An overwhelming 81 per cent parents in urban Delhi want sex education to be made a compulsory part of school curriculum.

This finding of a new survey by Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital goes against the widely held perception that parents are opposed to sex education due to social hitches.

Fifteen hundred parents of five school - three private and two government - in the Capital participated in the survey. These schools are covered under the Safdarjung Hospital Adolescent Healthcare Network.

Nearly 74 per cent parents agreed that sexrelated problems should be routinely discussed in school by teachers and 57 per cent indicated that sex education should be started from Class VIII.

Mandatory sex education in schools was backed by 78 per cent mothers and 82 per cent fathers. Eighty-two per cent parents of boys and 78 per cent parents of girls were in favour of sex education, the survey revealed.

"Media exposure and globalisation have impacted sexual behaviour and increased vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy and abuse," said Dr Pradeep Debata, department of Paediatrics, Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital.

"From this study, we could know that society has started accepting sexuality as an issue in adolescents and wants to deal with it in a more scientific way. A nationwide debate is required regarding the content and the mode of implementation of sex education," Debata added.

Earlier, a parliamentary committee had disfavoured introduction of sex education in schools and suggested inclusion of appropriate chapters only in the biology syllabus, but not before Class XI.

