A school counselor at the prestigious Hwa Chong Institution who spread false statistics about the LGBT community has been suspended from all duties.
HCI had previously barred the unidentified teacher from conducting future sex ed classes after a slide from a presentation he gave to students containing a number of falsehoods about the LGBT community was leaked online last month.
Education Minister Chan Chun Sing yesterday wrote in reply to Parliamentary questions that the school has been monitoring students’ well-being and is offering support to those who were traumatized by the counselor’s presentation. The school is also reviewing its curriculum to align with the Ministry of Education guidelines.
“The school has also emphasised the importance of respect and care for everyone in the school community,” Chan wrote.
The presentation, which was shown to a class of 16-year-olds, included false statistics that touted absurd claims linking homosexuality to pedophilia, alcoholism and rape. The made-up figures were traced back to a Twitter troll account.
A so-called conversion therapy video from a local Christian organization was also shown.
After pictures of the presentation went viral on social media, the school released a statement saying that it had not been approved by the faculty and was not representative of the school’s values.
Women’s rights advocacy group AWARE recently launched an online sex ed website linking to various sex-related resources in response to the incident.
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