Xolani Koyana
THOUSANDS of girls are falling pregnant each year and the latest report paints a grim picture of how pupils become mothers at an early age.
As many as 45 276 pupils in SA fell pregnant in 2009, according to a report by the Department of Basic Education, “The Annual Survey for Ordinary Schools for 2009-2010”.
The majority of pupils who fell pregnant in 2009 were in Grades 10 and 11. Child pregnancy is, however, becoming increasingly common among girls in Grade 3 to Grade 5.
The report revealed that 109 pupils in Grade 3 fell pregnant during 2009.
KwaZulu-Natal (12 954) and Limpopo (10 323) reported the highest number of pupils falling pregnant in 2009, followed by the Eastern Cape (8 420).
NGO and children rights groups pointed to the lack of parental support at home. Other factors could also include abuse by older boyfriends or girlfriends who forced children into sex.
Although the report showed that Western Cape figures were among the lowest, NGO MaAfrika Tikkun said teenage pregnancy was a growing concern in the province. In the Western Cape 1 983 girls, most in matric, fell pregnant in 2009.
MaAfrika Tikkun, an NGO working with vulnerable children and orphans in townships, is running programmes at Gauteng and Western Cape schools to educate pupils about the dangers of falling pregnant at a young age.
The NGO’s health manager, Delia Engle, said:
“The reason teens are getting pregnant is their parents were teenage mothers themselves, and did not know how to explain sex to them. It is therefore our responsibility as NGOs to focus on empowering children in deprived communities to reach their full potential.”
Over the last four years more than 1 000 cases of teenage pregnancy had been reported in Delft alone, according to the organisation.
Childline’s Joan Van Niekerk said one of the major causes of teen pregnancies was insufficient parental support.
She said many of the teenagers who called Childline were forced into sex by their partners. Those who fell pregnant in their pre-teens were usually victims of abuse.
“We need to investigate the level of protection at home for pupils in lower grades, because most of the time it is likely that they were victims of abuse.”
Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Paddy Attwell said 2 108 pupils were pregnant in 2010. “This suggests that about 1.2 percent of girls in high school were pregnant in that year,” he said.
He said the number of pregnant girls that year were highest in the north education district, which includes Atlantis, the northern suburbs, Blue Downs, Kuils River and Delft.
Attwell said the department allowed mothers-to-be to complete their schooling.