Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, says that the country needs to realise that Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is a keystone to push back against social ills, especially HIV, and early and unintended pregnancies.<\/P>
Motshekga said that she is alive to the reality that addressing social ills is a societal responsibility, hence using a public medium such as radio to reach out to parents and caregivers.<\/P>
The Minister was speaking at the launch of the CSE radio lessons at Hitekani Primary School in Tshiawelo, Soweto on Tuesday.<\/P>
The Minister said that she felt honoured and privileged to address the launch of \u2018Life on Madlala Street\u2019, a radio drama series adapted from the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) lessons.<\/P>
The series is adapted from the 80 CSE scripted lessons, which are already part of the Life Skills and Life Orientation curriculum. <\/P>
The first episode of \u2018Life on Madlala Street\u2019 played today and the next five lessons will play on 15 and 22 February, and 1 and 8 March on 22 community radio stations. <\/P>
\u201cI am genuinely excited that we are witnessing the launch of the CSE Radio Lessons today in \u201cour lifetime\u201d as a country. In the main, this radio drama series seeks to liberate the girl child and women from the iron grip of patriarchy,\u201d she said.<\/P>
The Minister said that the department opted to use the much-loved and accessible medium of radio to amplify the critical messages of CSE in an age-appropriate manner.<\/P>
She said their target market is a million brains of learners, teachers, parents, caregivers, and radio lovers of all hues.<\/P>
\u201cOur determination is to teach the values of gender equality anti-gender-based violence messaging while tackling the hot potato of early and unintended pregnancies,\u201d she said. <\/P>
She highlighted the fact that all these social ills such as drugs\/alcohol use, early pregnancies, and gender-based violence sometimes happen on school grounds or to learners accentuates that maxim that our schools are a microcosm of society. <\/P>
\u201cThus, the drama series \u2018Life on Madlala Street\u2019 is a last-ditch effort to scale up our prevention messages through the medium of radio,\u201d she said.<\/P>
The Minister noted that the launch of this ground-breaking radio drama series comes days before the country marks 2022 Pregnancy Awareness Week and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)\/Condom Week.<\/P>
At present, the sector provides scripted lessons on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and health services to learners, such as access to sexual and reproductive health services in secondary schools.<\/P>
However, in primary schools, the sector focuses on raising awareness of social justice principles and addressing vulnerabilities such as abuse reporting and support for children from gender-based violence infested homes.<\/P>
\u201cWe also focus on preventing learner pregnancy, alcohol and drug use and now also COVID-19, all these are considered risk factors to women\u2019s health and fertile grounds for gender-based violence,\u201d she said.<\/P>
Motshekga added that their response is multi-faceted to systematically address the identified social ills, including anti-gender-based violence messaging in the curriculum and assessment and learning and teaching support materials.<\/P>
She said that the primary concern is the impact of social ills such as gender-based violence and rapes which negatively affect women\u2019s and girls\u2019 well-being and mental health. <\/P>
Motshekga has urged society to confront the elephant in the room, \u201cmen who have gone rogue in the name of exerting power through sexual assault\u201d.<\/P>
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Source: South African Government News Agency<\/P>
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