The education minister, Ronald Thwaites has instructed that a controversial textbook commenting on homosexuality be withdrawn from the school system.
The book is used by guidance counsellors to help them in steering high school students in their health and family life education programme.
But since a TVJ News exposé on Thursday night, there has been outrage that the book is endorsing homosexuality.
“I consider sections of the material inappropriate for any age and certainly for the grade 7 & 8 students for which it is designed,” Thwaites said in a release issued this afternoon.
He said the book should be rewritten and redistributed to schools adding that the family life values espoused by the ministry are those based on the Christian principles of sexual morality as well as compassion and tolerance for all persons.
According to Thwaites, the curriculum was revised over a two year period 2009-2011 and distributed to schools last September.
He said the content of the theme on sexuality and sexual health was brought to his attention for the first time yesterday.
This is the second time in five years concern is being raised over the content of a textbook deemed to be promoting homosexuality.
In 2007, a Home Economics textbook was ordered to be withdrawn afterThe Gleaner reported that it was discovered that the Education Ministry-recommended textbook listed homosexual unions as a family option.
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