DepEd reiterates: CSE modules do not contain 'inappropriate concepts'

Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Wednesday again dismissed claims circulating online that the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) program includes lessons on childhood masturbation and other "inappropriate concepts."

During the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations hearing, Angara was asked about the claims made in Project Dalisay’s that the CSE supposedly has inappropriate concepts and threatens “moral, societal, and spiritual values.”

"I think the materials they were quoting from were not DepEd materials. So, I don't know what the source of the video was. But definitely we do not promote, we do not teach those practices.”

The Education chief stressed that misinformation has become easier to spread, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence tools that can create fabricated content.

“So sometimes we have to discriminate, we have to be discriminating pagdating sa items ngayon (when it comes items these days) because it's so easy to, with the advent of AI, madaling gumawa ng (its easy to make) deepfakes and the like,” Angara said.

He added that critical thinking among the public is crucial when it comes to evaluating online content.

“They will ask themselves, is this a credible source? Is this believable? They will not buy everything they see 100% wholesale,” Angara said.

The CSE program, anchored on DepEd’s K to 12 curriculum, is designed to promote age-appropriate, values-based instruction on health, safety, and responsible decision-making. 

DepEd has repeatedly stated that its CSE modules do not contain graphic or explicit sexual content. —VAL, GMA Integrated News