Department accused of down playing school pregnancies while ‘teachers are raping children’

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has blasted a presentation by the department of basic education on initiatives to prevent pregnant girls and gymslip mothers from dropping out of school. 

The CGE’s chair, advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale, told parliament on Tuesday that the presentation was “unfortunate” because it gave a “very glossy picture”, while the bottom line was that “teachers are raping children”. 

“The teachers have made it their business to sleep with as many young girls as possible. In fact, we had hearings where we called Sace [South African Council for Educators] and one of the people who came with the department of education said there’s nothing we can do. 

“When you go and investigate you hear that the day this teacher had raped this child at school, he then went to the child’s home and spent time with the parents drinking alcohol. He bought them alcohol and by the time he left, all was well.” 

She said the teacher did not see his actions as “grooming and wrongful predatory behaviour”. 

“It’s bad out there. There are teachers who are still teaching after three or four cases”.

She said the picture they were picking up at the CGE “is completely removed from all the policies” of the department of basic education. 

“These policies have been bound and are gathering dust.” 

She was referring, in particular, to the department’s policy on the prevention and management of pupil pregnancy in schools, which was launched in February last year. 

“This presentation is not going to the essence of what is happening. We are cheating our children out of a future and I don’t want the CGE to be a part of that.”

Her comments came after the department responded to a research report by the CGE that was presented to parliament titled, “school dropout of adolescent girls during pregnancy and the postpartum period in selected SA provinces”. 

I am only trained to be an educator. Now at the school, I must deal with substances and weapons. Even teenage pregnancy, I am not qualified to handle, let alone be trained on it.

—  Teacher

The CGE’s report, which was aimed at investigating reasons for school dropout by adolescent girls during pregnancy and in the postpartum period, blamed adolescent pregnancy in KwaZulu-Natal on the lack of parental involvement and support. 

“A notable finding that came up during the interviews of the study was that this phenomenon of having migrant working parents, led to some parents renting alternative accommodation for their children away from familial homes but closer to the school they attended.

“This left adolescents with no guidance and supervision by a guardian, which gave them the freedom to do as they pleased, including engaging in sexual activities.” 

According to the report, a pupil said she was dating “to fill a void after the loss of her father and disclosed that she had been missing love”.

The investigation found that household circumstances played an integral role in the pupil deciding whether to return to school. 

A young mother said: “I am hurt that the father of my child is carrying on with school. I am stuck here with my child. I tried negotiating for my baby boy to stay with his father’s family. At least my child’s paternal grandfather is around, but my boyfriend’s mother refused. My mom suggested I find work because she says I am a woman now with responsibilities.” 

The research findings revealed that there were no standardised practices in place for handling pregnant pupils and their retention in school.

“This largely stemmed from the lack of knowledge and training on the policy on the prevention and management of learner pregnancy among key stakeholders.”

A teacher said: “I am only trained to be an educator. Now at the school, I must deal with substances and weapons. Even teenage pregnancy, I am not qualified to handle, let alone be trained on it.” 

Busisa Nokama, from the department’s health promotion directorate, told MPs they were working with the universities of Pretoria and Oxford on a study called “Hey baby” to support pregnant and young mothers’ return to school. 

She said the study found that receiving family childcare support doubles the chance to return to school, and that using childcare services made enrolment to school four times more likely “therefore access to child support is critical”. 

Deputy minister of basic education Reginah Mhaule said they worked with the police, as well as other government departments, to deal with social ills, including teenage pregnancies. 

“But we cannot say, ‘police officers go and arrest a child that is pregnant.’ 

“It’s so painful that when you work very hard to develop policies, then you are just criticised and condemned. Colleagues, let’s not condemn one another.” 

She said there will always be gaps and that where a gap has been identified “any member of society or any organ of state” had the right to come to the department to report the problem. 

“We have eyes, but we don’t have eyes at the back of our heads. We have blind spots. This policy is there to stop learners dropping out.”