Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Asia Democracy Chronicles
Follow Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Features & Analysis
    • All
    • Articles
    • Commentary
    • Explanatory
    • Opinions
    Double danger

    Double danger

    More than a tale of two bishops

    More than a tale of two bishops

    Can the Taliban’s war on women be stopped?

    Can the Taliban’s war on women be stopped?

    Death by debt: Cambodians’ open secret

    Death by debt: Cambodians’ open secret

    Upcoming polls may intensify politics of hate

    Upcoming polls may intensify politics of hate

    At the heart of democracy: the role of pro-democracy defenders

    At the heart of democracy: the role of pro-democracy defenders

    The hidden perils of Vietnam’s police brutality

    The hidden perils of Vietnam’s police brutality

    When majority rules aren’t always just

    When majority rules aren’t always just

    People vs. giant power projects

    People vs. giant power projects

  • Countries
    • NORTHEAST ASIA
      • China
        • Hong Kong
        • Macau
        • Tibet
      • Japan
      • Mongolia
      • North Korea
      • South Korea
      • Taiwan
    • SOUTH ASIA
      • Afghanistan
      • Bangladesh
      • India
      • Nepal
      • Pakistan
      • Sri Lanka
    • SOUTHEAST ASIA
      • Brunei
      • Cambodia
      • Indonesia
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Myanmar
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
      • Timor-Leste
      • Vietnam
    • GLOBAL / REGIONAL
  • Issues
    • Elections
    • Access to Education
    • Access to Health
    • Authoritarianism and Abuse of Power
    • Civil Liberties
    • Discrimination Against Covid-19 Patients and Specific Sectors
    • Gender-based Violence and Child Abuse
    • Governance
    • Labor and Migrant Workers’ Rights
    • Media Freedom – Issues
    • Movement and Migration
    • Privacy and Surveillance
    • Social Protection and Inclusion
      • Peace and Diplomacy
  • Democracy Digest
  • Asia Through The Lens
    • Northeast Asia
    • South Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Regional / Global
  • About
    • Pitch Us
  • Back to ADN
  • Home
  • Features & Analysis
    • All
    • Articles
    • Commentary
    • Explanatory
    • Opinions
    Double danger

    Double danger

    More than a tale of two bishops

    More than a tale of two bishops

    Can the Taliban’s war on women be stopped?

    Can the Taliban’s war on women be stopped?

    Death by debt: Cambodians’ open secret

    Death by debt: Cambodians’ open secret

    Upcoming polls may intensify politics of hate

    Upcoming polls may intensify politics of hate

    At the heart of democracy: the role of pro-democracy defenders

    At the heart of democracy: the role of pro-democracy defenders

    The hidden perils of Vietnam’s police brutality

    The hidden perils of Vietnam’s police brutality

    When majority rules aren’t always just

    When majority rules aren’t always just

    People vs. giant power projects

    People vs. giant power projects

  • Countries
    • NORTHEAST ASIA
      • China
        • Hong Kong
        • Macau
        • Tibet
      • Japan
      • Mongolia
      • North Korea
      • South Korea
      • Taiwan
    • SOUTH ASIA
      • Afghanistan
      • Bangladesh
      • India
      • Nepal
      • Pakistan
      • Sri Lanka
    • SOUTHEAST ASIA
      • Brunei
      • Cambodia
      • Indonesia
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Myanmar
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
      • Timor-Leste
      • Vietnam
    • GLOBAL / REGIONAL
  • Issues
    • Elections
    • Access to Education
    • Access to Health
    • Authoritarianism and Abuse of Power
    • Civil Liberties
    • Discrimination Against Covid-19 Patients and Specific Sectors
    • Gender-based Violence and Child Abuse
    • Governance
    • Labor and Migrant Workers’ Rights
    • Media Freedom – Issues
    • Movement and Migration
    • Privacy and Surveillance
    • Social Protection and Inclusion
      • Peace and Diplomacy
  • Democracy Digest
  • Asia Through The Lens
    • Northeast Asia
    • South Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Regional / Global
  • About
    • Pitch Us
  • Back to ADN
No Result
View All Result
Asia Democracy Chronicles
No Result
View All Result
Home Communications Statements

Hong Kong Urged to Improve Sex Education in Secondary Schools

Guidelines released in 1997 suggested allocating 30 to 36 hours to teaching sex education, but a recent study by the Equal Opportunities Commission found that most schools spent less than 20 hours on the subject.

Hong Kong Free PressbyHong Kong Free Press
November 24, 2022
in Statements
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

24 November 2022

Secondary schools in Hong Kong are not spending enough time and resources on providing students with comprehensive sex education, according to the city’s equality watchdog. It urged the government to reactivate and update guidelines introduced in 1997 to give schools a better framework to follow.

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) on Tuesday released the findings of a study it conducted on sexuality education in secondary schools in the city between November 2020 and April 2021. The EOC invited all 473 local secondary schools to fill in a questionnaire, and received 203 valid ones in return.

