Her department has no plans to grant maternity leave to pupils, Minister of Education Naledi Pandor said through her spokesperson on Monday.
Responding to weekend media reports, Lunga Ngqengelele said in a statement that the department and Pandor never considered proposing a compulsory maternity leave.
The Sunday Times reported that the government is considering a set of drastic proposals to accommodate pregnant schoolgirls — including compulsory maternity leave for six weeks.
The proposals, contained in a 19-page document that the department has compiled, are aimed at managing and preventing the high number of teenage pregnancies, the newspaper reported.
Ngqengelele, however, said the document was discarded and no longer in the department’s system.
”It was explained to the Sunday Times reporter that the document was thrown away and therefore its contents were invalid.
”Someone gave it to the newspaper and we are concerned that the newspaper went on and published it as a government policy, regardless.”
The minister said the newspaper report was deliberately misleading and designed to confuse learners, teachers and parents, said Ngqengelele.
He said the contents of the document were ”just points taken down in meetings when certain issues are discussed” and were never even taken to the council of education ministers.
”The matter of learner pregnancy is a worrying issue that is under investigation by the department,” he said, adding that any response to it will be addressed within the context of the primary purpose of the schools, which are to educate the children. — Sapa