My Longkang

I find it incredible that a study by University Kebangsaan Malaysia ( UKM ) has revealed that most high risk girls in an ‘unnamed’ state had experienced sex before. From the 3 month study , UKM’s Children and Youth Psychology specialist Dr Khaidzir Ismail, found that 886 from 887 case studies had experienced it and the study encompassed 20 students with disciplinary problems from particular schools with ages ranging from Form One to Form Five.

Now that the issue is out in the open, we need not to shove it under the carpet but instead to examine ourselves where have we gone wrong that these young girls have deviated from the norms acceptable to our Malaysian society.

I have seen with my own eyes school girls coming to blows in public, young girls not in school uniform hanging out together and suddenly a purse is missing and the girl is apprehended and the evidence is not found but her friends have disappeared or as a parent once lamented to me, boyfriends waiting for girlfriends outside schools revving their motorcycle engines, smoking and generally making an ass of themselves and the teacher who dares provoke them, best beware of repercussions mentality.

It is not surprising that Dr Khaidzir Ismail found that these students had low self esteem, posed disciplinary problems to their schools and some were from broken homes. Most of the girls too had tried drugs, had dabbled in pornography ( this I find it hard to believe …perhaps it is an exaggeration ), secret societies, vandalism and truancy.

Is it the parents’ fault or is it the school’s fault or is it society’s? Traditionally girls have always been treated with kid’s gloves in our Malaysia society. Perhaps it is time to discard this idealistic image and go to the roots of the problem.

These are school students we are talking about. Convince schools not to shove the issue under the carpet or to hide it from the public eye to maintain its good image. Identify the students involved, get the cooperation of the school counselors to counsel these kids. They are not yet criminals, they are just misguided.

The education ministry should also allocate more funds for the counseling department especially in secondary schools. Make sure the number of teaching periods are reduced for said personnel. Insist on a proper filing system with a clear channel of action to be taken in the event necessity dictates.

Girls will talk better with female counselors. Have talks with the girl students about sex and their bodies. You will be surprised how ignorant some of them can be. Initiate talks with the parents but without the girls presence. More can be achieved in this manner. The girls and the parents will be less likely to feel humiliated too. In our society, as always, it is still about ‘face’.

Expulsion is never a solution. It only dooms the student to a difficult life ahead. It makes me sad sometimes that prisoners are given a chance to rehabilitate themselves but students who are expelled almost always find their journey in life forever affected.

Religion should not be neglected in schools. Nowadays schools have a tendency to veer towards noticeable achievements e.g. athletics, debates etc so religion is largely ignored. Invite representatives from religious bodies to conduct activities in the schools. Teachers are not religious clergy and have loads of work already as it is.

Another thing we should consider is the curriculum itself. Is it relevant to these students? If they are not academically inclined, they will feel left out of the system forever languishing somewhere at the bottom of the class. This will cause them to have low self esteem. What are the options available for students like these? For wayward boys and non-academically inclined boys there are many options in technical and vocational schools but there are less options for the girls.

Please give me your feedback. I like to hear from you.

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