Sex education kit has no author

The Delhi government may end up taking the blame for the controversy over sex education and the much-criticised education material sent to states. The reason: The Ministry of Human Resources Development has refused to take any responsibility for the material, which was in part prepared by the Delhi government.

The ministry itself is said to be in a dilemma over continuing its adolescent education programme, which was to start this year in CBSE and state and central government schools in classes IX and XI.

The ministry's rethink is being attributed to the ban on sex education in at least six states and a note sent by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to HRD Minister Arjun Singh asking him to take a relook at the programme.

Gandhi was prompted to write after a meeting with Jain monk Ratnasundar Suri, who has been mobilising opinion within the political parties against sex education.

Gandhi sent the letter on April 4. Singh's response at the subsequent state education ministers' conference made it clear that the ministry was distancing itself from the programme as well as the curriculum.

Singh, who nodded in sympathy as some state ministers thundered against the study material, said he was also upset and would set up a panel to scan the textbooks for unwanted matter.

The study material has many authors, but it is the material for students from classes VI to X, called Yuva, that has been criticised for being unfit for children. The ministry officials say objectionable parts are present in Yuva, which was prepared under the Delhi government. In defence, the ministry officials say the material prepared was meant only for classes IX and XI and the graphic tool-kit comprising calenders and flip charts, authored by NACO and Unicef, was meant only for teachers.