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| 'Dangerous proposal': campaigners in Kenya condemn sex education plan | 'Dangerous proposal': campaigners in Kenya condemn sex education plan |
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| Plans by the Kenyan government to expand coverage of sex education in primary schools have been criticised for encouraging promiscuity among young people. | Plans by the Kenyan government to expand coverage of sex education in primary schools have been criticised for encouraging promiscuity among young people. |
| The ministry of education wants guidance on sex, which is currently incorporated into subjects such as civil education, to become a distinct topic in the country’s new curriculum. | The ministry of education wants guidance on sex, which is currently incorporated into subjects such as civil education, to become a distinct topic in the country’s new curriculum. |
| But campaign group CitizenGo has petitioned the ministry, urging it not to implement what it describes as a “dangerous proposal”. | But campaign group CitizenGo has petitioned the ministry, urging it not to implement what it describes as a “dangerous proposal”. |
| Ann Kioko, campaigns manager for CitizenGo, said: “It is teaching children from a very young age that they are sexual and they can experiment with homosexuality, and that abortion is their right.” | Ann Kioko, campaigns manager for CitizenGo, said: “It is teaching children from a very young age that they are sexual and they can experiment with homosexuality, and that abortion is their right.” |
| Kioko added that the organisation is not opposed to sex education based on the principle of informing children about the changes their bodies undergo as they get older. | Kioko added that the organisation is not opposed to sex education based on the principle of informing children about the changes their bodies undergo as they get older. |
| David Oginde, presiding bishop of Christ is the Answer Ministries, one of Kenya’s largest and most influential Pentecostal churches, wrote in a comment piece for a Kenyan newspaper: “Many parents and family organisations are in full support of wholesome sex education. Instead, concern is that, unlike traditional sex education, CSE [comprehensive sexuality education] is highly explicit. With an almost obsessive focus on children obtaining sexual pleasure, CSE promotes promiscuity and high-risk sexual behaviours as healthy and normal.” | David Oginde, presiding bishop of Christ is the Answer Ministries, one of Kenya’s largest and most influential Pentecostal churches, wrote in a comment piece for a Kenyan newspaper: “Many parents and family organisations are in full support of wholesome sex education. Instead, concern is that, unlike traditional sex education, CSE [comprehensive sexuality education] is highly explicit. With an almost obsessive focus on children obtaining sexual pleasure, CSE promotes promiscuity and high-risk sexual behaviours as healthy and normal.” |
| But Kennedy Buhere, a spokesperson from the ministry of education, said sex education was already firmly embedded in the existing primary school curriculum. | But Kennedy Buhere, a spokesperson from the ministry of education, said sex education was already firmly embedded in the existing primary school curriculum. |
| “It is not a standalone subject, and they [teachers] do not pour everything on the children,” said Buhere. “The knowledge is calibrated to fit the age of the children.” | “It is not a standalone subject, and they [teachers] do not pour everything on the children,” said Buhere. “The knowledge is calibrated to fit the age of the children.” |
| He added that content about sexuality in the new curriculum had taken into consideration the religious and cultural values of the country as well as the age of the children targeted. | He added that content about sexuality in the new curriculum had taken into consideration the religious and cultural values of the country as well as the age of the children targeted. |
| According to the 2014 Kenya demographic and health survey, 18% of teenagers in Kenya were already mothers or were pregnant. | According to the 2014 Kenya demographic and health survey, 18% of teenagers in Kenya were already mothers or were pregnant. |
| More than 370,000 10- to 19-year-olds became pregnant in Kenya between July 2016 and June 2017, according to the UN population fund – almost 29,000 of whom were under 14. Some children in Kenya start having sex as young as eight. | More than 370,000 10- to 19-year-olds became pregnant in Kenya between July 2016 and June 2017, according to the UN population fund – almost 29,000 of whom were under 14. Some children in Kenya start having sex as young as eight. |
| A 2017 survey by the African Population and Health Research Centre showed that while 75% of schools in Kenya cover all sex education topics under the existing curriculum, only 2% of students said they felt they had learned about all of the topics. The centre found that classes focused more on anatomy and HIV prevention. | A 2017 survey by the African Population and Health Research Centre showed that while 75% of schools in Kenya cover all sex education topics under the existing curriculum, only 2% of students said they felt they had learned about all of the topics. The centre found that classes focused more on anatomy and HIV prevention. |
| Data from the country’s National Aids Control Council found that 43% of the 61,000 new HIV infections recorded in 2016 were among young people aged between 10 and 19. | Data from the country’s National Aids Control Council found that 43% of the 61,000 new HIV infections recorded in 2016 were among young people aged between 10 and 19. |
| Patrick Oyaro, a doctor and former director of Family Aids Care and Education, a health ministry organisation that offered medical and counselling services to HIV patients in Kenya, said education was critical for schoolgirls. | Patrick Oyaro, a doctor and former director of Family Aids Care and Education, a health ministry organisation that offered medical and counselling services to HIV patients in Kenya, said education was critical for schoolgirls. |
| “If the information is packaged well … it can help protect them, and make choices,” said Oyaro. | “If the information is packaged well … it can help protect them, and make choices,” said Oyaro. |
| Mary Akelo, 17, from Nairobi, had to leave school and give up her dreams of becoming a nurse when she became pregnant. | Mary Akelo, 17, from Nairobi, had to leave school and give up her dreams of becoming a nurse when she became pregnant. |
| “I leave my child at the day care to look for casual jobs every day, and sometimes I do not even have the 50 shillings [34p] to pay the caregiver,” she said. | “I leave my child at the day care to look for casual jobs every day, and sometimes I do not even have the 50 shillings [34p] to pay the caregiver,” she said. |