The study found out that 13.8 per cent of respondents – or around 28 schools – did not teach sex education in class, and 12.3 per cent did not organise any related activities in the 2018-2019 school year. Data from that year was used as classes in subsequent years were disrupted or suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Insufficient time allocated

For schools that offered sex education, more than 90 per cent of them spent 20 hours or less in the academic year on the subject. Nearly half allocated five hours or less to sex education.

Citing government guidelines drafted specifically for sex education and issued in 1997, EOC Executive Director Ferrick Chu said it was suggested that junior form students spend 36 hours on sex education per academic year, while 30 hours were recommended for senior form pupils. The guideline is no longer referenced in current curriculums, but the data collected by the watchdog reflected a significant gap between the initial recommendations and reality.

Currently, sex education is incorporated as part of the Values Education Curriculum Framework, a pilot scheme rolled out in 2021 which also includes subjects such as civic education and national education. There is no guideline for how long should be spent teaching sex education in the framework.

“If there’s a guideline specifying at least how many hours should be allocated for sex ed, I think schools [would] have more incentive to do that and squeeze time for teaching sex ed,” said James Chan, senior policy, research and training officer at EOC.

In post-questionnaire focus group studies, many teachers reflected that “everything is competing for time,” Chan added, saying that the priority of sexuality education was comparatively low.

The watchdog also admitted it was an uphill battle to make education officials, schools and parents place more importance on this aspect of education.

“I think there are a lot of different factors come into play when we are talking about how to ‘reform’ the sexuality education structure. It really depends whether [the authorities] take it as a priority… We have [had] discussions with the [Education Bureau] in the past few years, apparently that’s not their priority,” Chu said.

Chu added sometimes public pressure was needed to make the government reconsider its priorities.

He also said the watchdog had been pushing for improving sex education in schools because it received a number of complaints related to sexual harassment each year and many of them stemmed from a lack of awareness.

Noting the EOC called it sexuality education, not just sex education, Chu said it was because it was not only about the physical or biological aspects of sex, but also about concepts such as gender identities, gender relationships, equality and respect for different genders.

Lack of training for educators

Other issues identified in the EOC study included the lack of designated staff to take charge of sexuality education, and the fact that most teachers who were responsible for teaching the subject were not trained to do so.

Additionally, under the current system, schools adopted a “school-based” and “cross-disciplinary” approach when it came to sexuality education – meaning the school could decide on things like whether to teach the subject or not, what to teach, how to teach it and how much time to spend on it.

The problem with that, according to the EOC, was that learning outcomes varied to an extent that may be considered inadequate. And teachers across different disciplines may not know what has been covered and what has not.

EOC recommendations

The EOC recommended introducing a standardised framework or guidelines to give schools a better reference to plan their teaching. It also suggested authorities provide incentives for teachers to receive training or take development courses. Subsidies for schools to hire external parties, such as non-governmental organisations to provide such sexuality education would be important too, the watchdog said.

Schools meanwhile, should set up a designated post of sexuality education coordinator, to oversee matters related to the subject. The government should consider giving schools funding to set up such a post. #

Source: https://hongkongfp.com/2022/11/23/hong-kong-urged-to-improve-sexuality-education-in-secondary-schools/

Asia Democracy Chronicles

Pitch Us A Story

Have a story to tell, nuanced insights or expert analysis to share with a regional (i.e. Asia), even global, audience? Want to weigh in on specific issues afflicting humanity while the deadly virus rages on and wreaks havoc on our old ‘normal’? We’d love to hear from you.

We run features, op-eds, analyses, and other original contents that probe issues around human rights and civil liberties, and illuminate the challenges of democratic governance in Asia as states and societies cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. We cover Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and South Asia.

Yes, I’m Interested

Follow Us

Facebook Twitter RSS

Search

No Result
View All Result

©  Asia Democracy Chronicles.

  • Home
  • Features & Analysis
  • Countries
  • Issues
  • Democracy Digest
  • Asia Through The Lens
  • About
  • Back to ADN

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Features & Analysis
  • Countries
    • NORTHEAST ASIA
      • China
      • Japan
      • Mongolia
      • North Korea
      • South Korea
      • Taiwan
    • SOUTH ASIA
      • Afghanistan
      • Bangladesh
      • India
      • Nepal
      • Pakistan
      • Sri Lanka
    • SOUTHEAST ASIA
      • Brunei
      • Cambodia
      • Indonesia
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Myanmar
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
      • Timor-Leste
      • Vietnam
    • GLOBAL / REGIONAL
  • Issues
    • Elections
    • Access to Education
    • Access to Health
    • Authoritarianism and Abuse of Power
    • Civil Liberties
    • Discrimination Against Covid-19 Patients and Specific Sectors
    • Gender-based Violence and Child Abuse
    • Governance
    • Labor and Migrant Workers’ Rights
    • Media Freedom – Issues
    • Movement and Migration
    • Privacy and Surveillance
    • Social Protection and Inclusion
      • Peace and Diplomacy
  • Democracy Digest
  • Asia Through The Lens
    • Northeast Asia
    • South Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Regional / Global
  • About
    • Pitch Us
  • Back to ADN

© 2022 Asia Democracy Chronicles - Designed and Developed by Neitiviti Studios.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In