New Delhi, July 19 :    New Delhi, July 19:  The AIDS scare has finally driven policymakers to turn their attention to educating adolescents. The National Council of Educational Research and Training is working on a skill development programme in 6 states to equip teachers to deal with their problems. 'We have launched a pilot project in 30 districts in Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Orissa and Rajasthan. These states have been picked by the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund),' said J.L. Pandey, national co-ordinator of NCERT's population education project. Sex education has not become part of the school curriculum despite efforts by a section of the policymakers to include it in the new syllabus. However, what they have achieved is a strategy that will be part of the school programme - to discuss adolescent sexual behaviour and other problems of students between classes VII and XII. And those who have put together the project believe AIDS has been a 'blessing in disguise'. The programme has several stages, which include teacher and peer counselling by professional counsellors. Setting up of a Question Box in schools where students, without identifying themselves, can put in queries on their dilemmas. 'The response is very good,' says Pandey. Students came forward with a whole lot of questions and there was a debate on how to cope with difficult situations. The objective of the programme is to draw the students and parents out of their shells and encourage a discussion on sexual behaviour, AIDS and value system. The parents, too, are counselled under the project. Instead of lecturing the adolescents, the programme includes activities like debates, plays, quiz and story telling. According to NCERT officials, one of the most effective ways of breaking the ice has been through story telling. Students and counsellors weave stories that require protagonists to make difficult choices. 'Instead of moralising the students, they themselves try to find a way they are comfortable with. Then there is a discussion on whether the decision was right or wrong,' says Pande.