THE Secretary of State has said he will consider introducing compulsory relationship and sex education (RSE) in schools if the Department of Education does not do so.
Shailesh Vara has written to the department to inform them he has a legal duty to act on the recommendations of a United Nations (UN) committee report on RSE, the BBC reported.
The UN report said RSE in Northern Ireland should be compulsory and cover topics including access to abortion and how to prevent pregnancy.
Education Minister Michelle McIlveen has written to Mr Vara to request a meeting.
A Department of Education spokesman told the BBC that RSE in schools in Northern Ireland "already provides opportunities for young people to learn about the implications of sexual maturation and the emotional, social and moral implications of early sexual activity".
Each school in Northern Ireland decides how to teach RSE, based on their ethos.
Several people have called for a change in how RSE is taught.
Retired judge Sir John Gillen has recommended that age-appropriate relationship and sex education should be taught to schoolchildren from primary one.
Children's commissioner Koulla Yiasouma recently called for a compulsory RSE curriculum similar to other school subjects.
Mr Vara has told the Department of Education he must act on RSE as the result of legislation introduced in Westminster in 2019, which led to an overhaul of the north's abortion laws.
A 2018 UN report from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) found that young people were "denied the education necessary to enjoy their sexual and reproductive health and rights".
It said RSE was "under-developed or non-existent owing to the school's discretion to implement curriculum contents according to its values and ethos".
