By sending our children to school we temporarily cede our parental care to their teachers, particularly school principals.

By sending our children to school we temporarily cede our parental care to their teachers, particularly school principals.

It puzzles me that teachers are disempowered to exercise full control over the children. There is a public outcry about schoolgirl pregnancy, but when do the children engage in sexual activities? During school, after school or at home? What can be done to avoid the problem and who is to blame for it?

As long as there are no strict rules and regulations, there will be no remedy to deal successfully with this major problem that is ruining our future leaders. How to avoid teen pregnancies:

l Stop maternity leave;

l Stop pregnant pupils from attending school;

l Stop the boy who caused the pregnancy from attending school;

l Give teachers control and authority over their pupils;

l Dismiss any teacher having an improper relationship with a pupil;

l Review past legislation;

l Put emphasis on ethical and moral norms;

l Emphasise respect among children and their parents, including respecting societal norms.

If the law makers really want the laws they enact to apply, they must strictly apply these laws. Everything has limits. No society can sustain itself without laws that are not strictly adhered to. Our rights as members of the human race must be limited in context and scope.

M Ramalepe, Turfloop