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Although it is in favour of introducing sex education in the school curriculum, the Ministry of Education is putting a temporary "brake" on the proposal so that the necessary processes can be carried out.
In a letter sent to the President of the Parliament, Anita Demetriou, the Minister of Education Prodromos Prodromou requests that the vote on the specific law proposal be postponed and that the dialogue in the Education Committee and in other parliamentary committees be continued.
Among other things, he says that "any decision with a general legislative provision and problems of constitutional order has and potentially entails expenditure that has not been budgeted for, but above all it will be practically impossible to implement".
The letter itself:
Further to my letter, dated 25 November 2022, regarding the above matter, I am reporting the following:
The Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, as was our position during the discussion of the relevant proposed law, is in favour of introducing sex education in the school curriculum and has already made relevant actions and changes in previous years.
Already the issue is being considered in connection with the introduction of Skills Workshops in Primary Education and the Gymnasium cycle.
However, the introduction of sex education in the school curriculum should be done in a structured way, the supervisory material should be prepared, the teaching possibilities should be studied/prepared and with the necessary training, and provision should be made for the staff.
Particularly in secondary education, the established timetable does not allow for direct interventions that bring about more general variations (in relation to other subjects) or additions that have not been discussed.
Therefore, any decision with a general legislative provision and problems of constitutional order has and may bring about expenditure that has not been budgeted for, but above all will be practically impossible to implement.
Therefore, the opinion of the Legal Service was also sought. We enclose a relevant opinion.
The Ministry's recommendation is to continue the planning we have started for the introduction of sex education in schools, in cooperation with the Parliamentary Education Committee, which will be kept constantly informed, and possibly with other parliamentary committees, and to allow time so that, after the necessary consultations, a proposal can be put forward to the Council of Ministers for the necessary change in the Timetables.
Any adoption of the legislative proposal now, without the other necessary processes and preparation, would both complicate the situation and would not have the expected results.
Therefore, we would ask that a hasty legislative act be avoided, which would result in the obligation of the Executive Branch, as well as from the opinion of the Attorney General, to refer the Act to the President of the Republic.
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