About 20,000 South African children in primary and secondary school fell pregnant last year, raising concern over the seriousness of teenage pregnancy in the country, according to figures revealed on Wednesday.

The revelation during a parliamentary session prompted the Democratic Alliance (DA) to request a parliamentary briefing on plans to discourage teenage pregnancy by the Department of Basic Education.

“What is of further concern is that the number of girls who return to school after having their babies is not known,” said Sonja Boshoff, DA member of Basic Education Portfolio Committee.

High pregnancy among school children requires urgent action from the government, she said.

“Education is key to future success and without it, these young people will not have a fair chance at a better life.”

According to Boshoff, teenage pregnancy is a serious problem in South Africa and must be constructively and comprehensively addressed.

Teenage pregnancy is a serious problem in South Africa. More than a third of South African women become mothers by the age of 19, according to a 2014 report by Sam Mkhwanazi, a government health official.

Boshoff introduced how the DA-run Western Cape Department of Education (WCDE) deals with teenage pregnancy.

To ensure that pregnant learners complete their schooling, the WCED has developed a policy on Managing Pregnancy in Public Schools.

The policy provides step-by-step guidelines to schools on how to manage learner pregnancy and the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved, including the learner, the learner’s parents, the father, if the father is another learner, and the school. Enditem

Source: Xinhua