Students urge government to provide sex education

Students urge government to provide sex education

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Learning from the increase in the number HIV/AIDS cases,
especially among teenagers, students have urged the government to
provide sex education classes where they can also learn about the
hazards of injecting drugs.

The students questioned on Saturday why parents and teachers
were still hesitant to educate their children and students about
sex despite the current openness toward sex.

"We're already living in the year of 2004 now. Parents should
be more open with us and stop thinking that sex is taboo,"
Jessica, a student from St. Ursula junior high school in Jakarta
told a discussion titled: Teenagers talk about HIV/AIDS, sex and
drugs.

Jessica said teenagers demanded that their right to access to
information about sex and drugs be recognized.

The latest Central Statistic Agency (BPS) report reveals that
approximately 30 percent of high school students in Jakarta have
used drugs and were sexually active.

The data also shows there are 65,000 people in Indonesia who
are living with HIV/AIDS, most of them are teenagers.

Nafsiah Mboi of the Committee for AIDS prevention agreed with
the students, saying sex education classes would be effective to
prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among teenagers.

However, the government has been facing many obstacles in
providing sex education in schools, especially in junior and
senior high schools.

Eddy Hasmi of the National Family Planning Coordinating Board
(BKKBN) said the government had only allocated approximately Rp 3
billion (US$353,000) to provide sex education for around 40
million teenagers across the country.

Another BKKBN official, Siswanto Agus Wilopo, said the lack of
funds reflected the government's scant attention to sex education
for students.

"The government, in this case the Ministry of Education,
somehow deems sex education less important compared to other
subjects in the school curriculum," said Siswanto.

He said most teachers had little knowledge about HIV/AIDS and
its connection with sex education. Therefore he urged the
government to provide training for school teachers as well.