London: A plan by the UK government for
compulsory sex and drugs education for school children as
young as five has sparked an outcry, with parents' saying it
was "infringing" their rights.
Personal, social and health education will be a new
subject on the British national curriculum from the age of
five, with school children forced to take sex and drugs
education at under reforms announced on Thursday, the Evening
Standard newspaper reported.
A large percentage of parents and adults thought
parents should retain the right to keep their children out of
sex education classes up to the age of 16.
Margaret Morrissey, from campaign group Parents
Outloud, condemned the government for "infringing parents'
rights". She said the government should leave families to
bring up their children.
Presently, parents have a right to withdraw children
from classes on sex and relationships on moral grounds until
the age of 16. The government seeks to reduce it to 15,
meaning all chilren will receive at least one year of sex
education before they are legally allowed to leave compulsory
education, according to the British tabloid.
It said the government plan under the latest reforms
could cause problems for Catholic schools, which may be forced
to educate pupils about homosexuality and contraception, which
have been opposed by the Roman Church.
Under the plans, children as young as five will learn
about body parts and differences between boys and girls. In
secondary school, pupils will study sexually transmitted
diseases, contraception, marriage and civil partnerships, the
report said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, November 05, 2009, 18:49