Principal- Colombo International School (CIS), M.J. Chappel was questioned by police on Wednesday in connection with the controversial sex education book- ‘Introducing Moral Issues’, by Joe Jenkins, and taught to Grade 6 students, a senior official said yesterday.
Chairperson- National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), Anoma Dissanayake told The Sunday Times that they were now seeking advice from the Attorney General’s (AG) Department before pressing further charges or making any arrests against those responsible.
|
| The cover of the controversial book and below some illustrations in the book |
|
 |
She said the NCPA was currently looking into the legal aspects, after CIS authorities refused to remove the book from the school’s curricular, but instead, has made it public reading material by displaying it in their library.
She said that legal action against the school will be slow, since the institute is covered by the Company Act and mandated by the Board of Investment (BoI), hence operating as a business establishment.
She further urged the Education authorities to initiate action against the CIS, and that, the respective parents should also provide support towards this end.
“The contents in the book, which includes pictures and sketches of sex aids, contraceptives etc is outrageous. This should never be the case where 11 and 12-year-olds are concerned”, Dissanayake added.
“The book also preaches the methods of love making, early marriages and even abortions. This should be of no interest to Grade 6 students”, she further added.
Meanwhile, lawyer and former UNP MP Dinesh Dodangoda, who initially raised the issue, has instituted court action against the CIS authorities, after they failed to withdraw the book from the syllabus.
Mr. Dodangoda, a former journalist, told the Sunday Times that, apart from the graphics of sex, the book also goes on to mention the methods in the use of drugs that could be very disturbing. “When you spell out such graphic details, it raises curiosity and ‘copy cat’ acts that could lead to horrific and adverse results.
The school argues that this sort of education is widely practised in the West and other countries, and therefore, should not be treated as an issue. However, the CIS fails to add that such education is taught at Grade 8 and upwards in those countries, where the students are of an older age”, Mr. Dodangoda further explained.
He said that, owing to the controversy surrounding the book, he was compelled to pull his child out of the school.
In a circular distributed to parents of CIS, Mr. Jenkins vehemently supports the book, adding that someone was trying to create mischief and disrupt the activities of the school.
“The book is on moral issues, and gives children an introduction to areas which they should be aware of, as they progress in their education. We have been issuing this book every year since 1997, and never had a problem or any complaint whatsoever about the book, or the nature or value of its contents”, the principal had further noted.
However, the note also goes on to quote the former principal and the current consultant of the school D.C. Sanders, as saying that the book is useful for students in Grade 7 and 8.
“There are sensible chapters on drugs, alcohol and relationships, but there is nothing of a shocking nature. By the standards of 2010, it is very traditional. The content should be part of a good and relevant secondary education”, Sanders is quoted as saying.
At present, there are an estimated 700 plus students attending the CIS of whom 70% are Sri Lankans. |
E-mail
