Next year, sex education will be taught in all primary schools in Malaysia from Year 1, The New Straits Times reported yesterday.
The plan follows Thursday’s announcement that sex education will be taught in secondary schools across Malaysia from next year, as part of an initiative to curb “baby-dumping”, promiscuity and HIV. In recent months, babies have been left to die in toilets and rubbish dumps.
Called social and reproductive health education, it will be taught for 30 minutes every week during physical and health education lessons, said Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong, the newspaper reported on its website.
Last week, Dr Wee said sex education would be taught in secondary schools from next year. However, on Saturday, he said it would be introduced in primary schools as well.
“This new component will be taught to pupils from Years 1 to 6,” he said at a school event. Primary school children in Malaysia are between six and 11 years old.
He said the sex education would focus on family values and protecting oneself and not simply on sex and the subject would be taught by teachers who had undergone training, the newspaper reported.
Dr Wee reported as saying that the content of the social and reproductive health component was designed after discussion with NGOs and other stakeholders.
“We gathered feedback from all parties, including parents, before reviewing the physical and health education textbooks.”
