"We are clear... the Ministry of
Education does not, and will not distribute condoms in schools,"
Holness said at a press conference last week.

Responding to suggestions that
condoms should be distributed in schools, as some students were already
engaging in sexual intercourse, Holness dismissed this possibility,
saying that condom distribution was the job of the Ministry of Health.

"We have an obligation to teach
young people about... sexual intercourse and about the means of
protecting themselves... and the consequences of early sexual
initiation. We have an obligation, however, to teach them negotiating
skills, to say 'I am not ready' or 'no'. So we have an obligation to
teach them about abstinence, inasmuch as we have an obligation to teach
them about safe sex," the minister said.

Holness stated further that the
ministry's position was guided by government's policy which states that
only health officials can issue prophylactics on a wide scale; the law
which states that no person under 16 can consent to having sex; and
stakeholders who are overwhelmingly against making condoms available in
schools.

Last month, social advocate Lawman
Lynch called for condoms to be made available in schools, as some
students were engaging in unprotected sex.

His comments triggered a firestorm
of condemnation from commentators, some of whom said he was promoting
immoral behaviour in the society.

However, Lynch is not backing away
from his view, and insists that condoms should be made available to
students aged 16 years and older.

Lynch, who is president of the
Kingston and St Andrew Action Forum Youth Organisation, said the
distribution of condoms to older students was just one of a number of
measures his organisation has suggested to address the problem of
students having sex. Others included preaching the message of
abstinence, as well as social interventions.

"I also called for social
intervention and the message of abstinence, but I made it abundantly
clear that there is a core set of young people with whom this message
will not resonate," Lynch told the Observer.

"What do we do? Do we turn a blind
eye and leave them to be reckless, or do we cover our backs as citizens
by ensuring that they have the proper tools?" he questioned.

The youth leader suggested that
school guidance counsellors could use the distribution of condoms as an
opportunity to talk to students about safe sex.

"It is very hypocritical to say
(students) can go to the family planning board and get condoms, but you
can't get it at the schools. For eight or nine hours out of the day
your child is at school, that's where they are socialised," Lynch added.

He said the KSAAF, a
non-government social advocacy group representing 53 communities in the
Corporate Area and Portmore, has established a social needs commission
to examine the matter.

Meanwhile, in relation to a copy
of a video of children having unprotected sex which he had in his
possession, Lynch said he received it via email from someone, and that
after a meeting with stakeholders, he immediately sent a copy to
Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green.

Lynch said while condoms should be
available to schools at present, he hoped that a time would come when
it would not be necessary to do so.