Ministry to revise guidelines on sex education at schools in Japan

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 05 May 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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The Japanese Education, Science and Technology Ministry on Monday decided to revise sex education in schools by shifting the emphasis onto individual teaching, government sources said.

The move is designed to accommodate the differences in personal problems and to prevent overly explicit classes that stray beyond the teachers' manual and upset parents.

The ministry will soon conduct a nationwide survey on sex education with the aim of revising the class examples.

Until recently the ministry's policy was, "To teach children healthy gender concepts for them to learn to act desirably."

To this end, its basic guideline encouraged sex education to be at appropriate level to children's growth and level of comprehension.

It also emphasized educational quality and asked that lessons be acceptable to parents and the local community.

Specifically, sex education classes are to teach third- and fourth-grade primary students about menstruation and ejaculation, middle school students about conception and pregnancy, and high school students about contraception.

But recently parents have complained to primary schools about the use of provocative materials in classes, such as illustrations of sexual intercourse.

The ministry determined that uniform classes for all children led to the confusion and decided to promote individual teaching within the curriculum.

by Yomiuri Shimbun
Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20040505wo31.htm

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