No moral values please, says text book on `adolescent education'

Is having sex the only way to prove love? No, says the text book on `adolescent education' for class IX and XI which is being taught in government and government-aided schools.
``Instead of having sex, learn other means to show your love or satisfy your needs by practicing safe behaviour such as giving a flower, holding hands, deep kissing, deep hugging and masturbation,'' the book says while insisting that masturbation or self stimulation of genitals is a common activity practiced by both boys and girls and it is more common in
males than females.
The book adds that it has been proven scientifically that masturbation causes no harm and is one of the safest activity to avoid HIV infection.
The 150-page book `Learning for Life, A guide to family health and life skills education for teachers and students' asks the teachers to have a `frank and explicit' discussion on sexuality with students and not to impose moral values on students.
In an exercise, teachers should ask the students to state the physical difference between a four-year old and a fourteen-year old. If the class has not written on the change in the body proportions, teachers should ask questions on that aspect.
While summarising, teachers should have the whole class together so that boys and girls know about the changes in the other sex.
The book says that teachers should use vernacular vocabulary while talking about sex and sexuality with students as they may not know the English terms for many things such as genital organs. Students should be asked to write `local words' for each term.
It also poses several questions to students including whether a girl can get pregnant if a boy doesn't ejaculate or `come' inside her, can a girl get pregnant if the semen is ejaculated outside the vagina and around the vaginal opening, whether manual handling of breasts would lead to HIV infection and is a a woman with big breast sexy?
Insisting `correct use of condoms' to avoid HIV infection, the book points out to teachers that students don't know where to buy condomns and many feel shy in asking for condomns.
At one place the book also dealt about oral sex. However, teachers should emphasise that students should delay sex till marriage.
Teachers are also required to conduct a number of role plays by students to learn to be assertive and say no to sex.
One such role play reads: ``Geetha is alone at a park with Anand, her boy friend. Anand is quite aggressive with his demands for sex. How Geetha should say no?''
And there is a `Role reversal' also in which boy should act like a girl and girl should act as a boy. The text is explained with the help of cartoons in several places.
A manual for teachers contains nude pictures of boys and girls showing physiological changes from age nine to 14 and 16 while another book demonstrates how to put condoms on penis, have already raised protests from teaching community in many schools.