The Department of Basic Education said the SAPS must do their job and vigorously investigate the tens of thousands of statutory rape and sexual assault case involving schoolgirls reported between 2014 and 2016.
In a written reply to a parliamentary question from the DA, the Department of Basic Education revealed that 8732 children from Grades three to 12 had fallen pregnant during that period.
Department spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga said they have also reported 50 000 cases of statutory rape and sexual assault of learners to police.
In a statement on Monday, Mhlanga said “for matters related to sexual offenses in the 2013 /14 period 56 680 cases were reported to the SAPS. In the 2014 /15 period a further 53 617 suspected cases of sexual offense were referred to police, and in the 2015 /16 year 51 895 were reported for investigation. As you can see the reported cases far outnumber the pregnancies reported.”
He said these issues are of huge concern to the Department and as a result a lot of work is being done in this area.
“Teenage pregnancy impacts the lives of thousands of young people, often limiting their personal growth, the pursuit of rewarding careers and their ambitions, with incalculable impact on South Africa’s socio-economic systems,” Mhlanga said.
“Pregnant learners undermine the Department of Basic Education’s endeavor to ensure that all learners remain in school for the duration of their schooling especially girls so that they can have an opportunity to improve their quality of life,” he said.
Mhlanga said the Council of Education Ministers also approved a National Policy for the Prevention and Management of Learners Pregnancy.
“The Policy addresses the high rates of pregnancy among learners; the familial and social context within which this occurs; options for reduction of unintended and unwanted pregnancies; management of its pre- and post-natal implications; limitation of associated stigma and discrimination; and, importantly, the retention and re-enrolment of affected learners in school,” he said.
“This policy seeks to ensure the accessible provision of information on prevention; choice of termination of pregnancy (CToP); care, counselling and support; frameworks for impact mitigation; and guidelines for systemic management and implementation. In particular, it commits the basic education system and other role players to providing the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) crucial to optimal sexual and reproductive health,” Mlhanga added.
DA MP, 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.
