Condoms in the Classroom – Still Stuck in the Lift

Sri Lanka’s latest “condo” drama isn’t about glass towers in Colombo 7. It’s about condoms—and the fiery debate over whether they belong in the classroom.

The proposal? Slip a lesson on condom use into the Grade 10 Science syllabus, alongside the heart and lungs. The idea came from the Ministry of Health’s National STD/AIDS Control Programme, which wants students to learn not just about reproduction, but also about protection: condoms, PrEP, PEP—the full alphabet soup of HIV/STI prevention.

But the gossip from the corridors of power? The Education Ministry has parked the idea, muttering about “reforms” and politely avoiding eye contact. Translation: no one wants to be the minister who approves “condoms in textbooks.”

Health officials, meanwhile, are shaking their heads. Their pitch is simple: kids are already curious, TikTok is already teaching them half-truths, and the current syllabus has “serious shortcomings.” One insider groaned to the Daily Mirror: “We can’t even get a condom into a classroom diagram.”

And so the stalemate continues. Education says wait. Health says hurry. Parents whisper. Politicians dodge. The students? They’re scrolling online anyway.

If this were a high-rise condo project, we’d call it “stalled in planning approval.” Fancy brochures printed, ground not broken. Except here the stakes are higher than marble lobbies—it’s about health, awareness, and a generation that’s left guessing.

Until ministries stop playing tug-of-war, Sri Lanka’s sex-ed will remain stuck between the ground floor and the penthouse, with the lift alarm ringing