Thirdly, the few experts, the guidance and counselling teachers, belong to the old school of thought where certain topics are covered with utmost reservation. Not to mention the negative attitude that some teachers have for G&C programmes for it is a ‘waste of time’.

In India for example schools are considered the most appropriate places that plays a pivotal role in the provision of sex education (particularly AIDS education) for young people. Not only do schools have the capacity to reach a large number of young people, but also the fact that students are particularly receptive to learning new information.

A report carried out by UNESCO in 2009, indicated that a large number of children in Eastern Africa had very little knowledge on HIV/AIDS which was attributed to, among other factors, lack of full coverage of the topic at the higher institutions of learning and in teachers training colleges and lack of examination for students on the topic (and therefore little incentive to teach it).

The Life Skills syllabus advocates for peer counselling where some learners are trained as peer counsellors. However, this approach has its demerits. The student peer counsellors are never taken seriously by the peers – the supposed audience.

Some schools at times opt for professional counsellors and motivational speakers. This move is the best to break the monotone of having the regular teachers doing it day in day out. This, though, has its financial implications and some head teachers are quite uncomfortable because of the ‘exorbitant’ rates that these counsellors quote.

Failure to cover sex education, which is one of the topics in Life Skills, exhaustively is evident by the number of cases of early pregnancies and the subsequent dropouts from school reported annually.

The case of a form two student from Ngaru Girls who was sexually molested by students in senior classes, after she refused to yield to their sexual advances, is an early warning of the rot in most of our schools. The six boys from Sixty Four Secondary School in Eldoret arraigned in court accused of gang rapping their colleague leaves many wondering of the safety their of children in our schools.

Many heinous sexual acts go unreported and if reported, they are dealt with utter impunity by the parties involved always at the chagrin of the girl child. The government should never allow an out of court settlement of cases involving sexual abuse or molestation for this has ruined the lives of many children in this country. The wanton poverty in many families makes some parents opt for an out of court settlement for they see this as a possible source of money at the expense of the life of the child involved.

With HIV/AIDS prevalence on the rise, there is dire need to provide young people with basic AIDS education to enable them to protect themselves from becoming infected. Young people are often particularly vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, and to HIV infection as a result of drug-use. Equipping them with the right knowledge and skills encourages young people to avoid or reduce behaviours that carry a risk of HIV infection. AIDS education is important for it ensures that they are prepared to counter situations that can put them at risk as they grow older.

Are our parents too busy for their children? Are we business or job oriented and have no time to attend to our children’s social needs? If this is the case then danger may be looming for we shall just be offloading irresponsible citizens in to the larger society.

Sexuality, sex education and sexual health can never be divorced and normally spoken of in one breath. The transitional stage of development between childhood and adulthood is one full of glaring risks. The puberty and adolescent stages of life are dictated by vast hormonal changes that trigger sexuality. Therefore, children at this stage are more vulnerable to the dangers brought about by these changes.

Sexuality is defined as thoughts and feelings about sex; the feelings of being in love; religious and cultural views on sexual activity; feelings about a changing body during adolescence and sexual dreams.

Just like there are many parts that make up our personality, there are many parts that make up sexuality. Our culture, traditional beliefs, and gender roles, play integral roles in defining what we consider normal sexual feelings and acceptable sexual behaviour. This is what amounts to sexual health. Due to numerous risks that children at adolescent stage face, the need for utmost level of care: guidance and counseling is paramount both by the society at large, parents at home and teachers in school.