Come April 2008, Catholic schools will take the lead among the nation’s primary schools by implementing an abstinence programme.

Posters on display at Presentation College, Chaguanas

Fr Jason Gordon speaks at the launch of ‘Values & Virtues’ – the abstinence programme for primary schools, on Friday, August 24.

Mrs Rahael, wife of Health Minister John Rahael, presents certificates to Catholic primary teachers at Presentation College, Chaguanas, after they completed training in ‘Values & Virtues’ – the abstinence programme for primary schools.

In an interview with the Catholic News at the recent launch of the programme, Dr Peter Gentle explained that “Values and Virtues” was designed specifically for primary schools but has not yet been approved by the Ministry of Education for use in Government primary schools.

However, Dr Gentle said, a decision has been taken to begin the programme in Catholic primary schools from next April.

“We cannot wait any longer,” he declared. “There are 13 and 14-year-olds in our schools who are pregnant and have HIV. God help us!”

Dr Gentle noted that youths were becoming sexually active from an increasingly earlier age and explained that this was the reason why the archdiocese decided to introduce the abstinence programme in its primary schools.

He said: “We have to target the younger ones as they are having sexual intercourse and outer-course in primary schools. Even 12-year-olds are becoming pregnant these days. We’ve seen it more than once.” 

He added that sexual outer-course comprised the activities leading up to sex, like kissing, touching, fondling, etc.

Dr Gentle spoke too of the danger of oral sex. “Most young people, and some adults, do not realise that oral sex is sex and that you can get HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) through oral sex.”

He underscored the point that there were many other incurable STDs to also be concerned about – not just HIV/Aids – and said, in 90% of cases, people were unaware that they even had a STD.

He also made mention of the sexually transmitted Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), noting that it caused cervical cancer – which is on the rise.

Dr Gentle is advocating abstinence until marriage to a faithful partner as the only way to combat the spread of STDs, maintaining that promiscuity is the cause of the problem. For this reason, he said, the nation’s youth must be targeted from early.

“This programme seeks to do just that. We are targeting those children who have just completed SEA and are getting ready to go on to the secondary schools. We want to educate them before they go out there and are faced with all this sex.”

“Values and Virtues” was formally launched on August 25 at Presentation College, Chaguanas, and training of Catholic primary school teachers has begun. Dr Gentle explained that more teacher training sessions are scheduled for December, so that the programme could be implemented in all 120 Catholic primary schools next year.

The abstinence programme for primary schools is a modified version of the 12-step programme launched in 2004 in secondary schools.