That's the conclusion of a recent report on a two-year sex-education pilot program at four secondary schools in Minhang District.

The report by the Minhang District Family Planning Association was based on a survey of 7,000 students in the program, which ended this month.

Eighty percent said they felt more relaxed and less embarrassed when their sex-education instructors were their fellow students.

Such peer instruction can eliminate the "generation gap" in sex education, the report states.

All of the participants in the pilot program said they are now aware of how AIDS is transmitted, and more than 50 percent described themselves as well-informed about the physical changes that occur during puberty, the report states.

The pilot program recruited 150 students - 12 to 18 years old - who were taught about human reproduction, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases. The young volunteers then shared their newfound knowledge with their peers during recess and extracurricular gatherings.

Taking part in the pilot program, organized by the United Nations Family Planning Association and the China Family Planning Association, were Minhang High School, Xinsong High School, Southwest Engineering Secondary School and Qunyi Vocational Secondary School.

The U.N. provided US$100,000 for the pilot program, which will now be incorporated into the four schools' curriculums. Two other district schools will use peer-learning sex education when the new academic year starts.

At Minhang High, the program's more than 40 volunteer student instructors developed their own written materials.

"We feel it's easy to talk with each other on such issues," said volunteer teacher Lou Qi, a Minhang High 11th grader. "When we are talking, we are very serious and no one feels embarrassed."

The chats are not limited to one gender; they have involved boys and girls.

Lou said her parents have supported her being a peer sex-education teacher. Her father helped her by finding pictures of the male and female sex organs that were published in a campus leaflet.

Zheng Jinsheng, president of the Minhang District Family Planning Association, said, "The program is effective mainly because classmates are more likely to raise questions in a peer-group setting rather than during a session with an older teacher."

Zheng said peer teaching can help prevent sexually curious adolescents from turning to pornographic books and videos.

(Eastday.com 06/26/2001)