Draft DBE national policy on the prevention and management of learner pregnancy

The Department of Basic Education has published for comment the Draft DBE national policy on the prevention and management of learner pregnancy. "The rate of learner pregnancy in South Africa, highlighted by improved reporting in the Department of Basic Education (DBE), has become a major social, systemic and fiscal challenge not only for the basic education sector, but crucially, for national development in general and for the basic education system in particular. it impacts the lives of thousands of young people, often limiting their personal growth, the pursuit of rewarding careers and their ambitions, with incalculable impact on South Africa's socioeconomic systems. The DBE acknowledges its central role in the social sector's collective response to this challenge and sets out in this Policy its goals, guiding principles and policy themes to stabilize and reduce the incidence of learner pregnancy and its adverse effect on the education system.

This Policy seeks to ensure the accessible provision of information on prevention; choice of termination of pregnancy (CToP); care, counselling and support; frameworks for impact mitigation; and guidelines for systemic management and implementation. In particular, it commits the basic education system and other role players to providing the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) crucial to optimal sexual and reproductive health. The aim of CSE is to ensure that young people gain the knowledge and skills to make conscious, healthy and respectful choices about relationships and sexuality. It provides an age -appropriate, culturally- relevant and right-based approach to sexuality and relationships, which explicitly addresses issues of gender and power, and provides scientifically accurate, practical information in a non-judgemental way."