The government is moving towards making sex education compulsory in the country’s schools. Rights of Adolescents, The Supreme Court has already been informed about this move to increase security and awareness. The government said a 26-member national expert committee has already submitted its detailed report. The implementation of these recommendations will now start only after the Supreme Court gives the final order‘b.
A case is currently pending in the Supreme Court. A bench of Justice BV Nagaratna and Justice R Mahadevan heard the case. The court itself has started hearing on the application of the POKCHO Act, the right to personal privacy of minors and the Child Protection Act. The court’s main concern is that consensual relationships between 15- to 18-year-olds have been outright criminalized in many cases. The court expressed concern that the Pokcho Act was enacted to protect children from sexual harassment, but in practice it has been applied to consensual relationships as well.
During the hearing, the court asked the central government to submit its views on the feasibility of introducing sex education in schools. According to the instructions, a 26-member National Expert Committee was formed under the leadership of the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The committee consists of experts from Tata Institute of Sociology, Medical-Psychologists and representatives of various Union Ministries. Adolescent sexuality while protecting their rights, relationship, The committee was tasked with developing a realistic plan to create proper awareness on security and legal issues. That report has now been submitted to the court.
According to an important recommendation of the expert committee, NCERT will develop a new curriculum in line with the National Education Policy. Accordingly, it is proposed to start age-appropriate sex education from the primary level. According to this proposal, small L‘At the right age children are taught about different body parts and touch‘b. The importance of consent as we age, personal range, Rules of Pokcho Law, It is also recommended that subjects such as physical and mental changes during adolescence and responsible decision-making be included in the curriculum.
The committee also said that every school should have specially trained teachers. They take mandatory mindfulness classes for 15 to 20 minutes at least two days a week‘b. Organizing awareness programs for parents and teachers is also suggested, So about sex education the society Or to remove shyness and misconceptions in the society.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court made another important observation that the physical and mental changes of teenagers happen very rapidly by the age of 15 and at this age, every relationship based on mutual consent should not be treated as a criminal offence. Any adolescent between the ages of 16 and 18 who is in a consensual relationship or has left homeC.S c‘Lt, Sometimes the family tries to protect its social status‘They filed a case against Rajan under Poccho Act. This results in minors going to jail and it affects their education, It takes a long time to affect your career and future. Justice Nagaratna made it clear that ensuring the safety of children is equally important, Therefore, it is not appropriate to impose unduly harsh legal penalties on minors. The Supreme Court will now examine the expert committee’s recommendations and issue necessary directions to the Center before the final decision on the country’s schools comes into effect.‘b.