A controversial multiple-choice question from a Malaysian Health Education online quiz for secondary school students has recently been went viral on the Internet for its sensitive subject matter.
The matter was brought to light on Reddit and Facebook, where the question asks what should the student do in the event her grandfather requested to shower together.
The options for the multiple-choice were:
- Push the grandfather and cause him to fall down.
- Firmly decline his request.
- Accept his request.
- Splash water on his face.
While the question aims to educate students about protecting themselves against pedophilias, many said that this is not the way educate our students. Some said the question could possibly have induced students to have unwanted thoughts regarding their family members, when it had not actually happened.
“Why are these things in textbooks? Shouldn’t parents be the ones teaching their kids?” a netizen asked.
Meanwhile, there were some who said that this question is a positive addition to the Malaysia’s education syllabus and said that it is necessary to educate students given the rampant social problems that are happening these days.
“This is great as it’s a way to educate kids about bad behavior by sexual predators.”
“This way, kids won’t be confused. Some kids get confused and wrongly allow their relatives in because they see them as family.” a netizen commented.
“Most parents still sadly don’t teach these things to their kids, so why not have schools educate them instead?” another netizen said.
On the other hand, some admitted educating students about boundaries and saying “no” is important, however, the method to convey it, especially in this particular question, seemed quite silly and tasteless in the grand scheme of things.
“There are many cases where parents don’t protect their kids when grandparents want to touch and play with them, so this might somehow help. You never know. Sometimes all a person needs is a trigger to wake up to the problems they’ve been facing but dare not tell anyone.”
Nonetheless, some netizens managed to identify it as a question from the Secondary 3 syllabus for Physical Health and Education.
Apparently, there were other similar questions from the same syllabus, which includes scenarios such as elder siblings inviting them to watch pornography, or getting touched in inappropriate places by their uncle and many more.
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that cases of pedophilia throughout the country are still widespread, and educating students on things such as sexual harassment and personal boundaries could have help prevent this.
What do you think about the inclusion of such question in our education system? Share your thoughts!
