HRD ministry’s Adolescent Education Manual for teachers has added fresh fuel to the ongoing tussle between the modernists and the conservatives on the issue of sex education in schools.

Rejecting the guidelines provided, nine states (including Karnataka) have reacted with an outright ban on the implementation of the subject. Teachers elsewhere have risen in revolt and made bonfire of the books supplied.

In the face of such opposition, it is unlikely that the subject, in its present form would ever manage an entry into classrooms.

There is indeed an important and valid point in the argument of the proponents of sex education. Education must stay aligned to the social scene and the curriculum should reflect the changes happening in the society.

One must also take note of the fact that the flood gates of “modernisation or globalisation” have opened to let in many more excesses as well. It is equally important that the new education should cover not just sex, but a wider spectrum of equally important subjects.

Students need to be educated on the proper use of mobile phones and internet.

Children need to be educated on their environmental responsibilities. With everyday examples, field projects and pledges, children should be made to see the long term implications of the overuse of resources.

Adolescents should be educated on the intelligent use of credit cards. Consumerism is as much a dangerous disease as any other and the potential card users should know all there is to the use of the plastic currency so they don’t walk into the debt traps.

Alcohol and drugs has always been a Satan luring the youth to its charms. Children must be given scientific and not just moral reasons why they should keep off the two.

Food abuse is a peculiar menace of our times. Unhealthy, junk foods have managed to take over the mind and body of the young. With the alarming rise in obesity and other life- style diseases, any education that does not inculcate healthy eating habits in the young, is as good as paper currency in a plate.

Computer education has been introduced from the very early classes because it is acknowledged that in future most jobs would require use of this skill.

Along side, the youth should also be educated on how one should take care of the body while sitting for long hours in front of the monitor. Youth must get habituated to an exercise regimen even when they are in the moulding stage. We are already seeing a generation of youngsters that spends long hours gazing at the computer screen, and does no physical exercise whatsoever and is unable to get out its sedentary habits.

Another ailment peculiar to the modern times is depression. Young people are increasingly reporting loneliness, boredom and disconnect with the world.

One can see that the seeds of this problem often get embedded in the high school age when the youngsters come under enormous pressure to perform and outperform the others. Since nothing much can be done to alter that reality, schools could help build a stable personality through exposure to age appropriate spiritual teachings.

It is time the new subject, “Right Living”, is incorporated in the high school curriculum. The subject will cover all of the above issues, in addition to the necessary education on sex.