Right to Sexual and Reproductive Health Education 2016
believed that RH information was necessary and that it must be given to
students starting from Grade Four or Five onwards, they also believed that the
information must be filtered, age appropriate and with just the requisite
information without going to details. There were also a few parents who
believed that this information must be given only to the senior students.
The amount of information offered on SRH within the education and health
system varies from island to island and from community to community. For
students, the most common source of related information was acquired
through General Science classes in Grade Seven, Biology classes in Grade Nine
and Ten and in Islam classes. Even though General Science classes in Grade
Seven and Islam classes are mandatory throughout secondary school, access
to Biology classes is only made available to Science stream students. The issue
that Science stream students have better access to this information when
compared to Business stream students was a concern raised by majority of the
participants, especially the parents. However, some participants commented
that the extent to which the topic was covered in Biology lessons were not
appropriate, and that the teachers just skimmed through these lessons
without giving proper and detailed information.
Some students and younger participants also mentioned the need for their
parents to have access to knowledge and information about these issues. They
stated that they would feel more comfortable asking their parents about such
issues rather than going to ask a teacher or a health officer. Most of the
respondents mentioned that they did not know where to go to find
information on these issues, while a few admitted to knowing a source where
they can gain the requisite information.
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THEMATIC ANALYSIS