Sex education in Indian classrooms gains prominence, but has seen sporadic success so far

Aditya Birla Integrated School in Mumbai, which teaches children with learning disabilities, has included sex education in their mental health module. The school felt that it was important to teach the children this subject as they are at a greater risk of sexual abuse. Teachers at this school are trained and sensitised with the right vocabulary and terminology associated with the subject.

The programme has moulded the school into a refuge for a 14-year-old child, who is struggling with their gender identity. "It's a beautiful journey because she is completely accepted now within our school and completely confident. The kids have been amazing. It's beautiful to see kids accepting and acknowledging these aspects without any bullying, without any negative comments, without putting any child down," the school's medical director Dr Zirak Marker said.

At Chennai's Shree Niketan School, sex education is mandatory for students. The school felt it had to offer more than the CBSE-recommended Adolescent Education Programme, given rising instances and reports on child abuse across the country. "We start with kindergarten. We start with good touch and bad touch classes. We have puppet shows for children for that age group so that they can comprehend what we are trying to say and it goes right up to grade 12. We have age-appropriate content for each of the grades and our in-house counsellor who executes these classes," Vishnucharan Paneerselvam, Correspondent, Shree Niketan Group of Schools, said.

A Montessori school in Hyderabad has also added a robust curriculum on sex education this year. However, it had to be careful to ensure the subjects covered were age-appropriate. Chitra Raghunathan, the founder of Anthea Montessori, said that this was because some families asked the school if it would give their children unnecessary ideas.

"We explained to them how it's done. Our curriculum starts from body anatomy and goes all the way up to transgender, gender identity, gender fluidity and rape and abuse, etc. Obviously, we are not going to cover that for younger children," she added.

Students from the schools in Hyderabad and Chennai have responded well to the classes. Shraya R from Shree Niketan School said, "If we face any troubles we can approach them freely and we have this comfort in mind that they won't judge us or push us aside saying that this is not for you."

Meanwhile, Veeha from Anthea Montessori said, "I was quite comfortable with the body talk, except for one part, which was when they were talking about the female organs, which was a bit weird. In the next body talk session, I felt better."

Schools with such a curriculum are a minority. There have been instances of pushback from both parents and communities. However, many educators believe that this is a crucial step, as it teaches children critical life skills like body confidence and gender equity. It also creates awareness around the prevention of violence, communication, consent and respect.