GEORGE TOWN, Nov 10 — The Education Ministry (MOE) will incorporate the Reproductive and Social Health Education (PEERS) module into the 2027 school curriculum to address the rising number of teenage pregnancies in the country.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the decision was approved by the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM), adding that the MOE welcomes cross-ministry collaboration to tackle the issue.
“Our concern is the same as KPWKM’s when it comes to the issue of pregnancies out of wedlock. We are focusing on educational agenda, particularly those closely related to reproductive health.
“We conduct advocacy programmes related to reproductive health issues, including joint programmes with KPWKM to address issues such as sexual harassment, girls’ health, and ‘safe touch and bad touch’, which we are still implementing at the MOE level,” she told reporters after officiating today’s closing ceremony of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Week at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
Fadhlina added that the PEERS module will empower teachers and students with knowledge.
The module will be incorporated into the curriculum under Health Education, spanning preschool to secondary school, where students will be provided with information and skills, particularly psychosocial competencies, to make informed decisions in their daily lives.
Earlier, Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri expressed concern over issues such as teenage pregnancies, child marriage, baby dumping, and unsafe abortion.
In another development, Fadhlina urged school counsellors to play a vital role in encouraging students to choose STEM.
She said the MOE has held interventions between school counsellors and STEM industry players to ensure educators have current information that can be passed to students.
The USM STEM Week saw the participation of the university’s 15 STEM schools from its three campuses, along with six collaborators.
A total of 350 lecturers and students conducted various interactive STEM-themed activities alongside 600 students from over 30 schools in Penang.
— Bernama
