The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) have termed grade 7 health education as ‘explicit content’. They alleged that the books dropped teaching abstinence in schools and introduced family planning instead.
The KCCB’s Commission of Education and Religious Education called out textbooks by two publishers claiming that they aim to ‘sexualise the learning environment.’
“We note that the content not only sexualises the learning environment for learners but also be the biggest contributor to the high pregnancy rates and abortions,” said Bishop Paul Kariuki.
They pointed out the books written by the Kenya Literature Bureau and those of Oxford University Press. According to a statement released by KCCB, the two publishers were part of a well-organised scheme to encourage the use of contraception among children.
“The books have created room for the introduction of family planning and encouragement of the use of contraception to very young learners,” he added.
In addition to that, KCCB pointed out that if left unchecked, then the promotion of family planning may lead to an increased number of abortions among teenagers.
Furthermore, they pointed out that the content within the textbooks fails to teach and emphasize abstinence. Which according to KCCB, should be standard for all minors.
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The Purpose of the New Health Education
The move to introduce family planning information in textbooks while studying health education comes after the surge in teenage pregnancies in 2020. It aims at helping students avoid getting pregnant while studying.
Some argue that teaching abstinence allows the students to ingrain it in their minds and abstain from any sexual acts which will keep them from getting pregnant. Consequently, the rate of teenage pregnancies would go down.
Alternatively, others argue that they can’t be taught abstinence but still be exposed to explicit content on other media platforms. They, therefore, agree with the policy of teaching them family planning methods which better prepare them whenever they are faced with such advances.
The KCCB point out that abstinence is a better ground to deal with teenage pregnancies and still promotes certain moral values. They challenged the Ministry of Education to seek parents’ consent prior to introducing sensitive content to learners in schools.
Read Also: Abstinence Is Not enough to curb teen Pregnancy
