the problem of telling youth the facts of life hardly arose, since, soon at the age of maturity they found them- selves married and settled down.
Changing Pattern.-The impact of the West has to a marked degree influenced the sense of values and conduct of life of the urban population. Our habits and customs which prevented free social contacts between men and women are fast disappearing.
There are large concentrations of people in the cities and towns and we have a big floating population of unattached men who drift there in search of work and entertainment. Mechanisation of the country is fast multiplying the slum areas where poverty and ignorance are rampant. All this is steadily increasing maladjustment between the sexes. Modern youth, obsessed with sex desires, critical of the inhibitions which his country's traditions impose on his social conduct and imbued with ideas of free and easy social contacts is likely to develop a false sense of values. The cinema and exciting literature add to the existing difficulties of present-day life. It is therefore felt that the need for disseminating among youth the knowledge of dangers and pitfalls of irregular conduct, as also the art of healthy living, has become imperative.
Consequences of Social Disease.-The incidence of venereal diseases, a barometer of irregular sex relations, indicates that to- day nearly ten to 12 per cent. of people contract social diseases at some time or other in their life, that approximately ten per cent. of the blindness in the country is attributable to gonorrhea and another sizeable percentage to syphilis; that syphilis is a prominent cause of heart disease, and gonorrhea while not fatal, produces blindness, crippling and sterility. Due to poverty, bad social customs and different standards of life between the town and the countryside traffic in women and children is another serious problem. A many- pronged attack is required for the control and eradication of this vice and calls for action at different levels and through many channels.
Present Attitude.-Up till now there has been a prejudice in this country against giving any information to young people on sex life. Parents have avoided treating the matter in a serious and straight- forward manner, teachers have ignored it, and the textbooks and school courses to which the subject should naturally belong have
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carefully avoided any mention of it or have at best touched upon it in a most superficial and indirect manner. Physicians too have given help only when called upon to attend at a time when the disease has already advanced.
Some of the important reasons for this state of affairs are (1) a false sense of prudery on the part of adults (2) ignorance of the importance of sex knowledge for the happiness of family life, and the method of imparting such knowledge (3) the belief that innocence and purity, are achieved through the ignorance of these facts and that such innocence should be preserved as long as possible.
There are some important fallacies in this attitude. Ignorance of the fundamentally important facts of life is a great handicap to the adolescent when he is confronted with difficulties. The choice is not between ignorance and knowledge of the subject but between incomplete and distorted information which may be picked up from companions and sound accurate knowledge given by those who know; between secret, suggestive information given in vulgar ways, and the clear direct information gradually given to suit the needs of the youth, correlated with the normal human values in his own family and in the life about him. Sex impulses being powerful, and .human curiosity being great, the policy of secrecy and silence is a dangerous device to adopt. Young people must, and will, get, some sort of knowledge about sex and it is better that they should get it in the best possible form.
Present conditions.-Some instruction in nature study in the junior classes is given which may give a camouflaged version of the, reproductive system of plants and animals. The children thus deprived of a proper, rationalised, scientific knowledge on the subject seek enlightenment elsewhere. They do not get it in their homes for the subject is still taboo and cannot be openly discussed, the schools do not include it in their curricula, and no suitable literature on the subject for the education of parents, teachers or children is available in the country. The adolescent is therefore thrown back on his own resources and gets his 'enlightenment' in undesirable ways from older and bolder children. He grows up in ignorance of some of the basic requirements which would enable-him to work out a balanced pattern of his life.
Purposes of sex education.-It would be futile to argue the important position which sex occupies in the life of the people. The only argument against instruction in family life which has sometimes been put forth is that like eating and drinking, sex too, is such a primary function of the body that no instruction on the subject is necessary. But it would be redundant to argue the merits of the case, when it has long been established that in civilised society, it is essential to regulate, rationalise and even control the food and drink of the people, and also their sex life so as to promote a healthy human relationship, for it has a great influence on the conduct and welfare of a person. This, therefore, is considered an important issue which must attract the attention of modern society and particularly of the educationists and parents, the moulders of future citizens.
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Fortunately, today the educational world is awakened to this great responsibility which rests on it, and the indifference of parents is also gradually wearing away. But that does not solve the problem, unless the knowledge is imparted in a proper way by proper persons.
Proposals.-It would be better if the parents could do their bit to initiate and enlighten the young into the delicate mysteries of human sex life. But this is not always possible. Parents are often unable or even incapable of doing anything in the matter and it therefore becomes necessary that the teachers should impart the basic information on the subject, to the children, through a well integrated system of school curriculum and carefully correlating it with biology,. botany, physiology and psychology. Hygiene and Physiology should be made compulsory at the pre-Matric and Matric stages when, instruction on sex matters could be given by the teachers dealing with these subjects. No extra expenditure will thus be involved on this subject.
The teachers, therefore, have to perform not only the difficult task of breaking down the barriers of age-old conventions which bar all open mention of sex, but also to convey to their students all true facts. about Sex life which may teach them to lead a happy and wholesome life. They have to give the growing children a true scientific know-ledge of their own physical and mental make-up and to enable, them to use that knowledge to the best interests of their own life and society.
The teachers in the present set-up of the educational system are, however not qualified to tackle this-subject and it is necessary that to achieve that end a regular course of education in sex and family life should be given to them.
Implementation.-To implement the above programme it will be, essential to make proper arrangements for providing the teachers, with adequate knowledge of the social, psychological and physiological structure of human life and society. This incidentally, would also help those teachers under training who have just passed the adolescent age, to understand their own problems and to impart their knowledge to the growing children under their charge.
In order to achieve this object, a course of lectures on these subjects will have to be devised and incorporated in the Teachers' Training courses throughout the country. If such a line of action is accepted, the next move will be to prepare suitable and adequate literature on the subject for which considerable amount of finance would be needed.
Finance.-The course of lectures to teachers under training should be given by qualified doctors who should be paid Rs. 20 per lecture, inclusive of conveyance charges or a lump sum for the full course It is felt that a course of five one-hour lectures should be considered adequate. The State educational authorities will therefore have to make provision of Rs. 100 per course, per group of trainees.
If funds are made available by the Central Ministry, the Associa- tion for Moral and Social Hygiene in India would be willing to under- take the preparation of the basic educational material, such as a set of lectures for the guidance of the lecturers and trainees and other
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demonstration material such as slides, posters, pamphlets, filmstrips. The cost of production of such material will naturally vary with the quantity and quality and could be submitted when required. Some literature on the subject is available in foreign languages. It could be adapted after careful selection and modification to suit the existing social background and requirements. It could then be trans- lated into regional languages for use in the Training schools and colleges. A detailed scheme of work could be prepared if the Central Advisory Board of Education approve this idea. Advice could then be tendered to the State Educational departments to introduce the subject in all Teachers' Tranining colleges in the country.
Cooperation of the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene in India.-The Association has done some work in this direction and would be willing to extend its fullest cooperation in helping to initiate a well coordinated scheme of work which would help to disseminate the essential knowledge of family life to growing children.
Conclusion.-Healthy social relationships are the backbone of organised life, and for a balanced life. it is necessary that faithful and unbiased interpretation of the facts of sex and human reproduction is made know to the youth. It is felt that it should be the duty of every state to provide the necessary means which would help the people to avoid the sorrow and misery of broken homes, social diseases, and to safeguard the life and health of the people and their future generations.
It is hoped that the Central Advisory Board of Education will give due consideration to the. scheme outlined above and enable the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene in India to offer its whole- hearted cooperation in the implementation of the scheme.
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