Zulu king condemns gymslip pregnancies

King Goodwill Zwelithini emphasised his growing concern over the alarming school pregnancy rate in KwaZulu-Natal and said it was time to take decisive action, Zululand Observers reports.

“I am so disappointed! Pregnancy is for women fit to carry a child and provide for her family, not school learners.”

He spoke to the Zululand Observer after being informed that 746 high school learners fell pregnant in the region in 2016.

Statistics from the KZN department of education yesterday highlighted the Zululand, Umkhanyakude and uThungulu as problem areas.

Umkhanyakude had the highest rate of high school pregnancies with 293 cases reported, followed by uThungulu with 286 and Zululand with 167.

King Goodwill said these statistics were “crippling the future generation”.

“It is scandalous when a young learner gets pregnant. Physically and mentally it cripples a learner child. Any good parent hopes that when their children are at school, they will be good learners first and postpone matters of taking care of families at a later stage when they are more mature. Instead, they become pregnant, bringing more poverty into their homes and disrupting their futures,” King Goodwill said.

While condemning school pregnancies, he noted that the school and the educators could not be held responsible.

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“We cannot blame the teachers; it is not their fault if a learner gets pregnant. We are appealing to parents because that is where primary education starts. Don’t be afraid to talk to your children. We need to speak to our children about the danger of pregnancy and sleeping around.”

Meanwhile, KZN department of health assistant director for communications for the King Cetshwayo District, Sibongiseni Manqele, said they were working closely with the department of education in trying to address the issue.

“There are a number of initiatives and programmes that we have undertaken to deal with the issue of school pregnancy.

“Education on family planning and condom use is done at schools. We also have youth friendly services at local clinics that prioritise youth related issues as well as outreach teams that provide health education in communities.”

However, King Goodwill seemed to disagree with the DoE’s approach of issuing condoms at schools.

“When you provide condoms at school, it promotes sex among learners. Let’s all work to together and try to condemn this scourge of school pregnancy,” he said.

King Goodwill annually hosts the uMkhosi Womhlanga (Reed Dance), which promotes virginity among young women.

– Caxton News Service

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