The Ministry of Education (MOE) has drafted a revised Sexuality
Education Programme (SEP) to boost emphasis on abstinence over
contraception, reported The New Paper (TNP).
The new programme, Breaking Down Bridges (BDB), will be taught to
Secondary 3, first-year junior college and centralised institute
students, said the paper.
TNP also reported that the old programme faced some criticism from
some Catholics due to the emphasis on using contraception, and the
lack of awareness given to abstaining from sex. While it
understands from MOE that the new programme will be ready in 2012,
no details have yet been confirmed.
An MOE spokesperson told TNP that the revamp is part of its
"periodic review" of the SEP curriculum to "ensure that it is
updated and relevant" to students.
Parents of students in Catholic schools in Singapore welcomed the
change to the programme.
Yahoo! Singapore spoke to Marilyn Koh, 47, a Catholic whose son
attends a Catholic school, "I'm really looking forward to MOE
changing their focus on the SEP. I was not very comfortable with
the previous curriculum as it was not catered to Catholic
teachings."
Francis Chan, who also has a son in a Catholic school, agreed with
the change, "It's a lot more appropriate for Catholic schools to be
teaching the children to abstain from sex, instead of promoting
contraception. I'm perfectly fine with the current programme
running in a secular school, but Catholic schools should be
imparting Catholic values, right?"