It was alarming to read about the high number of abortions here, as well as teenage abortions, in last Sunday's article, 'Graves with no names'.

There seems also to have been an increase in the number of abortions, which is something that needs to be tackled seriously.

Sex education should perhaps start at the primary school level, and both the Ministry of Education and the schools should consider having compulsory sex education to arrest such trends.

I am sure many parents would support this initiative.

Adolescence is a difficult phase for both parents and child, so both sides would benefit from openly discussing issues such as sex and abortions.

While the home is the best source of sex education, other help groups and religious organisations can also play a part in educating youngsters on such issues.

During sex education classes, schools should focus not just on the teenage girls, but also on the boys.

While such initiatives may not totally prevent unwanted teen pregnancies or eradicate abortions, they could at least reduce such occurrences.

Kumar Pillay Thangavalu

This article was first published in The Straits Times.