Category: #zapeople

A teenage pregnancy policy that was recently approved by Cabinet will be implemented from January next year. The policy will allow learners who fell pregnant to return to school sooner. This was revealed to the National Council of Provinces by the Basic Education Acting Director General Granville Whittle.  

The department, MECs and officials have held talks with the NCOP on the dropout of learners from schools.  

Whittle had to answer some of the questions on behalf of the Basic Education Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule.

“Cabinet fairly recently approved the policy on teenage pregnancy. We are currently working with a range of departments to develop an implementation plan and we will start implementing that policy from January 2022. One of the key tenets of that policy is that learners who do fall pregnant must be allowed to return to school as soon as possible and in the period where they are off because of the pregnancy, that they be allowed to return, but also that schools provide ongoing educational support to them during that time.” 

The NCOP has heard that about 120 000 learners fall pregnant every year with only a third returning to school after giving birth.    

It was revealed that over 200 000 learners did not return to school in 2021.  

In his opening remarks, NCOP Chairperson Amos Masondo said there are many workable solutions to drastically reduce the school dropout rate.  

Masondo highlighted some of the social factors leading to learners dropping out of school. 

“There are many reasons for school dropouts, from family commitment, illness, lack of interest and poverty, which is largely mitigated by the no fees schools. Whatever the reasons, we need to find workable solutions to drastically reduce and ultimately eradicate the phenomenon of school dropouts.” 

Mhaule told NCOP delegates that the number of learners who did not return to school this year is 200 000 and not 500 000  as she had initially indicated. 

“A nationally representative household survey pointed to a decline in school attendance between November 22 and April 2021. The number is 200 000 not 500 000. I want to put my sincere apology on that because it’s a misprint, because I had to check my records here. It’s not 500 000; it’s 200 000 learners who did not return back to school.” 

One of the questions asked by the NCOP was how teenage pregnancy contributed to learners dropping out of school.  

Whittle responded, “We have got a 120 000 (learners) a year, who fall pregnant. Only a third of actually them return to school. And so, two thirds drop out, which is an important issue. We need to confront not only as the Department of Basic Educations, but in fact, as society large because teenage pregnancy is not only a DBE problem.” 

Deputy Minister Mhaule told the NCOP that proposed changes to the Basic Education legislation will also look into the roles that should be played by some stakeholders to curb the school dropout rate. 

“As we are preparing for the amendments of the Basic Education laws, we are also looking at this matter (of school dropout), because the first person who identifies that a learner is not  coming to school is a teacher. We are not saying that the teacher must be held reliable and accountable.  The teacher (must) report. As the teacher reports to the principal then the principal must report to the School Governing body, because it is the School Governing body that is looking at the governance of the school in general. And it is the School Governing Body that has a contract with parents to make sure that parents allow their learners to go to school.” 

DISCUSSION | Shocking numbers of teenage pregnancies in Gauteng:

Reports by Basic Education on HIV infections among young girls: Elijah Mhlanga

The post Date set for the implementation of recently-approved teenage pregnancy policy appeared first on SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader..

Read more here:: Latest South Africa News

The recent dismissal of top Western Cape policeman, Major General Jeremy Vearey has been upheld by the Arbitrator of the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council.

Vearey was fired earlier this year for what the police top brass said was bringing the service into disrepute with a series of Facebook posts.

Police management said the posts undermined National Police Commissioner, Khehla Sitole. He’s welcomed the ruling of the bargaining council.

“Veary referred an unfair dismissal dispute to the SSSBC. After much deliberation on the matter, the Arbitrator ruled at the end of his 24-page award to the SSSBC that the dismissal of the Applicant, Major General Jeremy Veary was substantively fair,” says National Police Spokesperson, Vish Naidoo.

VIDEO: Two Western Cape police officers fight their demotion in court

 

The post Major General Jeremy Vearey’s dismissal upheld appeared first on SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader..

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Residents of Qunu, the birthplace of the late former president Nelson Mandela, have been without a clean water supply for months. Water is a basic need and everyone has a right to clean drinking water, but residents in the village of Qunu in Mthatha have had to find other means to get the commodity. Their taps have been dry for the past eight months.

Residents have now resorted to fetching water from unclean water sources, which they share with animals.

