LIMPOPO LEARNER GAVE BIRTH IN THE SCHOOL TOILETS.
The department confirms an unforseen incident whereby a pregnant learner gave birth on Monday, 22 July 2024 in a school toilet. The grade 10 learner from Molautsi Secondary School in Blood River was alone in the toilets at the time when she went into labour.
The Department can confirm that in cases of such circumstances, there are correct measures in place to provide sufficient care and support to pregnant learners throughout the schooling season.
These include, to appraise the Life orientation Educator
for further support, inform the Learner Support Agent and to inform the Educators on the learner’s status among other measures.
We further want to acknowledge that through our curriculum and other extra-curricular activities, such as Advocacy Campaigns and Comprehensive Sexuality Education, which we have initiated as a department, we have advanced means to raise awareness on Teenage Pregnancy.
The Department futher confirms that the learner and the newborn are in the hands of health professionals. We hereby appeal to the media and the public in general to grant the learner and her family the necessary privacy during this time.
The department will dispatch a team of experts to the school to provide psychosocial support in due cause.