Kerala HC Directs CBSE, State To Form Committee For Designing Age-Appropriate Prevention-Oriented Curriculum To Raise Awareness, Reduce Instances Of Sexual Offences

The Kerala High Court has directed the State to form a committee of experts to design a curriculum to impart age-appropriate prevention-oriented programmes on sexual abuse.

“At times the sexual acts are committed with the belief that the consent of both partners is sufficient to absolve them from the crime. By the time they realize their assumptions to be mistaken notions, it is too late in the day, and the situation becomes destructive, leading to very inconvenient results and beyond any remedial measures” observed Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas.

The Court was considering a bail application when it noted the increasingly high rate of sexual offences against children due to a lack of awareness. Thus, the Court invoked its inherent jurisdiction and impleaded the State of Kerala, the Central Board of Secondary Education and the Kerala State Legal Services Authority and directed them to take steps to include a prevention-oriented curriculum in the school to make students aware of sexual abuse.

Earlier, the Court was informed that SCERT will include awareness about POCSO in their curriculum and textbooks will be prepared by experts.

Advocate Parvathy Menon submitted that KELSA has already issued a booklet of relevant laws that are supplied to students across various schools, which includes lessons regarding the POCSO Act. They added that a committee has also been constituted to formulate guidelines and provide awareness among minors.

Advocate Nirmal S. submitted that CBSE had identified the need for imparting awareness on the provisions of POCSO and other similar statutes and had even issued a Circular in 2014 as well as in 2017, making it mandatory for every school to initiate steps to instil awareness on POCSO Act.

The Court also issued the following directions regarding the implementation of sexual education in educational institutions:

1. The State of Kerala and the CBSE shall issue necessary and appropriate orders making it mandatory for every School under its control and within the territory of Kerala to include a prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse as a mandatory part of the curriculum.

2. A Committee of Experts shall be formed by the State of Kerala and the CBSE within an outer time limit of two months from today to identify the mode and methodology for imparting an age-appropriate prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse.

3. The Committee of Experts shall submit its recommendations within an outer period of six months from its formation, and appropriate orders shall thereafter be issued by the State of Kerala and the CBSE in tune with the recommendation so as to implement the programme from the academic year 2023-24.

4. The Secretary/ Secretary General of the respondents and all other Officers concerned under the respective respondents shall be bound to comply with the above directions.

The court also took note of the success of 'Erin's law' which is a New York State law requiring that all public schools in each state implement a prevention-oriented child sexual abuse program which has been implemented in other states.

“Issuing circulars which remain hidden to many will not serve any purpose nor achieve the desired results. Awareness of statutory provisions relating to sexual offences and other allied matters is to be made part of the curriculum, to be taught at regular intervals as a measure of prevention-based orientation. Continuous or repeated awareness sessions about the pernicious effects of sexual offences alone may achieve the desired objective of a drastic reduction in the commission of such crimes” concluded the Court.

Counsel for Petitioners: Advocates Nireesh Mathew, Rashmi and B Meera

Counsel for Respondents: Advocates MK Pushpalatha (Public Prosecutor), Nirmal S, Parvathi Menon and KV Rashmi

Case Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 211

Case Title: Anoop v. State of Kerala

Case Number: Bail Appl. 3273 of 2022

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