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(a) how the Government determines the definition, content and curriculum of sex education; what reviewing mechanism it has put in place and when a review will be conducted;
(b) how many primary and secondary schools provide sex education on a systematic basis and what is its mode of teaching; and
(c) what measures does the Government have to enhance the quality of sex education and make it more readily available in schools, and how much is expected to be spent by the Government for these purposes in the current financial year?
Reply:
Mr President.
(a) As stated in the Guidelines on Sex Education in Secondary Schools issued by the Education Department in 1986, sex education in schools covers three main aspects of personal development, namely physical growth, emotional maturation and inter-personal relationships. It encompasses sexuality, feelings about being male or female, a person's ability to trust and love, attitude towards family, and the understanding of personal and social meanings of relationships.
Under a cross-curricular approach in the teaching of sex education, the Education Department encourages schools to integrate sex education in relevant subjects in the formal curriculum, to be supplemented by topic-related extra-curricular activities. For primary schools, sex education is taught through Health Education to provide pupils with a basic knowledge of the development of the human body. It is also taught through Social Studies to help pupils develop caring attitudes within and outside family. At the secondary level, sex education is usually taught through Integrated Science, Biology, and Human Biology on physical growth; Home Economics on practical aspects of family life; Religious Studies and Liberal Studies on moral values; and Social Studies on adolescent development and family and peer relationships.
The content and curriculum related to sex education are drawn up and reviewed regularly by the relevant subject committees under the Curriculum Development Council. A major review of the Guidelines will take place in 1996.
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