Prof Magoha, bring a sane conclusion to the sex education debate : The Standard

Let me start by congratulating you for your recent appointment as Cabinet Secretary, Education. I am sure you have already figured out that Kenyans have very high expectations and hope that you will work some much-needed magic in the education sector.

I am hoping that you will use your medical knowledge and background to bring some sane conclusion to the debate on sex education in this country. As you know, there is a large constituency of escapist moralists and puritanists who think that our teens need not engage with any form of sex education lest they become wayward, frisky adults. Last time I checked, Kenyans have been having sex even without the ‘big bad” sex education. These folks have stalled our progress and now we are lagging behind other countries who have decided to stop escaping and instead tackle the problem head on. I am hopeful that your no-nonsense approach to issues will bring sanity to this debate.
Prof Magoha you need to tell these naysayers that waving scripture and verse at our teens will not in any way cool their ardour and desires. We seem to forget that children these days are fed on a diet of baby formula and highly sexual images. By the time these tiny tots can walk, they are fully aware that there is a certain magic that lies at the loins. Our puritanists think that sex education involves teaching the teens how to have sex. Trust me, there is enough learning material online that covers all the mechanics of having sex- there is even a very comprehensive and illustrated digital guide. These folks need to get with the programme and understand that the how-to side of things is fully covered.
What our teens want and need to be taught is how to deal with the transition from children to sexual beings. For starters, they need to be taught how to deal with their personal hygiene when certain hairs sprout, when that funny funky smell becomes a part of their being and when certain nightly visions end up soaking their bed sheets. Many Kenyans walk around with rather foul smells which only get worse as temperatures soar. I believe that most of them do so because they know little about personal hygiene while others just do not know that once you hit adolescence, then cleanliness should be taken to a whole new level. I suggest that personal hygiene becomes the first module of the sex education curriculum.

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Magoha, these puritanists tell us that sex education will lead our teens to what they consider to be sexually “deviant” behavour. Some folks are on record saying that teaching teens about sex will turn them into lesbians and gays. In my view, such myths reek of ignorance and of unhealthy bias. God’s name has become a convenient decoy for those who want to justify their bigoted, discriminatory views. I cannot claim to speak for the man above, but I imagine that given the myriad of global issues we are facing (such as climate change and Brexit), he is not overly bothered about how lesbians and gays relate. Instead of spending too much time telling our teens about homosexuality and lesbianism, we should be teaching them to desist from this common habit of obsessing about what consenting adults choose to do. We should be teaching them the art of seduction so that they do not become those adults who make forceful demands for sex or God forbid those adults who choose bestiality.
Magoha, our teens need sexual education and especially sexual health. By now, we all have established that our teens are having sex, most of them behind the backs of their self-righteous clergy and family members. To make matters worse, most of them are having unprotected sex thus not only making babies they are not ready for but also contracting strange ailments. This is another tunaomba serikali moment when we want someone to educate the teens about the strange twists and turns of responsibility that come with having sex.  They need to be taught about the biological responsibility which should include spotting an STI and getting the treatment, avoiding the unwanted pregnancy situation and knowing how to manage it when it happens. I find it immoral that these crusaders against sex education (most of them past their sexual prime), appear to be quite mute when it comes to speaking out against the increase in teenage pregnancies or of those innocent tots who are thrown into pit latrines day in day out.
I agree that we Kenyans like to say that we are a God-fearing nation, but I do not see how this fear has saved us from moral decay, corruption and other vices. That is why I do not think that the fear of God will turn our randy teens into celibate, scripture-reading, Bible-thumping zealots. Let us educate them that if you must have sex, please do so responsibly, be ready to deal with the consequences and for heavens sake, observe personal hygiene — be clean and smell clean too. Wishing you the very best Magoha.
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EducationGeorge MagohaSex Education