Uganda’s Ministry of Education wants to introduce Sex Education and Homosexuality in our education curriculum. We have no problem with this amazing addition to their academic planning. Education is both evolutionary and revolutionary.
In developed countries, schools started teaching sex education not long ago. But before this type of education was introduced in their schools, there was a lot of consultation and debate on how it shall be approached.
This is how things are done in these developed countries. Things like education systems are never done unilaterally by government or its departments. The planners think out a new policy or idea. They use the media to introduce it to the public and if the public give their support, the new idea is introduced.
The above is done because governments in those countries plan for the people, but most importantly the planners always remember that implementation takes use of taxpayers’ money hence the need for consultation and awareness. If the idea does not pass the public approval test, in most cases it is shelved for another day.
In Republics like ours, things are done differently. Sometimes some ideas are born in Clubs and some other joints. How do we know? We know because often times some of the ideas come into the limelight smelling like booze!
Now, please don’t get us wrong, we are not against sex education to our children. After all we believe the educators have the intention of saving our children lives through this sex education and not to teach them how to play sex.
Neither do we think that Religious leaders are against sex education parse. All they are saying is that the Ministry of Education should first, educate the public what the teachers would be teaching in this sex thing.
We don’t think this is asking too much. By the way, what makes sex education more urgently important than computerizing our children schools? Is it because sex education is cheaper and easier to teach than IT?
Whatever the reason, and whatever has gone into planning this subject, The President of the Republic hasn’t been overly impressed in the past hence the abandonment of the no-change policy in the ministry in his recent re-organisation.
We believe the President expects teachers to encourage the next generation of teachers to spend most of the class time developing the individual intellectual potential of each student and less time on sex education.
Recent research shows that Uganda is lagging behind in the region, in the teaching of Science and Technology. We of course know we were trailing Rwanda and Kenya in these crucial subjects. What we didn’t know was that Magufuli’s country was fast and furiously overtaking us, and in a number of fields!
We strongly believe that the government and its ministry of education owe our less privileged and marginalised communities the education that can empower them to believe that ‘education is a great equaliser’as they dream of reaching for the skies through education.
On the other hand, many educationists strongly believe that the sky is not the limit but only the beginning.
How can they turn round and say that the above notwithstanding, we need to start our education struggle with sex education after the president has ordered the ministers to make, through the newly created Ministry of Innovation, building of computers and other electronics priority.
That sex education is important is not doubtable. However, considering the state of national education, and our education budget, we like the president, don’t think sex education is a priority subject.
