Sex education proposal in teacher training institutes

KUALA LUMPUR: The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry has proposed that the teaching of sex education be included in the curriculum at Teacher Training Institutes.

 Its deputy minister, Senator Datuk Heng Seai Kie, said the  ministry was still in its initial stages of discussion with the  education ministry on the proposal.

“If this can be implemented, all our teachers will be equipped  with the knowledge and skills to teach sex education.

“They will know how to handle issues or problems among  students related to sex,” she told a press conference after  launching the National Women’s Safety Campaign Anti- Crime Against Women workshop on Monday.

She also said the ministry, in collaboration with the  education ministry, would continue and expand its pilot  projects — “I’m In Control” and “Pekerti Programme” — for  Standard Six and Form Three students in the next five years. About 30,00 students will undergo the programmes every  year.

“We have chosen to target these two groups of students  because usually after their national examinations, they have  some free time before the holidays,” she said, adding that this  was to ensure that their normal schooling hours were not  interrupted by the eight-day programmes. In light of the recent uproar over the cases of two convicted  rapists escaping jail terms, the programmes will also include  knowledge on Section 376 of the Penal Code which governs  the penalty for rape.

Heng said the students would not only be taught about the  biological changes of their bodies but also the risks of pre- marital sex and consequences of underage sex. Besides sending the ministry’s officers and non-govern mental organisations to conduct these programmes, she said  selected teachers would also be trained over the next five  years to conduct  the programme in their schools.

Earlier in her speech at the workshop, she said based on  police statistics there were 465 sexual harassment cases  reported from 2009 to 2011.

There was however a decline in rape cases from 3,626 in  2009 to 3,301 in 2011; molest cases from 96 (2009) to 71  (2011) and in incest cases from 31 (2009) to 17 (2011). The workshop is the ninth of the 20 planned to be held  nationwide this month. It aims to educate more than 20,000  females on how to defend and protect themselves in cases of  crime or violence against them.