Drugs, alcohol and sex fuel teenage pregnancy

Recent statistics released by Lefusi revealed that 4 446 teenage girls of school-going age fell pregnant in Gauteng during the 2015 school calendar year. This alarming and embarrassing figure has, of course, had the entire DOE hiding its face in a shameful disgrace as the situation seemingly rolls out of control.

And, judging from his media comments on the matter, without a doubt, the MEC and the concerned society in Gauteng are fully aware of the causes that have led to this seemingly degenerative situation in the province’s schools. Even of more concern to both the DOE and society are the fact that one of teenage school girls caught in this wave of bulging teeny bellies, was in Grade Five and barely 15.

Lesufi has listed the abuse of alcohol, drugs and the prevalent promiscuity among young people as the major causes of the problem. Crying out loud in dismay in public through the media, the provincial MEC for education, Lesufi, openly pronounced; “We are not winning the battle against teenage pregnancy in Gauteng!”

Surely, this is sad, as it goes against the very purpose of securing the undisturbed safety of learners at local schools by establishing security measures to prevent such harmful substances as alcohol and drugs being pushed through to corrupt the morality and behaviour of learners.

However, rated paramount among these is the issue of female learner-male teacher love relationships which have resulted in scores of young teenage girl s abandoning the learning career as they suddenly became “mothers”. We have also heard of school teachers who have been expelled from the profession due to their illicit conduct with teenage girl learners.

But alas, the fact that the above learner-teacher relationships ratio is but just a fraction of the large picture of teenage peer sexuality that is inflamed by drugs and alcohol, indicates an even scarier picture of how sex among young learners at schools in destroying not only the future of the young female learner, but also of the baby born under such disruptive circumstances.

Without doubt, as much as democracy with all its flowery décor and artificial social and political trappings may have brought a sense of “freedom” and “liberation” to an otherwise once “unexposed” South African society (both Blacks and Whites) – none of the users ever bothered to listen to those who warned us about the immoral dangers of our quest to be liberated.

It is a lot easier today for young learners to be exposed to technology that most people my age had no access to several decades ago. And with the advancement of this overwhelming wave of new technology, our family living rooms have become extended classrooms that help perpetuate the distortion of morality among families.

And since experts have identified teenage pregnancy as a global phenomenon, of course, it is now up to individual governments to safeguard the morality of their budding young nations. Perhaps, with the new SABC Board now being ushered into shape, I suggest the priority should be the immediate re-arrangement of the national broadcasters programming menu, especially in instances where it tends to tilt more towards demoralising the youth in our young democracy.

And the fact that 1 289 of the 4 446 pregnant teenage girls in the province came from Ekurhuleni, which includes Kathorus – should make every parent of a school-going teenager girl shudder with fear and dismay.

Lesufi lamented what he described as “the out of control levels” of teenage pregnancy at local schools in the province. He said they are the direct result of alcohol, drugs, and unprotected sex. “It’s a process”, remarked Lesufi. “You drink alcohol, your knees get weak, and then you need ‘tjovitjo’ (sex) and that leads to pregnancy.”

However, Kathorus MAIL compliments the MEC’s intervention programs devised by the DOE to remedy the somewhat irremediable situation at our schools in collaboration with other stake holders.

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