The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has urged the Department of Education to prioritise comprehensive sexual education following an incident at Molautsi Secondary School in Blood River, Limpopo, where a Grade 10 student gave birth in the school's toilets.
The Limpopo Department of Education confirmed that a pregnant learner gave birth in a school toilet on July 22.
Mosebjane Kgaffe, the acting spokesperson for the Limpopo Department of Education, stated that the learner was alone when she went into labour in the school's restroom.
“The Department further confirms that the learner and the newborn are in the hands of health professionals,” Kgaffe said.
In 2018, the school saw a peak in teenage pregnancies, with 27 learners being pregnant, including 14 in Grade 12, and others in Grade 11 and Grade 10.
Meanwhile, the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has expressed significant concern over the occurrences of teenage pregnancy in the province and urged the Department of Education to prioritise comprehensive sexual education in schools.
The commission’s spokesperson, Javu Baloyi, mentioned that this initiative would empower young people to make informed decisions regarding their lives, health, and sexuality.
“The Department of Education and Department of Health need to accelerate the roll-out of programmes to schools and also consider hiring nurses and social workers in schools,” he said.
Baloyi emphasised the importance of clinics prioritising education and awareness to ensure that young people have access to information about sexual and reproductive health.
“Adolescent health should be prioritised at primary healthcare facilities so that young people can access sexual and reproduction services without barriers or any form of unfair discrimination,” he said.
He said that the Limpopo provincial government must complete the prevention strategy to address the high rates of teenage pregnancy and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
“Secondly, this is a community issue, we need community members to be involved in advocacy around the eradication of teenage pregnancies within communities.”
Baloyi further encouraged parents to report cases of statutory rape to police stations.
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