GEORGE TOWN: The Education Ministry plans to incorporate the Reproductive and Social Health Education (PEERS) module into the 2027 school curriculum to address the growing issue of teenage pregnancies in the country.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said that this initiative had been approved by the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, indicating strong cross-ministerial collaboration to tackle the issue.
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"Our concerns align with those of the Community Development Ministry when discussing issues of out-of-wedlock pregnancies. We are fully focused on educational agendas closely linked to reproductive health.
"Additionally, we continuously conduct advocacy programmes related to reproductive health issues, including collaborative programs to address sexual harassment, girls' health issues and safe touch, which we still implement at the ministry level," she said after officiating at the closing ceremony of the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Week 2024 at USM on Sunday (Nov 10).
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Fadhlina highlighted that the Education Ministry would specifically focus on the PEERS module to empower teachers and students with information and advocacy on this issue.
PEERS is taught through the Health Education curriculum from preschool to secondary school levels, equipping students with information and skills, particularly psychosocial competencies, to make informed decisions in their daily lives.
Earlier, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri expressed concerns about teenage pregnancy, child marriage, baby abandonment and unsafe abortions in the country.
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Nancy noted that according to Health Ministry data, 44,263 teenage pregnancy cases had been recorded over the past five years, with 17,646 cases involving unmarried teenagers.
In a separate development, Fadhlina urged counselling teachers to play a crucial role in advising students and providing them with information to choose STEM streams as their primary option.
The ministry, she added, had conducted several intervention sessions between counselling teachers and STEM industry players to ensure they have the latest information in the field before relaying it to school students.
The USM STEM Week 2024 program involved participation from 15 schools of Science, Technology and Engineering, comprising three campuses: the main campus, the engineering campus and the Advanced Medical and Dental Institute (IPPT), along with six collaborative partners.
The programme also recorded the involvement of 350 lecturers, undergraduate and postgraduate students conducting various interactive STEM-themed activities, in addition to 600 students from more than 30 schools in Penang. – Bernama
