Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has said that Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in Zambia came about because of the increasing cases of teenage pregnancies, STIs and HIV infections especially among girls leading to their dropping out of school.
In a statement released to the media by ZANEC Executive Director, George Hamusunga, in response to criticism of CSE by the Government, traditional leaders, and Zambia’s main Church bodies, ZANEC said that CSE was designed to empower pupils with knowledge on abstinence, culture, society, hygiene, human development, life skills and values to empower teenagers to be more assertive and careful with their sexuality.
ZANEC also said that there was nowhere in the CSE Framework where issues of abortion, transgender, or indeed other inappropriate behaviors are encouraged either directly or indirectly.
Below is the full statement
ZANEC PRESS STATEMENT ON COMPREHENSIVE SEXUALITY EDUCATION
24th September 2020
The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has reviewed both Zambia’s Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) framework produced in 2013 as well as the teachers’ guides and learners’ booklets for grades 5 to 12 designed to operationalize the CSE framework in Zambia.
Findings from the review of our CSE materials indicate that the current content is appropriate for the targeted age-groups and is in line with our national values and the best interest of our children.
Among others, the Framework places abstinence at the center of the prevention of teenage pregnancies, STIs, and HIV infections among school-going children. More importantly, the curriculum framework pays particular attention to the limits concerning the modes and styles of communicating CSE information in schools.
Evidence also shows that the rolling of CSE to schools is always preceded by the training of teachers by trainers approved by the Ministry of General Education through the Curriculum Development Center (CDC). In addition, there is nowhere in the CSE Framework where issues of abortion, transgender, or indeed other inappropriate behaviors are encouraged either directly or indirectly.
It is also important to note that the teaching of CSE in Zambia came about because of the increasing cases of teenage pregnancies, STIs, and HIV infections especially among girls leading to their dropping out of school.
It is for this reason that CSE was designed to empower pupils with knowledge on abstinence, culture, society, hygiene, human development, life skills, and values to empower teenagers to be more assertive and careful with their sexuality.
There is no evidence whatsoever showing that the introduction of CSE in schools has led to increased sexual activity and pregnancies. On the contrary, official statistics show a reduction in the number of school pregnancies at the primary school level from 12,753 pregnancies before the introduction of CSE in 2013 to 11,453 pregnancies by 2018 according to the Education Statistical Bulletins.
Finally, ZANEC’s evidence shows that the government through the Ministry of General Education has paid due attention to our local context and values in domesticating the international instruments on CSE. Therefore, the Coalition would like to encourage all education stakeholders and members of the public to take a keen interest in reviewing our CSE Framework and raise specific issues that they deem inappropriate to avoid debates that are not based on our existing policies and practices. It is on this basis that we would like to conclude that there is no locally derived empirical evidence in support of the suspension of the rolling out of CSE in schools.
For/ZANECÂ
George Hamusunga
Executive Director
Look at that thing above, he is a sexual preditor, he can’t wait to show video of his Minister of Education Mabumba.
A Christian nation has turned into Sodom and Gomorrah.
These teenagers are having sex, ask your self when you first had your sexual encounter, I bet for many boys and girls it was when they were about the age of 15. So let us not bury our heads in the sand and pretend we can convince these children to abstain. It is also probably the time to teach them that GAY LESBIANS exist so that they can grow up being more tolerant.
But whom did you consult before you arrived at the decision? I’m you met yourselves in lodges ate the food and shared allowances and claimed that you had done a good job, useless experts
What this man is saying is from a very informed background. I now believe why some comments from the online media are cheap to the core
Ba Hamusunga naimwe mulesalapukako. Please don’t write if it is a shallow statement like the one above. A change in statistics merely after introducing some policy is not always attributable to that intervention. That is a fallacy. You might as well attribute the reduction in pupils’ pregnancy levels to many things that happened between 2013 and 2018 ( Chipolopolo failing to go for Several AFCONs, Mutati briefly taking over MMD or whatever)
Give us more than that. I am not a fan of Religious Affairs fimo-fimo but I also disagree with this approach. It has to be withdrawn and more consultations done. Ifyabupuba Ukutali.
The people of Zambia have said NO! to this trash and it’s all loud and clear; you may have already eaten the money from the LGBT; even the Gov’t are now saying they don’t want it, after receiving the backlash from the masses. Just pay back the money and keep our beloved Zambia safe. Where are your morals? You should have consulted the people first, you can’t even be ashamed of yourself … God will help us train and raise up our children in the fear and admonition of the LORD. God bless Zambia!
