Jakarta – HIV/AIDS activists have called on secondary schools to focus more on sex education to help prevent the spread of the virus.
"Teachers have to realize that sex education is also a need for our children. School isn't just about studying for the national exams," Sari from the Pelita Indonesia Foundation told a two-day workshop for secondary school teachers Wednesday.
The workshop was organized by the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO, the Ministry of National Education, UNESCO and the Associated School Project Network (ASPnet). The number of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia has skyrocketed since 1999. Indonesia now sees 169 new infections each day. Half of all new cases are injecting drug users aged between 15 and 24 years old.
Sari acknowledged that many teachers may not feel comfortable talking about sex with their pupils. "This is perhaps where HIV/AIDS NGOs can assist in the process," she said.
Sari's views were shared by speakers from the National Commission for HIV/AIDS Prevention and the Indonesian HIV/AIDS Foundation.
Earlier in the session, Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO Executive Chairman Arief Rachman said schools were expected to be more involved in HIV/AIDS prevention by integrating the subject into the curriculum. "There is a trend in society to integrate all social ills into our school curriculum," he said at the opening of the workshop.
However, he warned that teachers alone would not be able to stem the spread of the disease, especially since they were already heavily burdened with teaching responsibilities.
The head of the Center for the Development of Physical Wellbeing at the ministry, Widaninggar, said too much of a burden was already being placed on schools while other sections of society were refusing to shoulder responsibility for preventing HIV/AIDS.
"Some people, including teachers and governmental institutions, seem to be in denial of the problem," she said. "They assume that HIV/AIDS is an issue for those who are at high risk when in fact it affects people from all walks of life."
Another speaker from the ministry, Sumiyati, noted that the curriculum as it stands allowed information on HIV/AIDS prevention to be disseminated among students.
"The secondary school curriculum is really packed and already contains information on AIDS," said Sumiyati who is head of the Ministry's Center for School Curriculums. "It's now up to the teachers to implement it creatively," she added.