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There is an alarming increase in the pregnancy rate among young teenage girls in high schools in Hermanus and Hawston.

According to a source, six young learners are currently pregnant at Hermanus High, of whom some are in the junior grades. This could not be confirmed however, as the principal of Hermanus High, Werner Ladewich did not want to discuss the issue with the newspaper.

Noël Basson, chairman of the school's governing body admitted that they were aware of pregnancy cases in the school and that they were very worried about the situation.

“Sex education as well as the teaching of moral values, norms and standards remains primarily the task of parents. In terms of the Western Cape department of education's policy, the school is adhering to the prescribed curriculum through a life orientation programme for learners from Grade 8 to Grade 12. All aspects of sex education including unwanted pregnancies, HIV/Aids and sexually transmitted diseases are covered in the programme.”

Basson added that notwithstanding the programme, pregnancies occur from time to time in the school just like other schools in the area and the country.

“In terms of government policy, these learners have to be allowed to continue with their schooling. Girls as young as 12 years old are allowed to have abortions without the knowledge or permission of their parents.&3148

Basson said that alcohol and drugs are readily available and can be seen, among others, as the main causes for teenage pregnancies.

“The onus is on us, the parents to ensure that our children do not bow under peer pressure, to know where they are after school hours, who their friends are and whether there is proper supervision at parties that they attend. We have to give them guidelines with regard to alcohol use. I don't even want to mention drugs.”

A recent study among boys and girls in 20 of the most prestigious schools in Cape Town revealed that teenagers in the Western Cape are at the forefront in alcohol abuse in the country with 33% admitting that they have been drunk at least once in their lives and 25% saying that they have been drunk at more than ten occasions.

One of the shocking revelations in this study is that the percentage teenagers between 11 and 15 years that are regularly abusing alcohol, is increasing.

The study showed that there seems to be a misconception among teenagers - and their parents - that alcohol abuse is not so damaging.

Moral collapse

Girls from Hermanus High who were interviewed by the Hermanus Times said that many of the learners - among them top sport achievers and leaders - regularly abuse alcohol and are openly and defiantly sexually active.

They say that many of the learners are using contraceptives with or without the knowledge of their parents.

They also do not think that sex education at school is sufficient to arm teenagers with mechanisms to cope with the demands of peer pressure or the danger of alcohol or drug abuse.

The deputy principal at Hawston Secondary School, David Coert said that five girls at the school are currently pregnant, three in Grade 12, one in Grade 10 and one in Grade 11.

“We are talking about a moral collapse in our community,” he said. “Children have easy access to alcohol and drugs and most parents either do not care or have lost control over their children.”

Star Geldenhuys, principal at Qhayiya High in Zwelihle said that teenage pregnancies are a common occurrence in the school.

“The children do not seem to care about the possibility of getting Aids. Some of them get pregnant deliberately in order to get hold of government grants.”

A sister at the Hermanus Clinic said that girls as young as nine or ten years old are already sexually active.

“What these children do not realise is that it is statutory rape to have sex with kids of these age,” she said. “Many young children come to ask for contraceptives but very few of them know that if they had unwanted sex while being drunk or drugged they can still use the so-called morning-after pill for a period of 72 hours after the incident to try and prevent falling pregnant. The tragedy is that they are not emotionally ready for sex even if their bodies are mature.”

According to her, the clinic is aware of 16-year old children who are HIV positive.

“Seventeen percent of pregnant females in the Overstrand that we are seeing and 25 percent of cases suffering from sexually transmitted diseases are HIV positive.”

Young teenagers gave birth

At the provincial hospital in Hermanus, a girl of 12 recently gave birth. It is apparently not uncommon any more to admit 14 and 15 year olds in the labour ward.

Denise Eaby presents a life skills programme for teenagers from Grade 7 onwards to schools in the Overberg. She also blames alcohol and drugs for the increase in teenage pregnancies as well as HIV/Aids among youngsters.

“Children are not being taught accountability or self-control any longer and when they are drunk or drugged they lose all inhibitions. Most of them are not aware that four out of ten condoms fail if not kept in the right temperature and conditions.”

Eaby said that a teenage pregnancy is always a tragedy.

“Most girls do not return to school or drop out of school some time after a pregnancy and they are doomed to earn less than their educated peers. It becomes a vicious circle as the unwanted children of these child mothers are often neglected and follow the same route as the parent.”

She has seen girls who have had six abortions. Although most of these girls just feel relief after an abortion they often fall apart later in life.

Some of them become infertile and can't have children when they are married and ready for children.

“And I have yet to see a boy holding the hand of his pregnant girlfriend in the abortion clinic.”

Rina Louw of Hermanus Child Welfare said parents don't know their children any more.

“In this modern community, there are no rules any longer and no role models to look up to for the children.”

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