“Better integrate sex education into educational policy”, “firmly formalize three dedicated annual sessions”, “strengthen the training of actors”: a report from the General Inspectorate of Education points out the institution’s shortcomings about this question.
This report entitled “Sexuality education in schools”, revealed on Tuesday by Médiapart and of which AFP obtained a copy, had been entrusted to the two general inspectors Évelyne Liouville and Anne-Marie Romulus. It was handed over in July 2021 to then-Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, but was never made public.
Sex education sessions not given
It draws up a relatively severe report of the actions carried out by the ministry. According to this text, “less than 15% of pupils benefit from three sexuality education sessions during the school year in primary and secondary schools (respectively less than 20% in college)”, whereas these three sessions are provided for by the law. The Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, has affirmed his desire to put this subject back on the table. “The 2001 law very clearly enjoins us to talk about sex education”, and “we must respect the law”, he explained last week on franceinfo.
According to the report of the General Inspectorate for Education, Sport and Research (IGESR), which establishes a list of recommendations, “it is important today to maintain (sex education), clearly identify it, better structure it, improve it and give it a real place within the Ministry of National Education, in consultation with the Ministries of Health, Equality between girls and boys and Child Protection,” they write.
The importance of training
The report proposes, among other things, “to introduce the notions of sex education into the official curricula of certain disciplines; to firmly formalize three dedicated annual sessions in the timetable of schools, colleges and high schools; to provide for systematic information of parents by the management teams at the start of the school year; to encourage research on sex education and its contemporary issues or even to better approve partner associations”.
It also insists on the training of actors with the idea of ”strengthening the deployment of academic trainers on sexuality education, to train in the long term all teaching, education, management, inspectorate intervening in schools on sexuality education”.