Teachers from almost every leading English medium school in Kolkata will attend a two-day sex education workshop at the Frank Anthony Public School. The purpose is to train teachers to deal with health and sexuality issues among adolescents. Though sex has ordinarily been a taboo topic in India, there is an increasing need to train teachers to construct a value system around sex education.
Only four years ago in 2009, a parliamentary committee rejected petitions for sex education in Indian schools because it was against the “social and cultural ethos of India.” Sex before marriage was considered “immoral, unethical and unhealthy.” However, with the advance of technology and media, adolescents are now being encouraged to ask questions related to sexuality. As a result, it is necessary to equip the teachers with the ability to provide answers.
The workshop will be led by Umeed, a leading organization of counselors. It will focus on training teachers to create a value system around sexuality and explore topics such as masturbation and same-sex exploration. Topics such as adolescent sexual relations, risks of sex, and consensual sex will also be discussed.
Salony Priya, the director of Umeed, said, “We want to help teachers and even parents become a partner of adolescents who are gradually becoming aware of their sexuality and help them sail into adulthood proud of that sexual awakening.”
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