By MALIBONGWE DAYIMANI and SIKHO NTSHOBANE
A Flagstaff mother is forced to attend school with her pregnant 19-year-old daughter following a ruling by the school governing body.
Nomavoti Nontuma, 53, a mother of nine from Mthwaku village, has to abandon her household duties, which include looking after her livestock, to go to Flagstaff Comprehensive School with her six-month pregnant daughter, Masonwabe Nontuma.
At the school, Nontuma has to sit on a chair outside the classroom while Masonwabe writes exams. The trial exams ended last Friday.
Nontuma will have to report back to school with her daughter when schools reopen on October 10.
Nontuma said she received a letter from the school on September 16 informing her that the principal wanted to see her at the school the following Monday. She said when she arrived at the school the principal instructed her to sit down.
“She told me I would have to come to school every day with my daughter until she gives birth because she and her staff were trained to teach, not to deliver babies.”
Nontuma said the principal, who she only knows as Mrs Mfingwana, told her that the rules of the school were clear that if a child fell pregnant, someone would have to come and look after her.
According to Nontuma, she explained that she would not have time but was apparently told “that is not our problem”.
“She told me to get someone to come and look after my daughter if I couldn’t do it because the teachers are not qualified to deal with medical complications should an emergency happen.”
Masonwabe said she knows at least four other pregnant pupils at the school who did not have to go to school with their parents
“I feel like I’m being targeted because this rule only applies to me and not to other pregnant pupils,” she said.
Provincial education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani said the rule had to apply only to Masonwabe because unlike other pupils, her pregnancy was at an advanced stage.
“The request for support was premised on the lateness of pregnancy term and health of the learner.” Pulumani said it was not necessarily specified that the mother be the one who provided support, but any person acting as guardian, or a relative would have been fine.
“The school took these steps essentially as an important necessary support for the learner as there are no nurses at school.”
When the Daily Dispatch arrived at the school last Friday, the principal and a few SGB members were in a meeting. They told the Dispatch that the rule had to be implemented by the SGB after a number of pupils fell pregnant at the school.
An SGB member, who refused to give her name, said in the past up to 30 pupils in one class would fall pregnant around the same time.
The SGB claimed that some girls even dumped their foetus inside toilets used by Grade R children, and this spurred them to act.
The SGB claimed other parents had been subjected to the same rule, but would not provide details.
They also refused to produce minutes of the meeting in November last year where the rule was allegedly passed.
The SGB members refused to answer further questions by the Dispatch without the chairperson being present. They also refused to provide the contact details of the chairperson.
Khula Community Development Project (KCDP), an organisation that fights for the rights of children at school, slammed the rule as a being like those of a kangaroo court.
KCDP spokesman Petros Majola said the rule seemed like a move to punish the parent for the pregnant child.
“What that principal and SGB are doing is unconstitutional. The mother might still be struggling to deal with the shock of the pregnancy but the school now adds a secondary trauma. It seems like they are blaming the parent for the pregnant child.”
Majola said Khula did not condone pregnancy at schools but also condemned the manner in which the school was handling the pregnancy. — malibongwed@dispatch.co.za
Pregnancy rule ropes in carer
A Flagstaff mother is forced to attend school with her pregnant 19-year-old daughter following a ruling by the school governing body.
Nomavoti Nontuma, 53, a mother of nine from Mthwaku village, has to abandon her household duties, which include looking after her livestock, to go to Flagstaff Comprehensive School with her six-month pregnant daughter, Masonwabe Nontuma.
At the school, Nontuma has to sit on a chair outside the classroom while Masonwabe writes exams. The trial exams ended last Friday.
Nontuma will have to report back to school with her daughter when schools reopen on October 10.
Nontuma said she received a letter from the school on September 16 informing her that the principal wanted to see her at the school the following Monday. She said when she arrived at the school the principal instructed her to sit down.
“She told me I would have to come to school every day with my daughter until she gives birth because she and her staff were trained to teach, not to deliver babies.”
Nontuma said the principal, who she only knows as Mrs Mfingwana, told her that the rules of the school were clear that if a child fell pregnant, someone would have to come and look after her.
According to Nontuma, she explained that she would not have time but was apparently told “that is not our problem”.
“She told me to get someone to come and look after my daughter if I couldn’t do it because the teachers are not qualified to deal with medical complications should an emergency happen.”
Masonwabe said she knows at least four other pregnant pupils at the school who did not have to go to school with their parents
“I feel like I’m being targeted because this rule only applies to me and not to other pregnant pupils,” she said.
Provincial education spokesman Loyiso Pulumani said the rule had to apply only to Masonwabe because unlike other pupils, her pregnancy was at an advanced stage.
“The request for support was premised on the lateness of pregnancy term and health of the learner.” Pulumani said it was not necessarily specified that the mother be the one who provided support, but any person acting as guardian, or a relative would have been fine.
“The school took these steps essentially as an important necessary support for the learner as there are no nurses at school.”
When the Daily Dispatch arrived at the school last Friday, the principal and a few SGB members were in a meeting. They told the Dispatch that the rule had to be implemented by the SGB after a number of pupils fell pregnant at the school.
An SGB member, who refused to give her name, said in the past up to 30 pupils in one class would fall pregnant around the same time.
The SGB claimed that some girls even dumped their foetus inside toilets used by Grade R children, and this spurred them to act.
The SGB claimed other parents had been subjected to the same rule, but would not provide details.
They also refused to produce minutes of the meeting in November last year where the rule was allegedly passed.
The SGB members refused to answer further questions by the Dispatch without the chairperson being present. They also refused to provide the contact details of the chairperson.
Khula Community Development Project (KCDP), an organisation that fights for the rights of children at school, slammed the rule as a being like those of a kangaroo court.
KCDP spokesman Petros Majola said the rule seemed like a move to punish the parent for the pregnant child.
“What that principal and SGB are doing is unconstitutional. The mother might still be struggling to deal with the shock of the pregnancy but the school now adds a secondary trauma. It seems like they are blaming the parent for the pregnant child.”
Majola said Khula did not condone pregnancy at schools but also condemned the manner in which the school was handling the pregnancy. — malibongwed@dispatch.co.za
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