Fifty (50) teachers from forty – three (43) schools participated in the FGDs. All participants in the FGDs were classroom teachers, with more than 5 years teaching experience in their current schools and with over ten years of general teaching experience. Six (6) FGDs were conducted, with four (4) of the FGDs having eight (8) participants, while the other two (2) FGDs had 9 participants, accounting for a total of 50 participants. Gender representation was 50:50 ratio for males and females (i.e., 25 males and 25 female teachers, with all having tertiary education qualifications).

6 reported that many teachers and community members in Uganda, perceived school-based CSE initiatives for very young adolescents (VYAs) as not aligning with local cultural norms, particularly when it addressed topics like contraception, same-sex relationships, or premarital sex. Even though the focus of this research was not on areas of contraception or same-sex relationships, findings showed that Gambian teachers have a general positive attitude towards sexuality education in secondary schools.

Gambian teachers do not believe that sexuality education is an imposition from western cultures, and that such an education would instigate immorality among young people. Faced with the question; “Do you think there is a need for sexuality education in our schools?, all 50 teacher-participants unanimously agreed that sexuality education in secondary schools is necessary to equip students with accurate, age-appropriate knowledge and life skills to make informed and responsible decisions that will protect their health and dignity, thereby complementing rather than contradicting religious and cultural values that emphasize morality, respect, and personal accountability.

Teachers expressed concern that young adolescents do not understand their bodies, especially when experiencing changes during puberty. Body changes are linked to their health and spiritual well-being. Body changes in adolescent girls make them feel confused and awkward, sometimes they become shy and uncomfortable, not knowing how to respond to these changes especially in cultures where such topics are rarely discussed openly. The same goes for boys during puberty, who experience rapid physical changes driven by hormonal shifts. They undergo rapid growth spurts, deepening of the voice, development of facial and body hair, increased sweat and oil production resulting in acne, and enlargement of the testes and penis, all of which can cause physical and emotional discomfort both (i.e., low self-esteem and social anxiety)

“Body changes confuse adolescent boys and girls; regarding the reproductive organs, when a girl’s breasts develop, a boy develops beards; some girls do not want their breasts to be visible, because they still enjoy the comfort of being young. Sometimes they get scared and be emotional, especially when they have no one to guide them; sexuality education teachers can manage all these challenges” (female teacher)

Given the high rates of sexual abuse, particularly defilement, most teachers emphasized that teaching sexuality education in secondary schools is important to raise the levels of awareness among young adolescent students to become alert and protect themselves against sexual abuse. According to teachers, ignorance would only make young people become more vulnerable to sexual abuse by sex predators.

“I agree that sexuality education should be taken in schools to help pupils understand the dangers of sex when it is carried out early. Therefore, continuouslessons on this are necessary since everything is changing in our environment and the world globally”(male teacher)

“When a child is informed about sexuality early enough, he/she becomes aware of the repercussions and will be able to avoid it. Lack of awareness and knowledge are confusing our children, and it gives abusers a good chance” (female teacher)

The need for awareness through sexuality education is corroborated by 7, that sexuality education provides young people with the information they need to protect themselves from being abused and to make informed decisions concerning their sexuality. 9 underlined that lack of knowledge and awareness can make children vulnerable to sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

During the study, some teachers discussed that sexuality education is the primary responsibility of parents and not teachers. Parents should be the first-line educators and teachers the second line educators, and this is in live with the views of Larocque M, et al (2011), who hold that parents understand their children better than teachers and can detect their children’s weaknesses and strengths.

“It is the mother or auntie who teaches a girl child how to use a pad and what to do during menstruation, the mother or auntie grooms the girl, and the father or uncle grooms the boy, teachers should go ahead to teach their normal subjects” (male teacher)

While some teachers believed that CSE is the responsibility of parents, others acknowledged the need for collaboration, as students spend more time in school.

“Our students spend more time in school with us teachers than at home. Some of their parents work in the private sector and it is difficult to get meaningful time to attend to their children. I believe that we should take the responsibility to teach our students about sexuality education” (female teacher)

13 highlighted that parents have no skills and competencies to teach their children issues of sexuality. He further posited there are possibilities that parents may misinform children about sexualities. 14 maintain that parents are inadequate sex educators, and therefore, in many contexts, sex education is gradually becoming part of the school systems. Teachers admitted that there should be more training on CSE.

Teachers who participated in the FGDs had mixed views regarding the age at which students should be taught SE. Some teachers suggested starting SE in Grade 6 and above, while others advocated for its earlier introduction. Advocates for the early introduction of SE in schools justified that this is necessary due to early puberty and the high prevalence of teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse. Teenage pregnancies outside of marriage among adolescent girls in particular, are a significant cause for concern in The Gambia, where 18% of adolescent girls, age 15 to 19 are already mothers or pregnant with their first child.

“The age at which this topic is introduced is extremely critical. Sexuality education should not be given to very young people, i.e., children in Grade 1, to Grade 4. At least it should be taught to the children of grades 6 to grade 12 such that children in the upper classes, they can pick what is being taught. Sexuality education is important in our society but for more advanced pupils probably from grade 6 and above” (Male public school teacher)

“We need sexuality education to be well packaged, depending on the age of the children. Sexuality education should be introduced early as some of our children start experiencing body changes in an early age. The body changes and their implications should be explained to our children before they are misinformed” (female teacher).

While teachers agree that SE is important, concerns were raised vis-à-vis the approaches to SE and how much should be taught. Some teachers strongly suggested moderating the content of SE according to the age of students. SE should avoid graphic content for younger students. Children should be taught small bits of necessary information.

‘…It is important for young children to know a small bit of sexuality, not to disclose each and everything but to talk about what is important thing followed by norms. If the teacher is not well organized, things can go wrong. Teach what is necessary for the students’, (male teacher).

The above emphasizes the instruction of SE for young children in a controlled and age-appropriate school environment. It suggests that children should receive foundational knowledge about sexuality, without overwhelming them with excessive details.

Few teachers were of the opinion that SE should be grounded on religious teachings. Religious teachings emphasize the values of chastity, virginity, and an individual’s purity. They argued that sexuality and spirituality overlap because they are equally illuminated by God’s command to love and treat each other with dignity and respect. These teachers advised that pupils should develop religious attitudes, values, and beliefs about sexuality issues.

“Sexuality education should be based on religious teaching and discourage children from indulging in sex until marriage. Even marriage should only be for opposite sexes, and not relative” (female teacher)

“When conducting sex education, we need to derive it from religious views/values. Ideally, sexuality education should be taught by religious education teachers, these teachers are mostly respected by the pupils because of the morality they inculcate in students” (female teacher)

“Make it part of religious education. Sexuality education can be a topic of divinity or religious education. Try to quote verses in the scriptures and show children that even God does not love sex before marriage. Once the sexuality values are taught early enough and based on religion, these things will stick in their heads” (male teacher)

Even though it is intricately linked to religion, many teachers emphasized that SE should focus on sexual abstinence until marriage, since virginity is a cherished value and virtue in Gambian culture and communities.

“The need to revise the value of virginity; our children do not care about keeping their virginity, both boys and girls. Nevertheless, also our culture is wrong. It tells girls to be virgins but encourages boys to move around with different girls. Now it confuses; even boys need to be told to be virgins until they are mature enough to marry” (femaleteacher)

“Sexuality education should ensure our children abstain from sex till marriage, controlling lust is very important, children are not mature enough, even all religious teachings emphasize the value of virginity” (male teacher)