A group of pupils at a high school in the central city of Danang have helped create an electronic sex education curriculum.
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| Students in an hour sex education lesson |
The curriculum taught as part of the school’s extracurricular programme was developed in response to a contest on the topic organised by the Rutgers World Population Fund (WPF) and Danang University of Education.
Three-year process
The curriculum starts with a 24-minute clip featuring two girls talking. One of them has a friend who had to go to hospital for an abortion. A scene from an abortion clinic is shown.
Hoang Thanh Tung, a member of the group, said, “We have spent three years completing the curriculum from the design of the lectures to filming the clips so that we can reflect the real views of pupils on sex.”
Rutgers WPF only provided sex education models for foreigners and university students, so the pupils found it difficult to compile a suitable way of presenting the information to high school students, Tung said.
Many of the group members feature in the recordings.
Improving sex education awareness
The curriculum, comprised of 10 lectures, has been taught to 10th and 11th grade students every Thursday. According to a survey, thanks to this programme, 80% of students have a greater understanding of sex, puberty, pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases. Ninety three percent said they understood what sexual abuse was and 85% knew how to ensure personal hygiene, use condoms and deal with unexpected pregnancies.
Rutgers WPF’s Chief Representative in Vietnam Jerry Clewett said “The curriculum is interesting in terms of both content and teaching methods. Students do not have to receive knowledge in a passive way, but they can share their opinions to gain a deeper understanding about sex and reproductive health.”
Phan Minh Huong, another group member, said, “Most students are ignorant about sex-related issues, and we were no different. Initially, we felt shy about compiling the curriculum, but gradually we got more interested in it and understood more about the issues.”
One of the most memorable things for her was standing in front of the class to explain about how to use contraceptives.
“We had to buy a condom and then displayed how to use it on a cucumber. Then after that, we asked all the students to buy condoms to help them to become more open,” she said.
Teacher and students talking about sexual issues
Phan Minh Huong giving a sex education lecture