Chinese City To Teach Sex Education in Kindergarten, Other Schools To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, HIV
Officials from the Chinese city of Guangzhou are launching new sex education programs in the city's kindergartens, primary and middle schools to prevent teen pregnancy and the spread of HIV, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 7/19). The new sex education courses were announced by the Guangzhou Education Bureau in response to proposals submitted by members of Guangzhou's People's Congress, according to China Daily. Members of the People's Congress earlier this year had requested that the local government and education authorities create new programs that teach children about sexual health at an earlier age. Liao Chan, a physician and member of the People's Congress, said, "The number of students who have pre-marital sexual activities and school girls who have induced abortions are increasing now," adding, "Sex and health education in students' early years is necessary since we even found that a 13-year old girl underwent an abortion in the past." In a recent government survey, some students who were interviewed said that they learned about sex from several "unhealthy" sources, including pornographic Web sites, videos and books, according to China Daily. "Sex knowledge from those sources is not as systematic and complete as that of textbooks, so correct guidance for people during puberty is crucial for them to better understand sex and prevent them from getting abortions or having early sexual activities," Guo Ningbo, an official from the Guangzhou Education Bureau, said. The education bureau in April chose 41 schools, including 15 middle schools, 13 primary schools and 13 kindergartens to teach the "experimental" new sexual education curriculum, according to China Daily (Qiu, China Daily, 7/19).
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