Need For Sex Education Among Teachers In Senior Secondary Schools

INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study:
The term sex Education is referred to as a parenthood education. Population Education which has continued to convey different meaning among family members, communities and the public at large is now more than a moral issue and has become a public health problem. The rate which sexually transmitted diseases are threatening humanity has become so alarming that government and non-governmental. Organizational have carried out and are still carrying out campaigns on the disastrous consequences of ignorance among the people and at the same time providing solutions to it. The recent and perhaps the most menacing of sexually transmitted diseases is HIV/AIDS among Gonorrhea, syphilis etc which does not have any cure and that is why sex-education and other public enlightenment programs is now the only salvation from this deadly diseases. The most vulnerable groups to this disease are the ignorant pre-adolescent (younger teenagers) and adolescent, adults and youths who are also invariably the most sexually active groups (Ewuzie, 1998). Therefore, the need for sex-education in this respect cannot be over emphasized.
Sex Education is mainly concerned with the didactic meaning, understanding and handling of sex organs and sex related issues through a comprehensive systematic instruction.
Nwolise (1981) defined sex education as a means of which morality in the younger generation would be ensured. In the same vein Ewuzie (1998) reports that Sex Education is the preparation of men and women to fulfill their functions precisely as men and women. It helps them to understand the function of sex and the role it plays in life and to encourage our youths as well as adults to behave adaptively and use their sexual urges for the right purpose and with the right person. They need a guide which will help and direct them on the normal way of life and that is the essence of Sex Education.
The focal point of this study is directly towards adolescents as this is the stage of a child who falls between the ages of twelve to eighteen years. They experience new and surprising changes that are taking place in their sex organs. During this period, a child is often inquisitive and eager to understand the sexual urges. Children should be educated on the possible physical changes to be experience as they grow up may be as from nine years. These are known as physical changes; they are also likely to be faced with problems association with this maturation.
The adolescent is often found in senior secondary schools, functional in house work such as cooking, selling in their restaurant or hawking to support the household. These functions being held by these groups can easily tempt then into satisfying their sexual urges without it’s basic knowledge. The then sex education provided by the missionaries was for morality and is regarded to be one sided and not balanced.
The ignorance of some parents, teachers, and guidance towards sexual practices has placed their children in the condition of trail and error in order to satisfy their curiosity; depriving children what they are supposed to know about. Sex Education can give them the impetus of exploring all available avenues for answers to their sexual urges. For examples, in boys masturbation is a source of anxiety. Youth are kept in perpetual ignorance about sex education and the adults still expect them to know what to do so as to maintain moral discipline and live up to high moral standard expected of them.
Osisioma (1996) said that Sex Education should help to create the necessary awareness among the adolescent concerning the advantages and disadvantages relating to their maturation. For example, the changes in shape of the females and the link-up of the inevitable attraction especially from the opposite sex. The desire to be independent early in life is also one of the areas that need to be emphasized.
The ill effects of television, films, Pornographic pictures, radio talks, novels and write ups in our dailies are fast growing in Nigeria. The population of about seven million students watch television everyday and that arouse the eagerness in the students especially with regards to drug abuse and prostitution, abnormal moral perversion and rapes still in respect with (Osisoma 1996). Its effects on the generality of youths is source of worry and has its attendance dangers such as unwanted pregnancy, abortion and infertility, sexually transmitted diseases, waywardness, ill prepared and premature marriages and all kinds of sex abuses. The attitude of students towards this phenomenon is generating ugly conditions as it affects the attitudes of teaching towards sex education which deserves a critical look.
The main goal of sex education is to provide accurate and timely information, methods and materials to help individuals gain the knowledge, attitude and skills needed for realistic and appropriate behavioural decisions.
The school as a custodian of these children should not fail to protect them by giving accurate and necessary information.
There should be proper sex-education because of the following reasons:
1. Very few children receive sex education in their homes.
2. Children are often victims of inaccurate street information and pornography.
3. Children should structure their identity with sexual roles early in life.
4. There are wide spread of misconception regarding matters relating to sex.
5. There are differential cultural views which produce conflict of attitude towards sex.
6. Illegitimate births among girls are rampant.
7. There are greater freedoms for both sexes to mix without supervisions.
8. High rate of peer pressure.
The implementation and attitude of teachers towards sex education is critically facing many problems. There is therefore an extreme need for a critical analysis of this matter as it affects the attitude of some teachers as well as parents and guidance in order to enable them give advices to the students and also enlighten them on what they should know by pointing out the fact to them as it is; as that will help to impact morality in them.
Many teachers have shallow views on the effective way of teaching sex education. Some are literate enough but are shy to teach sexual fact to their students while some teachers and parents see it as immoral, abominable and forbidden. In most cases, some teachers and parents are just ignorant of the fact.
Therefore, the reason why there must be an enlightenment programme on sex education is to curb the negative effects it has both upon the individuals and the society at large. That is why “WE” the researchers have put it upon ourselves to reach out to the masses of young people in order to sensitize them on what they need to know about sexual activities and its challenges.

