Sex education is a vital topic that needs to be taught to children and teenagers at school so that they can protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Unfortunately, it seems that a portion of teenagers in the country have yet to be taught on how to practice safe sex, as revealed by shocking figures by the Education Minister yesterday (Oct 30).
More than 900 M’sian teens aged 13-17 have STDs
In a written reply to to Kapar MP Hajar Halimah Ali, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said a total of 913 teens – some as young as 13 – tested positive for various STDs from 2018 to 2022, reported The Straits Times.
Based on notifications from the Health Ministry, there were 255 cases of STDs among 13- to 17-year-olds in 2018 while 225 cases were recorded in 2019.
“A total of 191 STDs cases were recorded in 2020, 96 cases in 2021, and 146 cases in 2022,” she said.
Fadhlina also noted that the common types of STDs detected were syphilis, gonorrhoea, chancroid and HIV.
Meanwhile, 3% of these teenagers tested positive for drugs via urine tests in 2019 but this figure decreased to 2.16% in 2020. No urine tests were conducted throughout 2021 due to home based learning.
As for 2022, 1.18% of students were found positive for drugs and as of September this year, the figure currently stands at 0.64%. All of the tests were carried out by the Education Ministry and the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK).
Fadhlina also highlighted a steady decrease in bullying, truancy, smoking, obscene behavior, and mischief, according to data from the Student Discipline System (SSDM).
School dropout rates decreased over a five-year period from 2018 to 2022, where it fell from 1.21% to 0.99% in 2022.
What do you think of these figures? Let us know in the comments!
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