CONSUMER and sex education will be taught to students in elementary and high-school students beginning this school year, the Department of Education has announced.
Education Secretary Mona Valisno said consumer education would be taught in high school as the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Trade and Industry both agreed that students must be taught how to become intelligent and responsible consumers.
For this purpose, Education and Trade departments collaborated in developing 98 lesson exemplars and 10 modules on consumer education, which will be introduced in the high school system both in private and public schools nationwide.
Sex education
Valisno said sex education would be mixed with the science and health subjects, reasoning that the students “should know how to protect their bodies” from reliable sources rather than from the Internet.
She said the department would first conduct a test on the subject in one public school per region for high-school students.
After a few months of implementation, the subjects can be taught to elementary students as well.
Church reacts
As expected, the Catholic Church strongly objected to the proposal of a sex education in schools.
Archbishop Oscar Cruz said that the boys should be taught instead on how to respect girls and women.
The girls and women on the other hand, should be taught how to avoid sex abuse and be taught self-defense.
According to a group of students and teachers, the first thing that needs to be ensured is if the teachers underwent training on the subject matter.
Consumerism
On the other hand, Trade Secretary Jesli Lapus, himself a former secretary of the Department of Education, said the matter of consumer education is important to the students both in elementary and high school.
He said the students have to be taught of their rights as a consumer and the standards for each product, adding they will be taught how to compute the volume of Liquified Petroleum Gas during their science lessons.
Moreover, the lesson exemplars and modules that the Education and Trade departments developed jointly include lessons on fair trade laws such as the Consumer Act of the Philippines, the Price Act, and the Standards Law as well as consumers’ rights and responsibilities.
Money matters
Lapus said high school students receiving allowance are consumers themselves because they have money to spend and they should know how to spend it.
The joint undertaking of the two departments is in compliance with the mandate of Republic Act 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines.
Valisno said the two departments will faithfully implement the provisions of Republic Act 7394.
The lesson exemplars will be piloted in 115 schools nationwide. After one year, the Education department will finalize the writing of the lessons and will subsequently institutionalize the first year exemplar by turning the program over to the Bureau of Secondary Education (BSE).
“Through this partnership with DepEd, we want our students to make wise choices, get value for their money as well as influence their families in becoming informed and smart consumers,” Lapus said.
The Consumer Education Exemplars will be pilot-tested in the following schools: Balingasa High School, Mataas na Paaralang Neptali A. Gonzales, Santa Lucia High School (Pasig City) and Rizal High School.
The lessons on consumerism will be integrated in such subjects as English, Filipino, Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, Values Education, Music, Arts, Physical Education and Health and Technology and Livelihood Education. –FRANCIS EARL A. CUETO Reporter, Manila Times
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