Being the largest democracy in the world and the fastest growing economy, around one-fifth of the population falls into the 10-19 years category. Being advanced and so-called “modern”, talking about sex or intimacy or sexual practices or birth control measures, still is taboo. Talking about one’s sexuality or sexual orientation is looked down upon and termed as vulgar. This leads to suppression of desires and needs of people along with their inquisitiveness revolving around the topic, especially for women. Modernizing requires us to broaden our mindset and talk about such ‘tabooed’ issues on an open platform, not when we grow up, but when we are growing up. Therefore, sex education at the school level is the need of the hour and we need to bring into practice, what the National Council of Educational Research and Training initiated.

Sex Education is the procedure of gaining knowledge and developing an open mindset as well as ideas about sex, sexual identity, human relations, closeness, gender roles, contraception methods, prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) along with teaching students to take responsibility for their actions. This will help them make well-thought judgments in the future. Proper sex education at the school level helps develop emotionally stable children who feel secure and adequate to make the right decisions without being carried away by emotions. It helps provide knowledge about the physical aspect of sex behavior along with its psychological and sociological aspects, i.e. helps in improving the overall personality of a student. It helps students understand the changes occurring within and outside their bodies. It also educates them about the role of their respective genders along with developing responsibility and attitude towards each other within the social context.

Educating the students about sex, their preferences, and other aspects isn’t something to be ashamed of. Proper sex education reduces the negative results from sexual behavior, unwanted pregnancies, and STDs. It helps bust the myths attached to sexual behavior, body image, stigma, etc. It helps school children develop a positive and responsible attitude towards sexuality and helps them know about the pleasures and risks associated with it.

Teachers should be trained and educated to deliver effective health education. Successful implementation of the program requires not only resources but also community support. Parents should also discuss openly safe sex and sexual preferences. They should not treat it as taboo or hush the kid when he/she enquires about the same. Parents should understand that kids now have multiple avenues to find their answers, where they can be misguided. Therefore, they should sit and have an open discussion about these things along with answering their child’s queries. Sex education at all levels is an important idea of demonstration of modern health. It is a continuous process and should be encouraged to be taught in schools and colleges as a separate topic within health education.