STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF THE INTRODUCTION OF SEX EDUCATION INTO SECONDARY SCHOOL IN OVIA NORTH EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to find out the perception of students of the introduction of sex education in some selected secondary schools in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. The research study was also aimed at ascertaining whether the attitude of students towards the teaching of sex education make the teachers to shy away from sex education or the teachers are shy to teach sex education to both boys and girls in the same classroom. In carrying out the study a questionnaire was administered to students. The data collected from students were analyzed and interpreted. Their responses were that sex education should be added to the secondary school curriculum and the attitude of teachers that teaching sex education should be moderate. And there should special teachers teaching sex education.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Numerous definitions and interpretations have been advanced by all faced of human society without excavating the eliminating problems associated with it. In this chapter, the researcher intends to have an over view of the menologies associated with sex before dealing with the scope of this study. The term sex gives beyond the realm of sex organs, instructions and act of sex organs as individuals are made to believe to make a breakthrough in the life of human relation among and between sex partners. Sex education is the instruction about sex and human sexuality. Sex is an important eect on the human life of an individual and almost everyone in the society including children wants to know about it. Traditionally, children are not supposed to receive information about sex at all. They many a time, learn about sex through their friends, books, television, pornographic films either from the magazines or internets and sex movies. Correct and factual information should be given to teenagers about the sudden development in their bodies. During this period, the girls develop breast, menstruation starts, pelvic borne broadens these starts at the age of eleven to twelve years and in the boys between fourteen to fifteen years.

The sexual organs mature the widening of the chest and enlargement of the lynx which causes breaking of the voice. The teen periods are very crucial in the life of the individual. Many distractions may occur during this stage such as school dropout, sexual immorality juvenile delinquency to mention but a few are all problems evolving from physical, social, cognitive and mental development. However, sex education has generally being masked in giggles and silent matters. Children should be given adequate information’s about sex. Gone are the days when sexual matters were hidden from them.

Many school pupils in Nigeria suffer from insufficient sex education in their homes because parents are inadequate in this respect, school pupils have to rely on their friend’s initiative and whatever they can learn from their friends and their school masters. Thus hey undergo a great deal of emotional stress and strain caused by a variety of reasons chief which for the 12 plus groups, may be problems of ignorant about sex. Questions posed by the teenagers should be answered by teachers as well as parents to open a wide range of the communication because silence or lie telling may cause injury as they assume that the information gathered from the peers, books or internet are true and also the answers should be contrary to those books and peers. Sex desire can lead to sexual immorality which can result to pregnancy i.e. the process of procreation or reproduction most teenagers are physically able to have children but few are ready and responsibilities of marriage or parent hood most unmarried teenagers who do not have babies can be carried away by their sexual feelings and emotional desires. This can cause a serious sexual malady and the psychological problems for them.

It can cause an abortion, sexual transmitted disease (STDS) like HIV/AIDS and so on. Sexual intercourse between two persons who are not married to each other is considered as a taboo to be generality of the society and morally wrong among religious groups. Sex relationship outside marriage can result in quilts feelings and other psychological problems for persons involved. It can also cause birth of unwanted child. Therefore sex education should be given at early development stage of the child because the foundation laid in the early life of the teenagers determines the stability and propensity of marriage life of an individual in the society. The provision of sex education is important because the norms guiding sexual act has been broken down by the increasing urbanization and the modernization of social norms. Sex education through parents, teachers or counselors and educators will not certainly be universal remedy to the social ills, but it will provide information for improving behavior, establishing personality in our society. This should be made known to teenagers of both sexes. According to adaro (2002) the word sex and education have spectrum of concepts sex is a fundamental driving force in relationship between the biological needs to reproduce, cultural influence love and affection of human life.

Education on the other hand is the process of changing the behaviour of people sex education therefore is the awareness of the aspect of social. Physiology and techniques help to accentuate the unknown sex. Sex is an aspect of our life for the commencement of adolescent sex play a major role that earn discuss long before we need on the knowledge for it’s practical application. Eduwen (2003) defined sex education as the parenthood education population education e.t.c. As the name implies it is perceived as the provision of sex information or knowledge to people. In it’s deeper sense, sex education is a comprehensive programme of individual development right from infancy to the declining years. In the past, many people frown at the mentioning of the word sex education, which need not to be mentioned before children. It is not just talking about sex, which was regarded as been sacred and involves a lot of immoral talks, which will pollute the children it was believed that children will grow up to discover these for themselves in adulthood. Osunde (2007) defined sex education as the process of acquiring information and formatting relationships and intimacy. It is also about developing young people’s skills so that they, will make informed choices about their behaviour and feel confident and competent about acting on those choices. It is widely accepted that young people have right to sex education partly because it is the means by which they help to protect themselves against unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and H IV/AIDS.

Instruction amends at helping individuals or group towards a health and socially acceptable sexual adjustment it encompasses such subject matter like moral instrument, prevention of sex related disease, prevention of unwanted pregnancy, homosexuality and host of other consequence of sex indulgence. Turner (2009) in his own view said sex education is an education for hygienic living with matters relating to sex.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Ignorance of sex and its associated problems is prevalent in and among secondary school students. The life of students are shattered with the passing of incorrect information among themselves, they get misled by others. Today, the problems resulting from the lack of sex education to our youth are numerous. They are unwanted pregnancies, increase abortion, high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and high rates of sexual promiscuity. All these have led to inability to concentrate, poor school performance, deterioration of mental health of students, high rate of school drop outs, increase in illiteracy and over population. Consequently, the educational opportunity of Nigeria youth is greatly affected and this posses a great loss to the society. Religious bodies view sex education as premature, dangerous and likely to lead to sexual promiscuity. To behavioural scientists, the introduction of sex education is proper. However, despite the increasing sexual problems, parents and schools are still not providing teenagers with proper knowledge of sex.