On 28 October 2014, The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS), under the support from UNESCO, launched a regional workshop on Growth and Changes, which brought together almost 100 representatives from MoEYS leadership, Provincial Offices of Education, Youth and Sport of Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie and Stung Treng, school principals and teachers. The workshop was co-chaired by H.E. Madam Tun Sa Im and H.E. Madam Soeur Socheata, Under-Secretaries of State of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.
Puberty is a time of change for all young people – a time of rapid physical, psychological, and cognitive changes. It is particularly challenging for girls who are often unprepared for changes in their body, which can become a major obstacle to their education.
This workshop provided a platform for education officials, school principals and teachers to engage in discussions issues related to puberty of adolescents and the role of education and schools in addressing them systematically in a safe learning environment. It was also the occasion to launch the booklet on “Growth and Changes”, which was developed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and experts from the University of Columbia (Authors: Marni Sommer and Susan Connolly) under the financial assistance of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
“Puberty brings significant physical and emotional changes in the lives of young girls and boys, many times have negative effects leading to a drop in self-esteem and poor performance at school. As many of the young adolescents are continuing formal education, school is the ideal location to reach a large proportion of learners before puberty so that they are prepared for the changes. The Ministry of Education Youth and Sports is investing its efforts to mobilize resources to ensure puberty education and menstrual management get well integrated in and delivered properly to students through the larger comprehensive sexuality education framework.” ~ H. E. Tun Sa Im, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.
Facilitated by Technical Officials of School Health Department, the discussion covered issues related to puberty, physical changes, menstruation and hygiene including case studies and stories.
“UNESCO is pleased to partner with the Ministry to design and implement a Comprehensive Sexuality Education curriculum. The discussion on puberty and related issues establishes a good foundation for the Ministry to develop open and comprehensive guidance on this subject for the education sector, including principals, teachers and parents.” said Nimol Soth, National Programme Officer for Education and HIV/AIDS.
The workshop also identified approaches for all partners in the education sector to work together on puberty education and menstrual hygiene management starting in primary school. Based on the field experiences from schools and communities, the workshop provided clear and practical recommendations on what is required to remove the stigma associated with menstruation and offer opportunities for all girls to grow up as fully empowered women. The topics of hygiene, sanitation and sexual and reproductive health, including puberty, have been included in a larger Comprehensive Sexuality Education curriculum of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport.
One of the recommendations that strongly came out was that there should be a systematic platform to scale up the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education curriculum at lower and upper secondary schools in these four provinces, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kratie and Stung Treng, in the coming academic years, with a clear framework of monitoring and technical coaching support to teachers and schools in delivering the program.
For more information, contact Nimol Soth (n.soth@unesco.org), UNESCO office in Phnom Penh.
Source:UNESCO office in Phnom Penh
Related Links:
International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education - An evidence-informed approach for schools, teachers and health educators (English, Chinese and Thai)