Members of the SVP, CVP and EDU political parties are dubbing the initiative “a catastrophe,” according to a report in the daily 20 Minuten. They argue that sex education should remain primarily in the hands of the children’s parents and that making “sex classes” mandatory is going too far.

Pius Segmüller (CVP), Ulrich Schlüer (SVP), Walter Messmer (FDP) und Andreas Brönnimann (EDU) are preparing a petition against the “sexualisation” of Swiss schools, the paper said.

“We are against the planned obligation and argue that the kids should be excused from sexual education classes any time,” Schlüer was quoted as saying.

The controversy stems from a recent sex education program that includes wooden penises and fabric vaginas introduced in Basel schools. The boxes, which are being distributed to 30 primary schools and kindergartens, contain dolls, puzzles, books and other educational material for 4 to 10-year-olds, and a box with the more explicit materials for older kids.

Titus Bürgisser from the Centre for Sexual Pedagogy and School plays down the furour, stressing that teachers at all levels will be trained to competently address all issues and questions that the children may have.

“It is highly desirable that children be educated at home,” says Bürgisser. “The problem is that this is becoming less and less the case. Here, the school can have a supplemental educational mission next to the parents in the field of sex education,” he was quoted as saying by the paper.