With the government set to launch a training session for government school teachers on April 26, the stage is set for including age-appropriate prevention-oriented programmes on sexual abuse in the school curriculum under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2020.
One day of the annual four-day summer training sessions will be devoted to sessions on sex education, POCSO Act, and allied rules. The training module includes child rights, POCSO Act, relevant portions of laws against domestic violence, cybersecurity, drug abuse, and gender dysphoria as suggested by an expert committee constituted on a High Court directive, according to sources in the Education department. The Director of General Education (DGE) believes that teachers are to be sensitised before imparting the sensitive subject to students. The DGE intends to introduce a separate textbook on sex education and the POCSO Act as part of civics under social studies. Higher secondary school teachers will be given training through coordinators of Souhrida Club.
The implementation of the POCSO Act got impetus after the High Court directed the State government to constitute a committee of experts to provide inputs on making sex education a part of the school curriculum. Rule 3 of the POCSO Act mandates the Central and State governments to prepare age-appropriate education material and curriculum for children and provide periodic training programmes including orientation programmes, sensitisation workshops, and refresher courses to those who come into contact with children.
The curriculum revision for Classes I, III, V, VII, and IX will be done in the academic year 2024-25, and revision for Classes II, IV, VI, VIII, and X will be done in the academic year 2025- 26 by the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT). The revision will focus on gender equality, gender equity, and POCSO Act. Legal provisions of sexual offences (Sections 354 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code) and major rulings of the Supreme Court and High Courts will be included in the sex education curriculum for Plus One and Plus Two courses.
A standard operating procedure (SOP) on child protection will also have to be adopted by each school. The committee of experts would soon give its inputs on the SOP that would be based on the principle of zero-tolerance to violence against children, said A. Parvathy Menon, member of the committee.
