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THE IMPORTANCE SEX EDUCATION AMONG STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background of the Study

In spite of the good intentions of the Nigerian Government and stakeholders in introducing sex education into the school curriculum as well as the likely risks that adolescents in Nigeria are confronted with in the area of reproductive health, opinions are still divided over the propriety or otherwise of the inclusion of sex education in the school curriculum. Durojaiye (2015) and Essen (2015) were of the opinion that the introduction of sex education in the school curriculum is as a result of parents’ refusal to give their adolescents the sexual information they require to help them function well in the society. Parents on their part believe that adolescents’ moral decadence is an after effect of what they learn from school either through peer influences or from their teachers who are meant to act as role models. They explained that since adolescents spend more time at school than they do at home, the teaching of moral and ethical values should be effectively taught at school rather than teach sex education.

In Nigeria, the evolution of sex education and its introduction in Nigerians’ schools became apparent as there was an urgent need to address adolescents’ reproductive health, sexual rights and sexuality issues (Adepoju, 2015). The increasing need for sex education is also premised on the increasing health risk of adolescents who constitute over 36% of the Nigerian population. By nature, adolescents are susceptible to unplanned sex, unprotected sex, sexual coercion, sexual violence, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV because they are uninformed or poorly informed about the implications of their reproductive behaviour and health risk especially from underage sexual practices and other anti-social practices. The Nigerian government approved the inclusion for comprehensive sex education in Nigeria (Madunagu, 2015).

Esu (2015) and Isangedighi (2015) noted that the teaching of sex education to adolescents has continued to pose as a problem in Nigeria because both literate and illiterate parents share the same cultural and religious beliefs. Both Christian and Islamic religion as well as some ethnic groups in Nigeria forbids the teaching of sexually related matters to adolescents who are not married because they believe that discussing sexuality related matters will make them promiscuous due to the fact that they might want to experiment what is been told to them.

However, Sipalan & Majawat (2019) in their survey indicated that students do not know how to protect themselves from sexual predators, reckless behaviour and sexually transmitted diseases (STD), as they obtain inadequate information about sexuality in public schools, which generally only teach basic facts about reproduction in science courses.

Regarding issue of the parental involvement in deciding what courses should their children be taught and at what level, Adler (2015) affirms that parents have the legitimacy of choosing what subjects to be included in the school curriculum. Spodek, Saracho, & Davis (2015) correctly affirm that “whether or not sex education is included as part of the curriculum may depend on the value orientation of the parents”.

The effectiveness of school-based sex education depends on, among other factors, the effectiveness of teachers who implement it (Cohen, Sears, Byers, & Weaver, 2015). Furthermore, it has been argued that the extent to which teachers implement the school based sexuality education curriculum is largely dependent upon and influenced by their attitudes towards it. Indeed, one of the central characteristics of an effective sexuality education programme is the level at which teachers are willing and show positive attitudes towards teaching it (Kirby, Laris &  Rolleri (2015). 

Oshi, Nakalema & Oshi, 2015; Mathews, Boon, Flisher, & Schaalma, 2016, in their studies recommended that teachers’ attitudes and confidence about teaching sexuality education be assessed prior to engaging them in the delivery of sexuality education programmes.

Parents and guardian should be primary sexuality educators of their children but it has been observed that most parents seem to have neglected their family responsibility of imparting necessary information about sex to their children.

Sex education involves more than conversations. It includes observations of parents’, teachers’ and religious leaders’ interactions with the

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