Sex education at schools to quell teen pregnancy
The department of basic education (DBE) is implementing measures to prevent pregnancy in school-going laaities.
This follows figures released by the department that 91 000 schoolgirls fell pregnant last year, a number of them between the ages of 10 and 14 years.
This elicited a kwaad response from stakeholders in the country, who called for action against those involved in sexual abuse and violence against pupils.
Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga on Thursday said her mense have put in place measures to deal with the problem of teenage preggers.
This followed a written question by NFP member Munzoor Shaik Emam.
“The department of basic education launched the DBE Policy on the prevention and management of learner pregnancy in schools.
“The policy seeks to reduce the incidence of learner pregnancy through the provision of quality comprehensive sexuality education and access to adolescent and youth-friendly sexual reproductive health services,” said Motshekga.
She said her department is currently disseminating the new policy in schools to speed up its implementation.
“The provincial stakeholders, including provincial aids councils and partners, are brought on board to enable a multi-sectoral approach to mitigate incidents of early and unintended pregnancies/sexual harassment/sexual violence/rape and/or GBV,” she said.
Motshekga said they are also expanding on sex education on how learners can protect themselves and continue to engage pupils in prevention of pregnancy through the “Let’s Talk prevention of Early and Unintended Pregnancies” ministerial dialogues.
“The minister, through the dialogues, creates awareness with learners on the importance of focusing on their education while debating on measures learners can take to protect themselves against pregnancy,” Motshekga said.