Sex is too sensitive to be taught at K-12 schools, local educators say, granted a growing number of students falling in love and having sex with each other.

Educators say sex is too sensitive to be taught

Local media have recently reported a common trend in which more and more teenagers get tangled in early love and become unintentionally pregnant due mostly to lack of proper sex education.

Nguyen Thi Nhiep, principal of Phan Huy Chu High School in Hanoi, says it is really hard for any school to teach sex education to its students because most of the teachers do not know how to properly address the birds and bees issue.

The majority of school teachers choose to avoid talking about sex and its related aspects with their students in and outside the classroom, many teachers admit.

Vietnamese schools underrate sex education, Le Thi Tuy, a psychological consultant, says.

“I felt really disappointed one day when my grade-5 niece told me that her teacher skipped a lesson on the human body, which is part of her official curriculum,” Tuy points out.

Most of the adults at a recent consulting session said that it was inappropriate and unnecessary to discuss sex with school students, according to Le Thi Minh Hang, principal of the Hanoi-based Tran Nhan Tong High School, which hosted the event.

In the meantime, many students showed they knew a lot about sex, Hang says, adding some even stayed longer after the session to ask doctor speakers for detailed information.

“So it’s high time sex education was formally taught in school,” she remarks.