Catholic Church tips Education ministry on sexuality education

Mbarara Archbishop Paul Kamuza Bakyenga. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • He said this is a critical time where everybody is concerned about the young people dying from different kinds of diseases and warned young people, especially girls, to remain focused while safeguarding themselves against causes of death.

Mbarara Archbishop Paul Kamuza Bakyenga has asked the Ministry of Education to revise the new sex education guidelines issued to schools because they are not in line with the demands of the church guidelines about the subject to its congregations.

While addressing parents and students at the 16th graduation of Nyamitanga College of Business Studies at the school premises on Friday where 306 students received diplomas and Certificates in different business studies, Bishop Bakyenga said the Catholic church has issued guidelines to the ministry of Education to follow while implementing the new guidelines they have issued to schools on sex education since it is through the church that morals are nurtured.

“These days the ministry of Education has issued new guidelines for the formation of young people in primary schools and secondary schools, sex education. Your church has also responded to what the ministry of education has given because the church is a mother....” Bishop Bakyenga said.

Bishop Bakyenga said the ministry should revise their guidelines because they messed up on some things that are not fit for some age brackets targeted by some of the guidelines.

“We felt we should give some guidelines also to assist the technical people of the ministry of Education, we hope they will revise their text because there are things they have put in their text which are not good enough for the different ages for whom that guideline is meant,’’ Bishop Bakyenga said.

He said this is a critical time where everybody is concerned about the young people dying from different kinds of diseases and warned young people, especially girls, to remain focused while safeguarding themselves against causes of death.

“Be alert, be on your guard so that we do not lose what you worked for in your formation and training and you will receive your reward in full. The nation is concerned, the parents are concerned, we have lost too many young people to deadly diseases and we hope you will keep alive and be able to do the work for which you have prepared yourselves,’’ he said.
Bishop Bakyenga asked Ugandans to support young people by giving them jobs instead of misusing them.

“May the Lord bless you young ladies and gentlemen and may you have a bright future and continue to support your nation and your church. It is not my duty to talk about Dubai but please we need you in this country and please my fellow citizens let us support these young ladies and gentlemen to get some jobs and we should not fail to pay them however much small it is they should get it with good heart to get the courage to work for the country,” he said.

Ministry guidelines
In July this year, the ministry of Education launched sexuality education in schools at Kololo Senior Secondary School in Kampala to equip students with information with the information to manage themselves.
“The ministry of Education recognises sexuality education as a very important component of school health education programmes as a way to empower young people with information and life skills that are age appropriate, culturally and religious sensitive, and that enable them to make safe and healthy life choices,” the statement from the ministry of education reads.

“The bottom line is the values in our society. As we endeavor to prepare young people for a successful adult life, we should seek to build in them the important quality of integrity. Children are not born with integrity…… It is formed in them from a process of cultural sensitisation- influences from all spheres of child’s life. While we have them in school, we must ensure that students acquire these values from adult role models and peers and through an understanding of principles of integrity. When students learn integrity in the classroom setting, it helps them apply similar principles to all other aspects of their lives, including their sexuality’’ reads the ministry statement.