Sne Masuku

Sne Masuku

The national Department of Education has no say when it comes to parents wanting condoms to be distributed to their children at school, director-general Duncan Hindle said yesterday.

He was speaking at the National Teachers Union's (Natu) yearly general meeting and 90th anniversary celebration held at the union's headquarters at Empangeni in northern Kwazulu-Natal.

Hindle said the department was not in favour of the distribution of condoms in schools, but if parents wanted them, then the department could not object.

Natu last month announced its intention to distribute condoms to sexually-active pupils at schools in Kwazulu-Natal and Mpumalanga in a bid to curb the HIV-Aids pandemic and teenage pregnancies.

"We are not in a position to say no or prevent condoms being distributed to pupils if parents want them," said Hindle.

"We are not in a position to say no."

The department preached abstinence and encouraged young people not to engage in sexual activities, Hindle said.