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"Spreading the HIV message"
The
Star (www.thestar.com.my)
(21//12/06)
EIGHTY per cent of the middle schools in Beijing were offering
HIV-prevention courses by the end of last month, when there were none last
year, sources at the Beijing Municipal Education Committee said on Tuesday.
To assist in the teaching of these courses, the committee earlier drafted
China's first textbook aimed at preventing HIV, the AIDS Prevention Textbook
for Middle and Elementary School Students. Teachers have been using the book
since the start of the autumn semester. Six class hours on the subject are
required every semester in junior high school, and four hours in senior high
schools.
The Ministry of Education made the classes mandatory in February. The
textbook covers such issues as abstinence, condom use and how to deal with
relationships over the Internet.
The textbook provides detailed information about HIV/ AIDS, such as how to
avoid contracting HIV, and encourages students not to be prejudiced against
people who have been infected with the disease. It also offers advice on how
to lead a healthy sex life.
The topic of sex is often too embarrassing for Chinese students to bring up
with teachers because it is taboo in traditional Chinese culture. Teachers
often skip the few chapters dealing with sex in their health textbooks, or
tell students to study by themselves.
School representatives contacted by China Daily said they were using the
books.
Li Bian, deputy director of the AIDS-Prevention Educa-tion Project for
Chinese Youths, an organisation co-sponsored by the China Charity Federation
and the Chinese Society of Education, highlighted the importance of offering
HIV/AIDS education to both middle and elementary school students.
“The country has waited for so long,” Li told China Daily.
“AIDS-prevention education is so urgent in this country, since young
people's knowledge of sex lags behind their physical growth.”
“But the effort is still not making much progress, even though China has
stressed developing a high-quality educational system for years,” Li said.
“It is all because the current education and testing systems don't include
this course in any appraisals.” — China Daily / Asia News Network
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