The Parents Association of KwaZulu-Natal has described as alarming the number of Grade 3, 4 and 5 pupils who have fallen pregnant in the past three years.
This comes after the Department of Basic Education released figures that revealed at least 193 pupils in Grades 3, 4, and 5 were pregnant across the country between 2014 and 2016.
It was responding to questions asked in Parliament by the DA.
The figures for 2016 were incomplete as KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga were not included in the figures. If Grade 6 and 7 pupils are added then the figure shoots up to 1449.
Vee Gani of the Parents Association of KwaZulu-Natal said: “It is sad and sickening when you hear of this. It takes a village to raise a child but now you have to protect your child from the village.”
Gani said the figures were alarming and he said it was important to look at the background of the children as this could also be be a telling factor in why they became pregnant.
“They are babies and can’t even care for themselves.
“It is babies having babies. It reflects on us as a society and how low we have stooped.”
He said the children have lost the innocence of childhood.
It was very important to ensure that children did not fall through the cracks and received the support they needed so they were able to go back to school.
Gani said he had previously had to fight for a 14-year-old child to go back to school as the school she attended did not want to take her back.
This was not always the case, he said. Gani said schools were making efforts to empower children and for them to know their rights.
“The school can be right, but if the environment is bad then the child will be negatively affected.
“We have to continue to try to empower our children,” he said.
Sonja Boshoff, a DA Member of Parliament, said she feared that those pupils who fell pregnant often “fell through the cracks”.
“Efforts should be made that they return to school. If the pupils are under 16, then a case should be opened with the South African Police Service as it is statutory rape.”
It was important that children get counselling and support to be able to cope with their changed circumstances, Boshoff said.
Education Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga echoed her concerns.
“These issues are of huge concern to the department and as a result a lot of work is being done in this area,” Mhlanga said.
“Pregnant pupils undermine the Department of Basic Education’s endeavour to ensure that all pupils remain in school for the duration of their schooling, especially girls, so that they can have an opportunity to improve their quality of life.”
Mhlanga said the Council of Education Ministers had approved a National Policy for the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy.
The policy addresses the high number of pregnancies among pupils and looks at the family and the social context of the children, he said.
It also looked at how to deal with the stigma and discrimination children go through when they become pregnant and have children.
The policy will also try to ensure children go back to school after they have given birth.