Dear Editor
The latest statistics on teenage pregnancy indicate that over 2412 school girls in the Western Cape were pregnant in 2016, this is down from 2880 in 2015.
I am pleased that the WC Education Department established the “Managing Learner Pregnancy in Public Schools” policy in 2003. The aim of the policy is to protect the right of access by pregnant learners to education, and provide the same opportunities for development as any other learner eligible to attend school.
The policy provides guidelines on how to manage continued access to schools for pregnant learners, and the roles and responsibilities of all concerned.
The DA in the Western Cape supports the right for each learner to decide whether or not to attend school during pregnancy. Early pregnancy is however a socio-economic challenge for young girls and makes them vulnerable to disease.
Regards
Basil Kivedo
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Education in the Western Cape
