Close on 200 learners in Grade 3, 4 and 5, fell pregnant between 2014 and 2016.
That's according to a written reply from the Department of Education to a parliamentary question by the Democratic Alliance.
According to the reply there were 193 learners in those three grades who fell pregnant during that period and if learners from Grades 6 and 7 who fell pregnant are added, this number increases to 1 449 children.
DA MP, Sonja Boschoff, said "this information should shock every South African."
"Young girls, most under the legal age of 16, are having their futures undermined, likely through being taken advantage of or abused," she said.
Boschoff said the DA would urgently submit further parliamentary questions to find out if these girls are under the age of 16 and if so, whether any charges have been instituted against those responsible, as this would be statutory rape.
"We will also investigate whether these girls have since returned back to school, following the birth of their child, what support the school and the Department of Basic Education have provided them to catch up on the syllabus, and whether counselling and other emotional support has been provided," she said.
The parliamentary reply showed that 18 357 pupils fell pregnant in 2014, 15 504 in 2015, and 8 732 in 2016, Boschoff said.
"Although the overall numbers seem to indicate a drop in school pregnancies, the Department of Basic Education was not able to provide the statistics for Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal," she added.
"Traditionally, these two provinces account for large numbers of school pregnancies, a total of 6 477 in 2014 and 5 178 in 2015 combined," she said.