Statement of the Problem
In recent times, human societies are witnessing a great number of sexual problems. The youths are at the highest risk as they engage in indiscriminate and casual sex. The sexual problems range from maladjustment, unwanted pregnancies, abortion, mental ill health, infertility, ill prepared and pre-matured marriages, sickle cell diseases, sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea, syphilis and worse still the threatening killer HIV/AIDS which have so badly changed a man that he can no longer feel and perform the sexual activities in a useful way according to the medical services. The researchers here are worried about the ineffectiveness of the secondary school education system towards the long introduced sex education in the society. Now the question is; how can sex education be imparted to students? What approach/measures are to be adopted to impact this knowledge to students? What are the attitudes of both teachers and students towards sex education in Nkanu west local Government Area? These questions among others on sexual activities need to be addressed or emphasized upon.
In fact, some students living around some urban settlements in Nkanu west local government area are more inclined to hawking along the streets than schools. This act of hawking is a special forum for students to engage themselves in irrational act of sex mostly during night hawking. Those students living near these semi-urban settlements make up the major population of the secondary schools in Nkanu west local Government Area. These students are also into some illegal activities like partying, pornographic movies and men that could corrupt them. In most cases, lack of parental care, poor school background and lack of well trained and enlightened teachers contribute to the illegal behaviour of most of our students and that has prompted the introduction of this study in the senior secondary schools in Nkanu west local government area.

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study specifically sought to:
1. Ascertain whether the teaching of sex education is necessary in senior secondary schools.
2. Determine the course content of sex education to be taught in senior secondary schools.
3. Find out which subjects should contain sex education in senior secondary schools.
4. Determine the causes of sex abuses in senior secondary schools.

Significance of the Study
This study is of great important to students, teachers, parents, curriculum planners and even the government as all will benefit from the knowledge of sex education and thereby modifying their behaviour towards sex related issues.
The significance of this study lies also in the fact that if the youths are well informed (sensitized) about several changes that occurs in their bodies during the process of growth and development, then they will know how to adjust in order to face the challenges those changes come with. The government could be persuaded to introduce the teaching of sex education in senior secondary schools.
Issues like possible consequences of pre-marital sex act, determination of sex of a child, fraternal and identical twins, sickle cell diseases, HIV/ADIS and sexually transmitted diseases. Human reproduction and reproductive health and other issues on human are all incorporated with sex education.
Furthermore, the importance of sex education in our society cannot be over emphasized. The training/ orientation of teachers and other personnel is of paramount importance. Consequently, necessary and appropriate strategies/ methodologies must be imported for prevention education about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. This study will be of immense help to the teachers, students and parents as it portrays intricies of human sexualities. It will also help to discover how easy or difficult sex education programme has been for teachers, mostly those trained in the old system during the missionary era.
This research work will help the student in creating the most needed awareness about their bodies, solutions to problems of lack of the teaching of sex education in secondary school for the good of the society. Students could equally have a good sense of direction on issues relating to sex and human sexuality. It will also contribute to available literatures on sex education which will serve as a basis for further research work in this area. This study therefore is significantly abundance to all and sundry.

Scope of the Study
This study is an attempt to find out the need for sex education in senior secondary schools with particular reference to Nkanu west local government area.

Research Questions:
The following research questions are considered in this study:
1. At what extent is the teaching of sex education necessary in senior secondary schools?
2. How can we determine the course content of sex education to be taught in senior secondary schools?
3. Which subject should contains sex education in senior classes?
4. What are the main causes of sex abuses in senior secondary schools?