“We don’t have water here. We get it from the river. But the people we vote for lie and say they do everything for us. We even experience constant power outages. Sometimes we sleep on empty stomach here in Qunu. We are struggling in this village of Dalibhunga,” says a resident.

“It’s been seven months without water. When we go to other places out of Mthatha and we tell people that we are from Qunu, they think we come from rich families, while we are as poor as everyone else. The water we drink from the river is full of diapers here,” another resident says.

“Here in Qunu, we struggle to get water. We fetch it from the river so we can do our laundry, then we depend on water tanks for drinking,” a resident said.

The OR Tambo District Municipality, which is responsible for water provision, is working on fixing the challenge.

“There was a challenge of water challenge in the area because of an electricity issue between us as a district municipality and Eskom. The matter was, however, later resolved and water was restored to the community and the community had water access until recently. The recent water outage is caused by a faulty valve that we have ordered as the municipality, and once it arrives, we will fix the system,” explains Zimkhitha Macingwane.

Water supply in the OR Tambo District has been an issue for a long time. This despite government’s multi-billion rand funding, meant for infrastructural development in the district.

The post Qunu residents lament lack of access to clean drinking water appeared first on SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader..

Read more here:: Latest South Africa News

A teenage pregnancy policy that was recently approved by Cabinet will be implemented from January next year. The policy will allow learners who fell pregnant to return to school sooner. This was revealed to the National Council of Provinces by the Basic Education Acting Director General Granville Whittle.  

The department, MECs and officials have held talks with the NCOP on the dropout of learners from schools.  

Whittle had to answer some of the questions on behalf of the Basic Education Deputy Minister Reginah Mhaule.

“Cabinet fairly recently approved the policy on teenage pregnancy. We are currently working with a range of departments to develop an implementation plan and we will start implementing that policy from January 2022. One of the key tenets of that policy is that learners who do fall pregnant must be allowed to return to school as soon as possible and in the period where they are off because of the pregnancy, that they be allowed to return, but also that schools provide ongoing educational support to them during that time.” 

The NCOP has heard that about 120 000 learners fall pregnant every year with only a third returning to school after giving birth.    

It was revealed that over 200 000 learners did not return to school in 2021.  

In his opening remarks, NCOP Chairperson Amos Masondo said there are many workable solutions to drastically reduce the school dropout rate.  

Masondo highlighted some of the social factors leading to learners dropping out of school. 

“There are many reasons for school dropouts, from family commitment, illness, lack of interest and poverty, which is largely mitigated by the no fees schools. Whatever the reasons, we need to find workable solutions to drastically reduce and ultimately eradicate the phenomenon of school dropouts.” 

Mhaule told NCOP delegates that the number of learners who did not return to school this year is 200 000 and not 500 000  as she had initially indicated. 

“A nationally representative household survey pointed to a decline in school attendance between November 22 and April 2021. The number is 200 000 not 500 000. I want to put my sincere apology on that because it’s a misprint, because I had to check my records here. It’s not 500 000; it’s 200 000 learners who did not return back to school.” 

One of the questions asked by the NCOP was how teenage pregnancy contributed to learners dropping out of school.  

Whittle responded, “We have got a 120 000 (learners) a year, who fall pregnant. Only a third of actually them return to school. And so, two thirds drop out, which is an important issue. We need to confront not only as the Department of Basic Educations, but in fact, as society large because teenage pregnancy is not only a DBE problem.” 

Deputy Minister Mhaule told the NCOP that proposed changes to the Basic Education legislation will also look into the roles that should be played by some stakeholders to curb the school dropout rate. 

“As we are preparing for the amendments of the Basic Education laws, we are also looking at this matter (of school dropout), because the first person who identifies that a learner is not  coming to school is a teacher. We are not saying that the teacher must be held reliable and accountable.  The teacher (must) report. As the teacher reports to the principal then the principal must report to the School Governing body, because it is the School Governing body that is looking at the governance of the school in general. And it is the School Governing Body that has a contract with parents to make sure that parents allow their learners to go to school.” 

DISCUSSION | Shocking numbers of teenage pregnancies in Gauteng:

Reports by Basic Education on HIV infections among young girls: Elijah Mhlanga

The post Date set for the implementation of recently-approved teenage pregnancy policy appeared first on SABC News – Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa’s news leader..

Read more here:: Latest South Africa News