It's a longer wait for lessons on the birds and the bees

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: The story of sex education in schools is still waiting to be told despite years of preparation.
And it appears that it will be a while before students get to learn about the birds and the bees.
What appears to be holding back the roll-out of the long-awaited guidelines is a plan to expand the scope of the programme beyond students.
The Education and Women, Family and Community Development ministries want society at large to use the "Reproductive and Social Health Education Guidelines".
The guidelines are ready for printing with only two components — teacher training and awareness campaigns — awaiting finalisation.
Education Ministry parliamentary secretary P. Komala Devi said the ministries wanted the guidelines to meet the needs of students and adults.
"We don’t want to sweep these things under the carpet any more.
"Various studies have shown that young students are engaging in risky behaviour. We want the guidelines to have an all-encompassing effect on society in general," she said.
The ministries are looking at preparing a training module for a group of "master trainers" to train teachers as well as identify target groups to use the guidelines.
An action plan will also be devised for government agencies, non-governmental organisations and the private sector to adhere to when executing programmes.
"We are working to ensure the roll-out of the guidelines as soon as we can," Komala said, adding that there were some implementation issues to be finalised.
The ministry also plans to print copies of the guidelines and brochures to be distributed to stakeholders, including academicians and the public.
The idea is to educate people on social and reproductive health.
Komala said the parties involved, including the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, the Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Unity and Integration Department, would help organise awareness campaigns through the media.
"Among the programmes suggested are radio and television interviews and posting relevant information on the ministries’ websites."
To reach the masses, government agencies, including the National Population and Family Planning Board and the Federation of Family Planning Associations, will hold roadshows and exhibitions on social and reproductive health in every state.
The exhibitions will also be held in major shopping centres and other places which draw crowds of people.
The guidelines, in the works since 2004, were approved by the Cabinet in December.
The guidelines will cover topics as diverse as teaching a child what kind of "touching" is right or wrong, contraception, teenage crushes and the dangers of online sexual predators.
The ministries worked with non-governmental organisations, experts and religious groups on the guidelines which have different sets of information and educational material for different age groups.
The age groups are preschoolers aged four to six, children aged between seven and nine, early adolescents aged between 10 and 12, teenagers aged between 13 and 18, and adults aged 19 and above.
Children aged four to six, for example, will be taught how to identify and say no to the "wrong touch".
They will get a brief introduction to HIV/AIDS as "a virus that can make you easily susceptible to many illnesses if you get infected".
Older children will learn about sexual orientation and how it can change in the course of life.
The language will be neutral, and topics like homosexuality or bisexuality will include a declaration that most religions regard homosexuality as wrong.
Teenagers whose hormones are running wild will be counselled on peer pressure, infatuation, platonic or exploitative relationships and love.
While the course includes a section on contraception, it will teach that abstinence is best.
The dangers of abortion will also be touched on. For those 19 years and above, the course will touch on relationships, marriage, parenting and even sexual dysfunction, in addition to sexually transmitted diseases and their symptoms and the need to be tested.