For the Minister of National Education, it is unthinkable to revise the Senegalese school curriculum. Mamadou Talla reacted to the debate around the introduction of sex education in Senegalese schools.
The Minister of National Education reacted to the debate around the introduction of sex education in Senegalese schools, which has taken place in Senegal since the seminar on the theme “Sexuality and reproductive education”, organized on December 21, 2020 in Saly by Unesco. “There shouldn’t be a debate because it isn’t. Senegal decides its educational policy taking into account our realities “, says Mamadou Talla who wants to be clear:” I would like to say in a clear and clear way so that everyone understands that today, at the level of the ministry of National Education, there is no change of curriculum, no module, no reform envisaged neither today nor tomorrow. Let it be clear, ”notes Talla. Very firm, he continues: “We stick to what we do in the life and earth sciences, the family and social economy, but also the division that deals with medical check up. This is the support we are providing in reproductive health. ” He was speaking yesterday, in Thiès, on the sidelines of a visit to the National Institute for the education and training of young blind people (Inefja). Mamadou Talla insists: “Senegal has its realities. We have our religious, cultural and worship beliefs. So we stick to what exists. Our system is good, it doesn’t need to go in those directions. Moreover, it was never considered to go in these directions. ” So what sparked the debate? “A workshop was held to assess a project that had existed since 2018 and which ends in 2021. And all those who were there know it”, evacuates the minister. He lectures: “We don’t reform curricula like that. It may be those who are far from school who are thinking about this, but there is no plan to revise our programs. There is nothing new, no new module, no new training, no program review. We stick to what we have always done which has given us good results for more than 10 years. So there is nothing that changes. ” To those who fuel this debate, Mamadou Talla replies: “I don’t know why they want to go in all these directions. In any case, this is not the orientation that is given. It is not in our plans, neither today nor tomorrow. There is no change in reproductive health. What existed before is what exists. There are no new formations. Really those who wanted to go on this ground do not know what is happening at the level of national education. They don’t know what a program is, how to install it, modify it and bring in new things. ”
Indeed, since the famous Saly seminar, there has been an outcry against “Unesco’s proposals which do not rhyme with our values and convictions”. The NGO Jamra and trade unions, members of the G7, accuse Unesco of having organized the meeting to introduce “at school questions linked to homosexuality”. The two entities have also shown their categorical rejection of the Unesco “sexuality” module, which in their eyes promotes “homosexuality at school”. Thus, through a press release, the trade unions consider that “it is a farce which continues. Because two years ago, in a hotel on the Vdn, a workshop was organized and on the occasion of which the same problem was posed. We had rejected it because if it passes, it will destroy our values ”, say the trade unionists who are announcing” a national tour of information and awareness among the religious families of the country, so that all the populations of Senegal are on alert. as much as possible against any attempt to sell off our ancestral values ”.
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