Gov't rethinking condom policy

Education Minister Hazel Manning disclosed yesterday that sex education and the issue of condoms “is on the agenda for further discussion” as the Ministry battles to deal with the growing HIV/Aids pandemic.

Manning was reporting on a special meeting of the Council of Social and Economic Development which took place last Friday and Saturday in Port-of-Spain.

Among the stakeholders attending were officials of the World Bank, UNESCO, ILO and Caricom Education Ministers.

The meeting dealt with the response of Education to HIV and Aids and how the education system could impact on the Aids pandemic.

She said one of the things that was of great concern to the conference was the impact of CSME and the regional movement of labour.

Asked her personal views on the issue of condoms and sex education in the school, Manning was non-committal, saying that her personal position was that there are a number of students who are sexually active and “we have to decide how we deal with them.”

She stressed however that she did not believe that “I should be telling primary school children about condoms.”

She said the views of all stakeholders — parents, teachers, students — would be considered in formulating a policy.

Manning said with 50 percent of children under the age of 16 being sexually active and with HIV/Aids being the leading cause of deaths in the 15-44 age group in the Caribbean, there was real fear that if the trend continued that by 2009 there would be over 1 million deaths from HIV/Aids.

She said the research had shown that a knowledged-based approach dealing with the problem had not led to a reduction in the numbers.

Manning said Government was committed to making education an integral part of the fight against HIV and Aids.

She said the conference agreed to develop a region-wide policy on HIV and Aids.

It also agreed that the existing curriculum should be used to teach about Aids, rather than developing a separate curriculum.

For example, in doing science you teach about Aids and the fact that it is fatal, how it is contracted etc; social studies provides other relevant information about HIV/Aids and generally inserts in the entire curriculum education about HIV/ Aids.

Manning said values and moral education were being incorporated. She cited the fact that 90 schools had abstinence clubs.

She said the Ministry of Education had developed its own plan, using music, arts and drama to impart its message on values and morals.

But despite all this, there was still a significant HIV/Aids problem.