CHENNAI: An effort to sensitise high and higher secondary school teachers to the `growing-up pai... Sensitising teachers to ad

CHENNAI: An effort to sensitise high and higher secondary school teachers to the `growing-up pains' of their adolescent students was started by the Chennai branch of the Family Planning Association of India (FPAI) on Wednesday.

The FPAI's project will focus on Chennai Corporation and State Government schools in K.K. Nagar, MGR Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Saligramam, Virugambakkam and Nesapakkam.

As a first step, an interactive meeting was held for headmasters and teachers of these schools to discuss issues such as peer pressure, experimentation and teen pregnancies. The FPAI will lobby for education in sexuality for adolescents to be added to the school curriculum.

Ranjini Murugan, FPAI Chennai president, says awareness of an adolescent's emotions, dislikes, fears and strengths is the first step for a teacher to be sensitive to a student. This will develop "youth friendly" and "gender sensitive" teachers, she says.

The next step is to conduct orientation programmes for parent-teacher associations. Training on counselling and guidance will be offered to 25 selected teachers.

FPAI's branch manager S. Gopalakrishnan told teachers that it was natural for teenagers to be moody, answer back rudely and do the opposite of instructions given. Teachers must find creative avenues such as sports to help adolescents work off negative thoughts and emotions.

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