SINGAPORE: Education and learning policies and college curriculums will remain anchored on Singapore’s existing family values plus social norms, mentioned the Ministry associated with Education (MOE) upon Monday (Aug 22).
This comes after Primary Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced on Sunday that Singapore would repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code , while relocating to protect the definition associated with marriage – recognized by law as between a man and a female – from being challenged in the legal courts.
In his Nationwide Day Rally speech, Mr Lee mentioned that the Government acquired no intention of changing national policies upon education, public housing, adoption rules, advertising standards and movie classification.
Inside a statement on Monday, the Education Ministry said: “Our education and learning policies and program will remain anchored upon Singapore’s prevailing loved ones values and interpersonal norms, which the majority of Singaporeans want to uphold. ”
“These include the family since the cornerstone of our interpersonal fabric, and marriage between a man and a woman. ”
Sexuality education trained in schools will stay secular, based on “traditional values” and delicate to Singapore’s multiracial and multi-religious culture, the statement read.
“Our schools and organizations of higher learning should remain safe spaces for the pursuit of information, and not become locations for advocacy or contestation on socially divisive issues. Singapore’s family and social norms must continue to be determined by Singaporeans. ”
MOE added that foreign institutions and foreigners should respect these norms, instead of use Singapore’s educational institutions as platforms for their own agendas.
All students learn and practise ideals like mutual understanding, respect and empathy for everyone, MOE mentioned.
“Bullying and cancel culture must not take main in our educational institutions plus society. Our educational institutions will continue to partner parents to guide our children, and provide counselling plus socio-emotional support to all students according to their own needs, ” the particular statement read.
According to MOE’s website, its libido education programme teaches students “what homosexuality is, the importance of respect and empathy, as well as the law concerning homosexual acts in Singapore”.
The particular programme is in-line with Singapore’s “national values of motivating heterosexual married couples to get healthy relationships with each other, and to build stable nuclear family products with extended family members support”, the website stated.
In July, a Hwa Chong Institution counsellor was rapped for making discriminatory comments regarding the LGBT community during a sexuality education presentation.
He previously made claims that “58 per cent associated with homosexuals have problems with digestive tract worms” and that “one in 15 homosexuals is a paedophile”.
Hwa Chong Institution clarified that the content presented had been outside the scope of MOE’s sexuality education curriculum, and that the particular views presented were the counsellor’s private perspectives. The counsellor was later suspended from all responsibilities.
Previously Monday, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) stated lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) media content would still warrant higher age group ratings even with the repeal of 377A.
“The repeal associated with S377A does not mean that people are changing the particular tone of culture. This position also pertains to our policies on media content, ” said the ministry.