Northern Cape - Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has told Northern Cape parents that their children's sex lives are their problem and not the education department's, The Times reported on Thursday.
In a lecture on parental rights and duties, Motshekga told parents at a National Council of Provinces meeting in De Aar they could not “pass the buck” to her department when their children fell pregnant or became substance abusers.
“Teenage pregnancy is a problem imported to schools by homes and the community. (But) it's a department problem for us.
“They don't make sex at schools, they make sex at homes. This is a problem. There is something wrong that it now becomes my problem. We don't provide beds; we provide pens and books,” she said.
A Statistics SA study this year revealed that 160 754 schoolgirls fell pregnant between July 2008 and July 2010.
According to the report, Motshekga's rebuke was prompted by appeals from parents who wanted improved sex education in schools. - Sapa