Kuala Lumpur: A Malaysian teachers`
union said that teachers in the country are not ready to
impart sex education in schools citing lack of formal training
while dealing with the subject.
They lack professional training in teaching the subject,
National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general
Lok Yim Pheng said yesterday.
She said, while the union fully supported the
government`s move to provide sex education in schools, "sadly,
the teachers lack formal training in the complexity and
sensitivity of the subject and are not confident to teach it".
Lok told Bernama the teachers were afraid they might be
sued by the parents "if they were to make mistakes in
imparting the knowledge of sex to the pupils." Malaysia is a
multi-racial, religious and cultural nation with each ethnic
group having its own notion on the subject, which made the
teaching more challenging, she noted.
The NUTP is the country`s biggest teachers union
representing 160,000 teachers, which is approximately half the
teaching profession.
Lok said the union wanted the education ministry to first
discuss with the stakeholders on the pros and cons of the move
before making a firm decision.
Currently, the subject was taught in "bits and pieces"
from the primary level to secondary level, in the absence of a
proper structured course.
Of late, sex education has become a very important issue
in the country, with an increasing number of unwed mothers,
many of them students.
PTI
