1. DISTRICT LEVEL ADVOCACY
WORKSHOP
Adolescent Education Programme

2. AGE GROUP WITH 10 – 19 YEARS
OF AGE ARE CALLED
ADOLESCENTS.
What is Adolescence?

3. >10-19 YEARS OF AGE
ATTRIBUTES-
>RAPID PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, COGNITIVE AND
BEHAVIORAL CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDING
>URGE TO EXPERIMENT
>ATTAINMENT OF SEXUAL MATURITY
>DEVELOPMENT OF ADULT IDENTITY AND
>TRANSITION FROM SOCIO -ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE TO
RELATIVE INDEPENDENCE
What is Adolescence according to
WHO

4. • Early Adolescence: 10-13 years
• Mid Adolescence : 14-16 years
• Late Adolescence: 17-19 years
Phases of Adolescence

5. Why focus on Adolescents?
 Large human resource (22% population)
 Caring, supportive environment will promote
optimum development –
physical, emotional, mental.
 Their behaviour has impact on National
Health Indicators like maternal and infant
mortality

6. Why focus on Adolescents? (contd.)
 Adolescents are vulnerable to
STIs, HIV/AIDS, sexual abuse
 In India 35% of reported AIDS cases are below
25 years of age group (National AIDS Control
Organization)
 Health of girls has inter-generational effect.

7. Adolescent Concerns
• Growing up concerns
• Developing an identity
• Idealism Vs Realism
• Physical Appearance
• Building relationships
• Resisting peer pressure

8. Adolescent concerns
1. Growing up concerns
 Changes in hormonal secretions causes Acne
(Pimples on face). Many adolescents are unduly
worried about this.
 Changes in reproductive system are a cause of
worry as parents and teachers do not talk about
this openly.
 They lack access to information/education and
services about reproductive health and safe
sexual behavior.

9. Adolescent concerns
2. Developing an identity
 An adolescent wants to develop his / her
identity as an individual.
 He or She feels confused sometimes that
whether he or she is a child or an adult (Because
of different behaviour of parents, teachers and
relatives at different times)

10. Adolescent concerns
3. Physical Appearance
 An adolescent is very much concerned about
physical appearance.
 No comments should be given about their
being tall & lean, about their being shorter as
compared to others of their class, their skin
complexion, wearing of spectacles etc. as it
may develop inferiority complex in them.

11. Adolescent concerns
4. Realism vs Idealism
 An adolescent begins to understand the social fabric of
his surroundings.
 He / She starts judging that whatever moral values have
been taught to him as a child are not practically being
followed by his elders.
 He / She is depressed by corruption, inequality and
other social evils like dowry.
 Proper guidance is needed at this time. Otherwise the
adolescents can be mislead by wrong people.

12. Adolescent concerns
5. Building Relationships
 An adolescent has to be guided properly so as
he / she can chose “good” friends.

13. Adolescent concerns
6. Resisting Peer Pressure
 Adolescents are under pressure from their friends
circle to do many wrong things which may allure
them.
 An adolescent needs to be taught ‘How to say NO?”
 This is very essential for protecting them against drug
abuse.

14. What is AEP?
 It is already implemented in schools. Earlier it
was known as SAEP (School AIDS Education
Programme) and it was limited to spreading
awareness about HIV/AIDS & that too for only
one day (December 01) every year.
 Now it has been renamed as Adolescent
Education Programme (AEP) and it now
addresses all the necessary issues that
adolescents face including HIV/AIDS.

15. The Programme
 16 hours in one academic session.
 Can be taken up as per the convenience of
teachers & students.
 One male teacher of the school will be an AEP
educator for the boys.
 One female teacher of the school will be an AEP
educator for the girls.
 Separate counselling sessions for boys and girls.

16. The Programme
 16 hours in one academic session does not mean to
have a period adjusted in the time table.
 We as teachers generally solve many problems and
doubts of our students.
 We can talk to the students for just 5 – 10 minutes in
one sitting.
 We have to keep in mind that now this is not a general
couselling we provide to our students but a
specialized counselling for which we have been
trained.

17. Aims & objectives of AEP
 To provide necessary sex education to adolescents.
 This will aim at clearing the myths about various
changes in their bodies during development.
 This will improve Maternal and Infant health when
these adolescents grow up and build their families.
 This has to be done in such a way that it does not look
obscene and nobody objects to it.

18. Aims & Objectives of AEP (Contd.)
 To spread awareness about HIV / AIDS.
 Celebrate world AIDS day on December 01
every year in schools.
 This programme has achieved marvelous
success in Punjab as the new AIDS cases have
reduced to a great extent.
 AIDS awareness has to be continued as the
severely affected age group by HIV / AIDS is still
15 – 24 years.

19. Aims & objectives of AEP (Contd.)
 To spread awareness about ill effects of Drug abuse.
 They need to be taught to say ‘NO’ to their peers who
use drugs and ask them to try.
 They have to be told about the connection between
HIV/AIDS and injectible drugs.
 Adolescents are sometimes under stress. This is the
time when they can enter the drug network. They
should be motivated to talk about their problems with
their teacher so that the teacher can help them manage
their stress.

20. Aims & objectives of AEP (Contd.)
Upbringing Problems
 Usually girls are brought up in a traditional set
up & protected.
 Boys are brought up in a more open set up and
are allowed to do anything in the name of
manhood.
 This results in social problems of eve
teasing, drug abuse in boys, rash drivers on
roads, accidents etc.
 AEP aims at making the boys humble, sensible
and responsible.

21. Aims & objectives of AEP (Contd.)
Social media
 General awareness about genuine use of
mobile phones has to be provided.
 Awareness about not sharing their photographs
on social networks like facebook has to be
provided.

22. Aims & objectives of aep (Contd.)
Choice of Vocation
 This programme aims at providing help to
adolescents about the choice of their careers.
 Sometimes they are under extreme pressure
from parents / relatives to take up a particular
career path which they do not like.
 Parents should also be involved in this process
and the student should be helped to take up
the career path according to his / her choice.

23. Aims & Objectives of AEP (Contd.)
 Generally the adolescents are very patriotic.
 They are often depressed about corruption etc. in the
system.
 They are very vulnerable to be exploited by anti - social
& anti - national forces.
 We have to take care of this aspect by clearing their
doubts if any.

24. Aims & Objective of AEP (Contd.)
 To provide accurate age appropriate information
to school going children between age of 14-19
on adolescence and growing up.
 To reinforce existing positive behavior and instill
life skills that enable young people to protect
themselves.

25. Aims & Objectives of AEP (Contd.)
 The ultimate aim is to help our
adolescents to transform into
responsible, sensible, stress free and good
human beings & good citizens.

26.  THANK YOU ALL.