Karachi: Sex-education course draws parents’ ire

[Naveed Yaseen]

A private school located next to Pakistan Television Station on Stadium Road incurred the ire of parents of students enrolled in higher secondary classes after the inclusion of birth control and sex education in the syllabus.

Commenting on the incident, Naveed Zuberi, adviser to Education Minister Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq, said that they would not allow any school to teach such courses, saying: “This is not USA or Europe, this is Pakistan and our culture does not allow us to teach these things at school”. The parents also complained that the name of Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) had been written without affixing “PBUH” after his name, besides a “sketchy picture” was also being displayed against his (PBUH) name in various chapters.

According to parents, the issue started when a new chief executive officer took over the school affairs and started making changes in the syllabus, particularly in the Islamiat subject. When the parents lodged their complaint at the school on Tuesday, the management shut down the main doors and allegedly did not allow the students to go home. However, parents forcefully opened the doors, after which the school administration rusticated many students from the school.

Meanwhile, Zuberi has said that books have been seized to check their material and till then these books would not be used.

The Directorate of Private Institutions, Sindh, has ensured the parents of the rusticated students that their children would resume their regular studies at the school from Thursday. The education department has directed the school principal that it would verify the material of all course books and till then teaching of this course at the school would remain suspended. However, school Principal Mrs Waqar said that they did not include such chapters in their course outline, adding, that the book, in which the ‘objectionable’ chapters were included, was being used by many other schools.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=195169