This new program will be presented in December. It will be aimed at students “from the age of four and up”.
Not yet presented, the education program for sexuality, emotional and relational life is already controversial. The Minister of National Education Anne Genetet responds this Thursday, November 28 to her Minister Delegate responsible for academic success and vocational education, who on Wednesday judged this program “as it stands, not acceptable”.
“The program is very clear, today it is about firstly providing a program where there was none, that our teachers are supported and can answer the questions asked by the children, that parents know exactly what the program contains,” said Anne Genetet during a trip to Marcq-en-Baroeul, in the North.
She defends a “balanced, very progressive program, which takes into account the maturity and age of each person”.
“The theory of gender does not exist”
“It's a program in which we obviously don't learn sexual practices, we learn respect, the notion of consent, the difference between girls and boys, we learn to say 'no'”, she adds, trying to put an end to the controversy.
Alexandre Portier, Minister Delegate in charge of academic success and vocational education, said he wanted to “personally commit to ensuring that gender theory does not find its place in our schools, because it must not be there his place.”
“This program has no ideology, gender theory does not exist, it obviously does not exist in this program,” insists Anne Genetet, adding: “There is only one line: that of the ministry, the one that I defend”.
A text not yet definitively presented
“Let's not forget that when a young person does not have the answer to these questions, he will look for it on his own, we know today that one in two boys at the age of 11 have already consulted pornographic sites,” explains the minister.
“This is what we want to fight,” she adds.
Announced by former Minister of Education Pap Ndiaye and initially planned for the start of the 2024 school year, this draft text, the current version of which is not final, has been the subject of consultations since March. It must be presented in mid-December to the Higher Education Council (CSE), a consultative body.
“Essential” role
Several conservative collectives including the Family Union, the new name of La Manif pour tous, denounced a “scandalous” project, “under woke influence and steeped in ideology”.
For their part, several organizations, such as Family Planning and Ciivise, have denounced the conservative revolt, insisting on its “essential” role in the fight against sexual violence.
Education in emotional, relational and sexual life has been compulsory since 2001 in schools but in practice is rarely implemented. The emphasis of this new program is on learning related to the body and emotions for the youngest and then, for older children, learning to protect their privacy and that of others.
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