The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) Commission for Education and Religious Education (CERE) Department has raised concern over the introduction of sex education in Junior Secondary School (JSS) and want the reproductive strand removed.
The Bishops pointed out that explicit sex education content in Grade 7 Health Education textbooks by two top publishers advocates for the use of family planning methods instead of teaching the young learners about abstinence violates the Ministry of Education (MoE) policy against exposure of explicit content to children.
Speaking during the 8th edition of the Catholic Schools’ Principals Association Kenya (CaSPA-K) Conference held at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), CERE Chairperson Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru said that sex education not only sexualizes the learning environment for minors but will also be the major contributor to high rates of teenage pregnancies and abortion.
“The Grade 7 Learner’s book titled “Top Scholar Health Education” by the Kenya Literature Bureau under Strand 7 on Human Reproductive Health, sub- strand 7.2 on Reproductive Health on page 127; and Grade 7 Teacher’s Guide titled “Health Education in Action” by Oxford University Press under Strand 7 on Human Reproductive Health, sub-strand 7.2 on Reproductive Health on page 153 have created room for introduction of family planning and encouragement of the use of contraceptives to very young learners,” he said.
Bishop Mark Kadima noted that introduction of Comprehensive Sex Education defies the narrative sold to Kenyans that the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) is based on values and all education given is appropriate.
KCCB challenged the MoE to seek parents’ consent prior to introducing sensitive content such as reproductive health to learners.
The 3- day Conference was themed; ‘Catholic Schools: Hubs of Moral Values and Faith Formation for the Whole School Community in Respect for Human Dignity.’
By Obegi Malack
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