By Daniela Ellerbeck, Legal Advisor to FOR SA
Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA) recently again met with the Department of Basic Education (the DBE) to discuss various questions and concerns regarding the proposed implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in South African schools.
CSEhas been in the spotlight following a recent article in the Sunday Times entitled “Grade 4s to learn about masturbation in newlife orientation curriculum”.Quoting sex therapist Dr Marlene Wasserman (“Dr Eve”), the article stated that “from next year, textbooks for pupils in grades 4 to 12 will reflect a ‘cutting edge’curriculum approach that treats masturbation, sexual consent, gender nonconformityand single-parent families as mainstream”.
Thearticle resulted in a massive public outcry fromparents and protest from the teachers’ union SAUO, who said that they had notbeen consulted in this regard. The DBE subsequently distanced itself from this mediareport, but did confirm that it is busy reviewing the Life Skills (primary schools) and LifeOrientation (high school) curricula to include CSE components.
Thepurpose of FOR SA’s meeting with the DBE was to obtain clarity on the content thatlearners will be exposed to, and in particular also to discuss the rights of parentswho do not want their children to be exposed to content that conflict withtheir own moral values and beliefs regarding human sexuality. It was aconstructive meeting that assisted in answering some of our questions, andbrought a level of comfort – although it remains critically important to keepmonitoring and engaging with the issue.
Accordingto the DBE, scriptedlesson plans had been presented to School Governing Bodies (SGBs) federationsfor consideration. Realising however that two major stakeholders (namelyparents and teachers) had not been consulted, the DBE will now engage in aconsultation process to make sure their input is received and considered beforefinalising the curricula. The DBEindicated that while the proposed new curriculum is currently being piloted inseveral provinces, realistically, they were looking at roll-out in all schoolsin 2021 only.
The curriculum content
During our meeting, the DBEagain explained that the review process started due to the existing curriculumhaving minimum impact on lowering HIV infections and teenage pregnancies, andteachers needing guidance as the DBE had received complaints about teachersexposing children to age-inappropriate content.
As a result, the DBE lookedat how to strengthen the topics already covered by the CAPS curriculum - with afocus on human rights, and the prevention of HIV and learner pregnancies. Toput it into context, the DBE explained that Life Skills / Orientation isallocated only two hours of lesson time per week, covering a range of issuesincluding sexuality education, sport, art, nutrition, religion, etc.
A parallel process oftextbooks (for learners) and scripted lesson plans (for teachers), written bycurriculum specialists, was undertaken. At present, the scripted lesson plansfor grades 4 to 12 are finalised, but the textbooks are still being written andare not even in their first draft yet. The DBE emphatically stated that Dr Eve (quoted in the Sunday Times article) is not a curriculum specialist and was notpart of the writing team.
While the grade4 scripted lesson plans do not mention masturbation, the grade 7 scriptedlesson plans (which FOR SA had sight of during our meeting with the DBE) does definemasturbation as the act of touching oneself for sexual pleasure, and further commentsthat “masturbation is normal and will nothurt you”. In this regard, FOR SA pointed out to the DBE that there is adifference between factual statements (e.g. explaining what masturbation is),and value-laden statements (e.g. saying that masturbation is “normal”). Unlikesubjects like maths or science that is value-neutral, sexuality education isinfused with value judgments and should for that reason ideally remain theright and prerogative of parents, who have the primary responsibilityfor the upbringing and education of their children including their sexualeducation.
FOR SA specifically asked theDBE regarding the rights of parents who do not believe it in the best interestof their children to be exposed to the proposed content, e.g. would it be possible for them to “opt out” of a particular lesson,or to privately teach their child an alternative curriculum? The DBE undertookto consult with their legal department in this regard.
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The way forward
On all occasionswhen FOR SA has met with the DBE with regard to CSE, we have found them to bevery open to and appreciative of our input. In particular, the Department hasundertaken to include FOR SA in the stakeholder meeting that is planned forJuly 2019.
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Many parentshave asked us how they can become involved to raise their concerns, and makesure that their voice is heard. In this regard, FOR SA recommends thatconcerned parents mandate their SGB to:
[author] [author_info]Daniela is a duly qualified Attorney of the High Court of South Africa. She obtained a BCom LLB degree from Rhodes University. Daniela first worked for Médecins sans Frontières before completing her articles of clerkship at G van Zyl Attorneys, where she stayed on after being admitted as an attorney and practised, specialising in litigation. Daniela has loved Jesus since she was young and is a member of a local church in Cape Town where she is actively involved. [/author_info] [/author]
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FOR SA currently has a support base of religious leaders and individuals representing +/- 6 million people across a broad spectrum of churches, organisations, denominations and faith groups in South Africa.
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