Debate still raging in cyberspace

AWARE'S CSE PROGRAMME

Reach will send feedback to 'relevant ministries'

ESTHER NG, estherng@mediacorp.com.sg

OVER the past month, the Aware saga has spawned a fringe festival of views and petitions on various blogs and Internet discussion boards, including the Government's feedback portal.

The Reach portal has received about 50 postings about Aware's Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programme, most of them critical.

Many of the postings take issue with statements from Aware's guide for trainers, such as "anal sex — can be healthy and neutral if practised with consent and with a condom" and "homosexuality is perfectly normal". One parent asked: "What is going on in our society? … It is so perverted. Is Singapore going down this slippery road as well?"

Another forum contributor, what_aware_show_your_kids, questioned how the Ministry of Education (MOE) could view the Aware course as "promoting pro-family values in young kids".

On April 29, the MOE said that it had not received any objections from parents about Aware's CSE programme. Many parents took issue with this statement, saying that the fact there had not been any complaints did not mean Aware's content was appropriate.

One irate parent wrote: "MOE better uphold what it preaches — that it observes and value good morals as taught by the major religions here — that homosexuality has no place in early teens' minds."

Last Friday, the MOE announced it was investigating Aware's sexuality education programme run in some schools after receiving "some" complaints from parents.

Apart from homosexuality, the manual's statement on premarital sex being "neutral" also upset some. "They encourage girls to carry condoms with them, for what? To avoid pregnancy? To avoid abortion? Or is it to encourage sex?" wrote Wrong Stuff. "In the first place, the correct approach is to avoid sex. Sex before marriage is wrong."

A few congratulated Ms Josie Lau and her team for "standing up against homosexual values". Despite the team being voted out last Saturday, they agreed that the short-lived new Aware exco had achieved its objective of highlighting issues within CSE programme.

They were interested to know "how MOE and parents can engage to develop a comprehensive sex education programme for schools which reflects the mainstream views and values of Singapore society".

So, what will Reach do with all this feedback that it has received?

Reach chairman Amy Khor told Today that when "substantial feedback is received on a particular issue, Reach will collate and send the feedback in a timely manner to the relevant ministries" to respond and for "follow-up action where they deem appropriate".

Ms Khor noted that while the posts about the Aware issue, over three separate discussion threads, were emotive, there were no racially and religiously offensive comments.

"Reach did not remove any of the Aware threads on our discussion forum. As a norm, we will only delete comments which are clearly meant to create mischief, seditious, personal attacks or attacks against a race or religion," said Dr Khor.

From TODAY, News – Tuesday, 05-May-2009