Sexual Education in Mauritius Schools

Sexuality Education already exists in our schools. The learning competencies for sex education are taught under the subject “Health and Physical Education”. Its curriculum addresses a range of health problems and issues-Substance Abuse Prevention, HIV/AIDS and especially Sexual Health Education. These competencies enable the growing child to both understand his physical and physiological changes and also act in a responsible manner by making the right choices.

At the secondary level, sex education is integrated across the curriculum, more particularly in subjects like Health & Physical Education, Integrated Science and Biology.  Thus, Sexual and Reproductive Health is dealt with in the Biology syllabus of Form III which is compulsory for all children in secondary schools and further expanded in Forms V and VI.

However, the Ministry of Education wishes a more structured teaching in Upper Primary and Lower Secondary (STDs IV, V and VI and Forms I, II and III) though no exams are scheduled in SE. 

Standardisation of materials

Currently a lot of diverse materials are being used by different resource persons for the sensitisation of young persons. This disparity exists in terms of approach and content, with gap areas and duplication in some cases. The Ministry has decided that there should be a standardisation of materials before these go to schools. UNESCO’s ‘International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education (SE)(2009)’would be used as a base document, since it allows for the contextualisation of materials. Other related materials can be also used and should be carried out level–wise.

Different approaches in Primary and Secondary

The Ministry believes it would be proper for SE to be cross-curricular at the primary level whereby the Mauritius Institute of Education would need to consider this element when revisiting the National Curriculum Framework. For the Secondary, SE will exist as a stand-alone subject on the time table, with well-structured programs and a standardisation of teaching materials.

Training

Currently, resource persons from the Mauritius Family Planning and Welfare Association (MFPWA) and the Ministry of Health are involved in the provision of information pertaining to Sexuality Education. The Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) has the task to provide pedagogical orientation to trainers and conduct training workshops at the end of this year for dedicated educators. A Training of Trainers program will also have to be mounted.

 “Specific educators will be recruited to teach Sexuality Education in Lower Primary while Science subject educators, namely Biology, will be trained to exclusively address the subject area. The teaching of Sexuality Education will thus be done in collaboration with the Science Educators, the new Sexuality Education Educators and the Resource Persons from Action Familiale and Mauritius Family Planning Association.

National Advisory Committee

Given the sensitive nature of the subject (as perceived in some quarters), the Ministry believes it would be proper to set up a National Advisory Committee that would have a wide membership to monitor the implementation of the Program in a holistic manner.

Sensitisation Campaign

A media-based campaign/program will also be launched for parental sensitisation. On the other hand, PTA sensitisation is to be embarked on and, through them, parents and the school community would be targeted.

Dr Ravhee Bholah: “Ethical implications must be taken into consideration”

Some year back, the Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE) has worked together with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources and developed a guideline on Sexuality Education for primary and secondary school levels. This document was used to mainstream SE in the national curriculum frameworks. Moreover, the MIE conducted a study on Reproductive Health, Sexuality and Sexually Transmitted Infection Education in 2009 which led to the development of teachers’ manuals for primary and secondary school educators. This was followed by capacity building sessions on SE for school managers (head masters/ rectors), primary and secondary school educators.

According to Dr Ravhee Bholah, SE is important in schools. “Students must have proper understanding of their own bodies. This is necessary for diverse reasons: an increase incidence of sexually transmitted infection (HIV/AIDS), an increase in teenage pregnancy, increased prevalence of other diseases (cervical cancer and breast cancer). It is also important for the youth to know how to deal with unintended pregnancy and be aware of the different types and use of contraceptives,” explains Dr Bholah.

 “We have already been addressing SE using appropriate pedagogical approaches in various teacher training programmes at the MIE.  But we believe that there should be special or stand-alone modules on this area so that a more comprehensive SE can be provided.

Teachers must feel confident and be competent on SE if they really want to address the issue. They must also have relevant teaching and learning resources and have full support of the school management to plan and implement their lessons and the green light from the Ministry and parents,” he added. Dr Bholah points out that these lessons must be student-centred and involve life-skills approach, i.e engage learners in the activity, involve in critical thinking and develop appropriate life skills to cope with any sexuality issues. “It should be noted that all ethical implications must also be taken in consideration while addressing such a sensitive area/theme.”