THE number of teenagers getting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV has risen in the past few years, the Education Ministry said on Thursday.
Last year, 787 teens caught STIs, more than three times the 238 cases in 2002; for HIV, the figure rose from one in 2002 to nine in 2007.
These figures, the ministry said yesterday, are a key reason its sexuality education programme is necessary.
But the higher incidence of disease is not the only reason the programme is necessary, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said at a press conference.
Attitudes towards sex are also changing: A 2006 survey of 4,000 students aged between 14 and 19 conducted by the Health Promotion Board and MOE showed that about 8 per cent were sexually active.
Though this is not as high as in other developed countries - in the United States, for example, the figure among youths aged 15-19 was 46 per cent in 2002 - there is a worrying trend: Less than a quarter of the sexually active youth in Singapore protected themselves against contracting STIs and unwanted pregnancies.
Children these days are also exposed to many sources of information, including on the Internet, and from interest groups with liberal values, Dr Ng said.
It is therefore important that schools provide objective and reliable information to them, he said.
Yesterday, the minister also revealed that the programme in schools has undergone some changes since it was introduced in 2000.
He said: 'When we started, the key message was abstinence, reflecting the conservative social tone of our Asian society, where liberal values on sex are not espoused.
