Education
Whether his Department has any policies, directives or standard operating
procedures in place to report child births to the relevant authorities, either
in terms of (a) section 110(1) of the Children’s Act, 2005 (Act 38 of 2005), or
(b) otherwise; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether his Department provides any training to its staff on the reporting
requirements in terms of section 110(1) of the Children’s Act; if not, why not;
if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) what is the total number of girl learners for the period 2015 to date who
have not returned to complete their schooling after giving birth;
(4) what is the total number of boy learners who have become fathers in the
period 2020 to 2025 to date in each of the following age cohorts, (a) 10
years and younger, (b) 11 to 15 years and (c) 16 to 19 years and (d) of
these boy learners, how many have dropped out of school after becoming
fathers?
My department has informed me of the following:
(1) The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) Policy on Managing
Learner Pregnancy emphasises that schools must support pregnant
learners in continuing their education while maintaining confidentiality and
dignity. Medical and birth records fall under the custodianship of the
Department of Health. The nature of the learner pregnancy data reported
by schools is outlined in the reply to question 6 of 22 May 2025.
(2) The WCED social workers train staff on the Abuse No More Protocol, which
provides guidance regarding the reporting process. This protocol has been
updated with developing legislation relative to the protection of children.
The role out plan on the amended Abuse no more Protocol is as follows:
2
Phase 1(4th term 2025): Launch of the amended Abuse no more Protocol
on 7 November 2025.
Phase 2 (1st term 2026): All districts to train all principals and district staff.
Phase 3 (1st – 4th term 2026): Training of all school, full staff and members of
the SGBs.
(3) As noted in the response to question 6 of 22 May 2025, specific statistics
relating to drop out of this nature are not available.
(4) This specific data of learners who have become fathers is not available,
since the names and details of learners who have become fathers are not
disclosed. There are a variety of reasons as to why learners drop out, which
are also not necessarily disclosed.
