Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, says the sector is in continuous engagement with other role players and parents to strengthen the prevention of early and unintended pregnancy.
Motshekga on Thursday said interventions such as ‘Let’s Talks EUP’, implemented with support from UNESCO, allow for a safe space for intergenerational dialogue on how best to deal with the issue of early and unintended pregnancy (EUP).
The Minister said the curriculum is also being used to address EUP.
“Our commitment is to strengthen the Comprehensive Sexuality Education offering in Life Orientation to ensure that learners are empowered with knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their health and sexuality, prevent HIV infection and pregnancy, and focus on their education.
“Where early pregnancy occurs, the [Policy for the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy] will help the sector to support the pregnant learner, and ensure that care and support is provided so that the unfortunate occurrence does not impact negatively on their education,” the Minister said at the Social Cluster media briefing in Tshwane.
The Department of Basic Education launched the Policy for the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy in Schools last week, following alarming statistics on the pregnancy of young girls between the ages of 10 and 19.
Motshekga called on parents, caregivers and community members to help the sector ensure that children are protected, “especially because most of the time, pregnancy among children usually occurs as a result of sexual abuse and coerced sexual intercourse and sexual abuse”.
ECD function shift
The Minister said the Basic Education and Social Development Departments have been working together to ensure that the function shift from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education of Early Childhood Development [ECD] happens as planned from 1 April 2022.
“We know from international evidence that education systems will contribute to development only when they function optimally, and their component parts are focused on quality improvement, and aligned to ensure accountability for learning outcomes from early childhood and foundations to the more senior grades.”
The Minister said one of the key priority areas for the sector is to ECD service delivery as soon as the function shift happens.
“The migration of ECD provides us an opportunity to craft and implement innovative strategies to strengthen foundational learning, looking at the continuum from birth to early grades.”
Social protection system
The Social Cluster has lauded the social protection system as the greatest among the achievements of the democratic government, reaching more than 18 million people every month.
Motshekga said without this support, millions more people would live in dire poverty.
Since the onset of COVID-19, the Social Relief of Distress Grant has provided support to more than 10 million unemployed people, who remain most vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic.
During his recent State of the Nation Address, President Ramaphosa announced that government will extend the R350 SRD Grant for a further year, to the end of March 2023.
During this time, government will engage in broad consultations and detailed technical work to identify the best options to replace this grant.
Source: South African Government News Agency