Teen pregnancy crisis
I CONCUR with firebrand former Cosatu leader, Jay Naidoo, to call on the government to criminally charge teachers who indulge in sexual activity with their pupils.
But it’s not only the teachers who are impregnating underage girls. The government should be declaring a zero-tolerance approach on this matter and needs to address this issue urgently.
Education authorities are aware of sexual favours in the classroom and turn a blind eye. I have many times raised the issue of teenage pregnancy during site visits to schools while I was in parliament and it all falls on deaf ears.
Furthermore, unlike their great grandmothers, most of today’s young girls are well aware of how pregnancy comes about and more importantly how it can be prevented. Girls, young women may think having a baby is better than a dead-end job and it will improve their lives.
As soon as the babies arrive, they discover the contrary, dumping their fatherless babies in bins or with their grandmothers who have to bear the brunt of using their pension money to care for the baby. Whose responsibility is it now? That teenage girl has no support, no home – often she herself has been raised without a father – but has burdened that grandmother or mother who depends on the state grant to survive.
Teenage years are for studying, choosing a career, being a leader, a role model, making a difference to the weaker ones. Teenage years are for living, having a good time, seeing the world and doing the things one may not have the opportunity to do as one gets older.
Teenagers are babies themselves and don’t know the re- sponsibility of supporting a new life. The problem we now have is that more and more children are being brought up without the stability of two parents, and are unable to finish their studies and seek gainful employment.
A generation of fatherless children will think this is the norm and follow the same pattern. Something has to change. The teachers unions and the government have to work together to prevent underage pregnancies. The union must make this a priority and act against guilty teachers, and any man or youngster who has sex with a underage girl must be jailed for statutory rape. Maintenance-dodgers must have their salaries docked.
I ask the MECs for Education and Health to work together on this issue. Well done and thank you, Jay Naidoo, for raising this issue and giving your time to address teenage pregnancy. LORETTA RAJKUMAR