Time has come for SEX EDUCATION at schools?

In the wake of the rising incidence of teenage pregnancies in this country, there have been calls to implement sex curriculum in schools. However, the curriculum will only be implemented in stages. Courses on reproductive health will be taught in 47 schools nationwide beginning this September, but this is by all means a far cry from comprehensive nationwide sex education.

This shows that the education ministry and the women, family and community development ministry have been pretty sluggish in implementing sex education in our schools.

From what we understand, the experimental program involving 2,376 students from Sept 18 to Nov 5, 2012 has been vastly successful in instilling the essential sex knowledge among participating students. In that case, what has held the education ministry back to fully implement the program in all schools?

If the government is really concerned about education in sexual morality, sexual psychology and boy-girl relationship in a bid to curtail the incidence of aberrant sexual behaviors among our young people, then it should take an even more proactive stance in areas such as budgeting, training and curriculum design aspects in a bid to help effectively check the problem of premarital pregnancies among Malaysian youngsters, instead of staying put at the "experimental" stage.

Notably, the courses on reproductive health will include the Reproductive Health of Adolescent Module (RHAM) for Standard Six students and Modul Cakna Diri for Form Two students on individual rights and responsibility, statutory rape, premarital sex as well as sexually transmitted diseases. These are all essential and practical information to help mold physically and mentally healthy young people.

Important and urgent issue

With sex-related cases on the rise in recent years, the public have come to appreciate the importance and urgency of sex education. So long as the curriculum is designed in a way to meet the needs of the society, full implementation of sex education is poised to receive undivided support from the public.

Today, many youngsters and even very young children have been able to gain access to sex information. With Internet penetrating deep into our society, curious and inadequately informed youngsters would tend to fantasize about sex. It is now time they are given the proper guidance lest they fall into the trap of uncontrolled sex illusions and miscomprehension.

It is imperative that the education ministry is aware of this situation, rectify the negative perception on sex into positive mainstream education. Avoidance and inappropriate, biased approach in imparting sex knowledge is long obsolete. In the past we used to have teachers attempting to criminalize those involved in extramarital affairs as abominable adulterers and adulteresses. This shows that indeed many among us, including teachers, still harbor negative views on sex education while highlighting the deficiency of our training mechanisms.

It is high time we shatter the social taboo and our own religious and cultural confines to seriously and comprehensively incorporate sex education into our school curriculum, especially those parts on the core values of respect and responsibility.

Sex education is a science on human beings, not something we should shy away from at all costs. - mysinchew