Teenage pregnancies have become the scourge of South Africa – and the Free State has not been spared.
Currently, the province accounts for 13.3 percent of pregnancies of children between ages 10 to 14 years old, according to the Department of Health’s national records for 2021/2022.
The situation is dire and some girls fall pregnant even before they get their periods.
This is alarming considering the serious challenge of underreported cases by schools on our EMIS system.
Lejweleputswa, Mangaung and Thabo Mofutsanyane districts present the highest learner pregnancy rates in the province.
The Provincial Learner Pregnancy Summit, which took place at Bon Hotel in Bloemfontein last week, is an initiative of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) in partnership with the Free Department of Education.
It ran under the theme Under the theme “Protecting and Respecting the Dignity of Our Girl Child”.
In his address to the multi-sectoral stakeholders present, Advocate Tsoarelo Malakoane, Head of Department, Free State Education, said: “We must extinguish not just the flames but the source of learner pregnancy in our schools.
“Through the commissions in this summit, we must produce a document that will provide pragmatic interventions with a clear plan of action on how to eliminate pregnancies in our schools.”
SADTU provincial secretary Mokholoane Moloi spoke intensely of the union’s concern about learner pregnancies, saying: “As an organisation, we take very seriously this pandemic of learner pregnancy because it impacts how the teacher performs their duties.”
MEC for Education Makalo Mohale emphasised how badly learner pregnancy reflected on the community.
“We need to inculcate an attitude of love for our people and culture,” he said.
“Learners and their parents need to understand that their lives impact them that they come after them and even greatly on their prospects.”
The two-day summit sought to find solutions on how to impede learner pregnancies that ultimately impact the future of this country. – Staff Reporter