Shiksha Opinion: Who says we don't need sex education?

What time of the month is a woman most likely to get pregnant?  

"Monday," was the bizarre answer a 20-year-old college girl from Noida gave us when we asked her the question. 

One more.  

What is the time period for consuming an emergency contraceptive pill? 

"After 24 hours (of sexual intercourse)," was the reply of a 22-year-old student in Delhi we contacted. 

You get the drift. We contacted more students and got similar, clueless, answers.  

But why this sudden interest in checking the sex-related general knowledge of our youngsters? Because our new Union Health Minister, a doctor no less, is of the opinion that the so-called "sex-education" be banned, and yoga be made compulsory. View his statement here (Part B, point 5). 

So to give a reality check to the minister, we asked a random sample of 10 college-goers  – both men and women - eight questions to know their level of sex education. 

These are the eight questions we asked: 

1. Testosterone and estrogen: Which is male hormone and which is the female hormone?

2. Which is the smallest cell of the human body? 

3. Which is the largest cell of the human body? 

4. Where are the Fallopian tubes located in a human body? 

5. What is the most fertile period for a woman to conceive? 

6. What is IUD (or what is Copper T)? 

7. What is vasectomy? 

8. What is the time frame for consuming an emergency contraceptive pill (like i-Pill)? 

Do you know the answers to all these questions? 

Chances are you too probably don’t have answers to all these questions. None of the 10 youngsters knew the answers to question no 2 and 3.  

Some of the college-goers, however, surprised  us with their witty and correct answers. Devansh Mehta and Rohan Talwar, both from St. Stephens - Delhi, were two such people. They knew answers to the remaining six questions and explained the logic correctly. Devansh went a step ahead and started talking about why sex is a taboo subject among Indians. He is currently conducting a survey on 'how open are Indian youngsters with parents about their masturbation habits'. The findings he shared were pretty interesting. We'll come to that in a little while. 

Next, we spoke to Ayushree Banerjee, second year B.Com student at Lucknow University. Ayushree is a shy and soft-spoken girl. While approaching her with the questions, we were sure she'll refuse to answer anything that has the word 'sex' in it. Instead, she was quite eager. We again assumed she'll not know most of the answers. Boy were we wrong! Except for question 2 & 3 (which no one could answer) she gave scientifically correct answers to all the six queries.  

Ankush Barua, a third year student  at Delhi University, knew the answers to all the basic and important questions (questions 5, 7 and 8). But a blank face for the rest. 

Finally, we came across Aparna and Karuna (names changed on request), both from Amity University, Noida. Aparna had absolutely no clue about the questions we were asking. Though she did know about i-Pill, thanks to television advertisements. But fumbled when asked how to effectively use the pill. "I am a commerce student. How can I know about all this biology stuff," she protested. 

Karuna knew answers to four questions. However, her reply question no 5 made our jaws drop. Literally. Here's how the conversation went: 

Questioner: What is the most fertile period for a woman to conceive? 

Karuna: Umm.. November. 

Questioner: I think you heard me wrong. When is the right time for a woman to conceive or get pregnant? 

Karuna (very confidently): Yes, November. 

Questioner (dumbfounded): Okay, let me rephrase the question. When should a woman engage in sex to get pregnant....in a month? 

Karuna: Mondays. Every Monday. 

Questioner: (silence)  

This is why we need sex-education! 

Sex-education is not a leaf torn out of the ancient book Kamasutra. It has nothing to do with explaining sexual positions or kissing or figuring out top 10 ways to 'do it'. 

Sex-education is about understanding the reproduction system, learning to respect the partner and privacy, and knowledge of safe and reliable contraceptive measures.  

Devansh Mehta surveyed 180 students across India and quizzed youngsters on how open they are with parents about masturbating and other sexual habits. Turns out, only six people informed their parents about their 'lost virginity' status. The survey also revealed that kids today know 'how babies are made' by sixth standard! (Devansh is currently assessing sample data from different countries.) 

Youth, today, has access to internet, television and various other mediums of information (read friends and gossip). They know all about sex. But very little about safe practicing or contraceptives. 

All the 10 young adults we spoke to, assumed that emergency contraceptive (like i-Pill) is a mini-abortion pill. Dear students, emergency contraception is NOT an abortion pill. It can stop pregnancy but cannot terminate it. If consumed regularly or in large quantities, it can hamper the normal body functions or cause severe damage to the female reproduction system.  

This is where educationists and ministers should interfere. Guide the young adults about side-effects of sex, safety measures and so on. 

Instead of banning sex-education from the curriculum and creating a 'taboo' situation, parents, educationists and ministers should talk about it. Hiding the topic from our kids won't help because they probably know all about it and are practising unsafe sex behind our backs. It's time to rise and move forward with times. 

And oh, are you still wondering about the smallest and the largest cell in the human body?  
Sperm is the smallest cell while the female egg or ovum is the largest cell in the human body. 

Moral of the story: Spread sex-education, not ignorance.

Latest Update

Due to several requests, we have decided to publish the answers to all the eight questions. Here you go:

1. Testosterone is the male hormone while estrogen is the female hormone

2. Sperm is the smallest cell of the human body

3. Female egg or ovum is the largest cell in the human body. 

4. Fallopian tubes, located in a female body, are narrow tubes connecting the ovaries to the uterus.

5. The most fertile period for a woman to conceive is about two-three days before ovulation. Ovulation is the second phase of the menstrual cycle. It generally starts on the 12^th day from menstruation cycle and lasts upto 48 hours.

6.  IUD or intrauterine device is a contraceptive device for females.

7.  Vasectomy is a permanent method of birth control for males.

8. An emergency contraceptive pill should be consumed within 72 hours of intercourse.