Family Planning: Indonesia #3
Sex education is not a formal part of the national curriculum in Indonesia but apparently it does happen in a haphazard way in many schools. As indicated in an earlier post, it can be highly contentious in this secular nation with its deep religious roots. This is especially true when the universal obsession with celebrity encounters sexual scandal:
A homemade sex video involving two of Indonesia’s biggest celebrities has captivated the country for nearly a month, with millions downloading the offending clips to their mobile phones.
…But at the heart of the issue is how Indonesians talk about sex, or rather, what is not said. Sex education is not part of the national curriculum, and that worries health experts who say Indonesian teenagers put themselves at risk trying to learn about a subject that, in most places, is still too taboo to discuss in public.
…A week after the sex videos first appeared on the internet, Education Minister Muhammad Nuh rejected public proposals to formally teach sex education in the country’s classrooms. He said children would learn about sex “naturally,” and instead asked teachers to regularly search students’ bags and cell phones for pornographic videos.
Sex goes viral in Indonesia
In a subsequent Radio Australia interview, Professor Terence Hull of Australian National University expressed surprise:
I am surprised that someone of that stature and also that responsibility would be speaking out with so little knowledge of the issues.
...we have found elements of sex education in all levels of school text books from first grade through to the end of high school, and it's also spread across a wide variety of different subjects. So bits of it are taught in religion, bits are taught in biology, sports and citizenship classes have issues of sex education.
Questions over teaching sex education in Indonesian schools
It seems he’s correct:
A new video report from CNN’s Arwa Damon shows a pilot project in Jakarta, Indonesia that has kindergartners learning about the birds and the bees in an uncharacteristically liberal way.
Indonesian Sex Education Program Starts in Kindergarten
Meanwhile the AIDS Commission of Indonesia has other ideas:
The National AIDS Commission on Wednesday launched an interactive sex education website, http://www.sexxie.tv, which it says aims to connect teens and young adults with health experts who can provide them with accurate information on sex.
AIDS Commission launches 'sexxie' education site
It uses live 'webinar' videos as part of its education program:
It seems that online video has become the medium for the the ongoing controversy over sex education in Indonesia.
Incredible video.
Amazing post…wow…a truly taboo.
It seems to be pushing them to the limit. Those children are in a so early age. Do you think it is really needed?
Honestly, I don’t believe that it could happen in Poland. It would be a national scandal… for sure.
Luan & Iwona
Interesting that the pilot scheme started 4 years ago. It would be good to read their evaluations of the project so far.
I used to teach sex education in high schools, with various names like ‘health education’ and ‘human relations’. When parents knew what was in the actual curriculum and why, very few complained. Courses in protective behaviours are common in primary schools in Australia. such courses need to be based in knowledge and understanding not just fear.
of course, I think that in Poland kids need it a lot. I needed it while I was in primary school but what I got was how the pads look like. But in Poland sex is a very sensitive issue because of the church influence on the society. So I can imagine the right parties and church to start tell that such an education inspire you for making love before marriage ect. But fortunately it’s possible to do something now in Poland even with their negative voices.
wow… thanks for the video!
Mind you, Kevin, we have sex education at schools here in Brazil with the very same names you mentioned, but not in a so early age.
I think young children have to be initiated into this issue, just don’t know how and to what extent.
An excellent post at Global Voices by Filipino Karlo Mikhail Mongaya:
Philippines: Bloggers’ Views on Sex Education:
Also available in 2 versions of Chinese, Malagasy and Macedonian at this stage.