This ugly bas.tard thinks we are all as stupid as he and his grandmother are! Come on man, you’re so stupid like a pig. There has always been teen age pregnancies, HIV infections, SWISS, etc. So this nonsense of Comprehensive Sexual nonsense is a cover to teach Homosexuality to vulnerable young kids and say it’s ok to be Gay. Where is Govt, send this ugly thing, a paedophile, to prison. This is shi.t and stinks. Are there no better things to do than listening to this fool?
No need for insults ba diaspora and upnd. You have very dirty mouths. Even us in pf are saying this curriculum may not be morally right hence our minister of religion’s comments yesterday. As a Christian I support her but you don’t see me insulting anyone. Let us have some class.
It’s clear we don’t like it but the teenagers are indulging nevertheless. Wht do we do? Is dislike a solution? Of course not. We hv not taken away prayer from the dchool system but it’s not working either. So wht’s the solution b4 u go for Hamusunga’s neck?
Parents are sensitive about their children. Be careful when discussing ethics, especially sexual behavior. Judging by the public outcry, the need for further consultation is beyond doubt. Family values regarding sex need to be well understood and then put in context. Whereas STDs and unwanted pregnancies are serious social problems, it is not necessarily correct to promote sexual activities by simply using contraceptive pills. When public funded projects create tension, it is better to re-examine these projects and to encourage families to play a leading role as opposed to public schools. Alternatively, permission to attend sexual education classes must be obtained from the parents. There is no need to rush sensitive projects. Further consultation and further dialogue would go a long way…
Ba George, all this is nonsense. Any socio research that was undertaken before the introduction of GSE????? Who was consulted?? Who were the stakeholders?? Believe you me, GSE will just corrupt the morals of our young boys and girls. For us, during our time there was no GSE but we learned most of these things through reading especially at senior level in biology. Please don’t spoil the children. Leave them alone. In most rural schools, teaching is done in local languages and I can imagine GSE being taught in local languages. Where are our moral values and culture. Stop cut and paste. I can assure you it will be very difficult to localize GSE in Zambia.
LEAVE Hamusunga alone! Most of you protesting have not — for one day — spoken to any of your children, nephews, nieces, or grandchildren about the sexual confusion they get into when they hit that sexually active period. Then you start harassing one another when a boy makes a bun in your daughter/niece/granddaughter. Awe mwe! Zambians and hypocrisy! Izativuta ndipo.
We want clean biblical sex education about marriage as God created it, not this filth and perversion and has been put into the syllabus
Minister, first and foremost these children for whom you are going to introduce your p0rno subject in kids schools are not your children at all. They have parents who wish to bring them up with morally correct practical behaviour in them. Therefore be reminded that if you are dealing with other persons’ children. Therefore, ask the parents and give them full information about what you are going to subject the innocent children to first and foremost.
Be reminded also that after learning too much sex education with currently nothing to do in Zambia the easiest thing they would be doing is to practically having sexx.
Be informed also that a subject such as Product Design would ctreate designers in engineering and other areas at early children life. This is the subject you should…
…This is the subject you should have introduced first rather than the subject which will just bring economic problems as it is intended by the west. Mind you the western governments policies is to create problems in Africa so that you don’t develop. Introducing that sxx subject in schools is one of the things the west are assured of introducing further and more worse problems in sleepy countries like Zambia. It’s a no brainer.
Why teach children that they can become homosexuals Lesbians or transgender? It’s indoctrinating them into lifestyles that will lead to godlessness. To teach children that there is more to the sexual assignment that God ordained of Male and Female is to mock God. The Bible tells us God is not mocked. Look at the repercussions in the USA, Australia and Europe that has befallen them, there’s unprecedented confusion, division, fires, hurricanes, floods, disease, death and earthquakes in the US, the Islamification of Europe due to refugee migration from North Africa and Syria, and the ever increasing temperatures and fires in Australia. Don’t bring a curse on Zambia.
Those supping this abomination or opposed to its abolishment are workers of Satan plain and simple. Jesus said if you are not with me then you are against me, no kingdom that has risen up against Gods has survived. Check yourselves that you are not children of the Devil.
Don’t impose sex education to the young pls consult parents & all stakeholders before u do to avoid embarrassing dictatorial tendencies witnessed from PF