Arresting school pregnancy

THE proposed policy that aims to educate schoolgirls about pregnancy termination and the morning-after pill is a step in the right direction in the government’s fight to clamp down on the high rate of pregnancy at schools.

The proposed policy, known as Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), includes counselling on a range of options, including the choice of termination of pregnancy.

Already practised in other parts of the world, the proposal upholds the right of pupils who are already pregnant to stay at school.

The frightening statistics presented by the Department of Basic Education that 15 740 schoolgirls in grades 3, 4 and 5 got pregnant in 2015 has made it so urgent for the government to implement measures aimed at arresting this sad state of affairs.

We sincerely hope that members of the public will take advantage of the window of opportunity presented by the government to make input on the draft policy.

This is particularly important when taking into account that millions of promising schoolgirls, especially from impoverished backgrounds, have seen their futures go up in smoke after falling pregnant.

Having young girls becoming mothers can serve only to perpetuate poverty, as they are in no position to look after anyone, being kids themselves. This is a national disgrace we need to confront and put an end to.

While the debate rages within stakeholders in the education sector, we are comforted by the general agreement that is emerging.

From the Diakonia Council of Churches to gender organisations there is widespread consensus that pupils must have access to a range of options available to prevent them from becoming mothers prematurely.

Assuming the moral high ground when confronted with such serious social ills does very little to provide practical solutions to prevent teenage pregnancy.

We hope that organisations that don’t support this initiative can be persuaded to see the need for such intervention.

After all, we owe it to our children and the next generation.