Education Minister Ng Eng Hen announced these changes on Thursday afternoon, after parents complained of the controversial material contained in the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) sexuality education programme instructor's guide earlier this month.

After the flood of complaints, the MOE suspended all sexuality education programmes run by external agencies on May 6.

The ministry told the media then that Aware's programme failed to conform to MOE's guidelines on sexuality education.

"In particular, some suggested responses in the instructor guide are explicit and inappropriate and convey messages which could promote homosexuality or suggest approval of pre-marital sex," the MOE said.

Going forward, the MOE will provide parents with more information on sexuality education programmes taught in school and parents can pull their children out of these programmes if they don't feel comfortable with it.

However, the MOE's core sexuality education programme will continue and Dr Ng explained why. The number of teens down with sexually transmitted diseases jumped from 238 in 2002 to 787 in 2008, HIV among teens is on the rise and some 2,000 teens get pregnant every year.

Dr Ng said: "If you don't give them information, they will get it elsewhere. So schools must be a source of information, giving students a healthy perspective on sexuality education."

Dr Ng also had very strong words for parties involved in the Aware saga.

"Schools were dragged into this melee and could have become the proxy arena for competing ideologies. Issues became muddled, emotions ran high. This is an unhealthy, unproductive way to try to resolve issues that are inherently divisive," he said.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.

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