‘Leave sex alone and focus on your books’ – Motshekga tells pupils

The Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga has appealed to High school pupils to stay away from sex and focus on achieving academic excellence.

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Motshekga was speaking at the opening of schools at Kgatoentle High School in Ga-Rankuwa. She said she had engaged with many pupils who had told her that they were engaging in sexual intercourse.

Sex is for married people

“MEC I went to your schools on June 16 in Ekurhuleni and I told the children to behave themselves and not to have sex before marriage I told them to interact with me and tell me what they want to say to me,” Motshekga said.

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“One of them told me that the nurses report us when we go to the clinic and then I realised that there was a generational gap. I was on level one of abstinence and they were on another level where they were saying we have started and we are looking for help,” Motshekga said.

Interventions are needed to curb teenage pregnancy

Motshekga said it was pointless to pretend that high school pupils were not engaging in sexual activities.

“We have to work with our parents on reproductive health. It does not help telling them to close their legs we have to engage them on these issues. Intercourse is a very sacred thing,” she said.

Motshekga said schools and School Governing Bodies (SGBs) should work together in ensuring that sexual activities and pregnancy do not become stumbling blocks to pupils completing their high school education.

“I hear that the SGB in this school is very active. I would like to test that activeness. I am going to come back so we can talk about this,” she said.

Current statistics on adolescent/teenage pregnancy show that there has been a significant increase in young girls falling pregnant.

 These statistics reveal that more than 150 000 young girls were pregnant in the 2022/2023 financial year. According to the Health Minister, health workers are now obliged to report cases of pregnant underage girls.