South Africa: How the Education Department Plans to Keep Pregnant Learners in School

The Department of Basic Education is seeking to permanently end the quiet expulsion of pregnant learners. Draft regulations propose an ironclad academic safety net and mandatory reporting laws, though legal advocates warn that schools are still actively finding ways to push expecting teens out of the system.

A positive pregnancy test has historically brought an abrupt end to a young girl's high school career in South Africa -- often leading to quiet expulsions, unbearable stigma and a permanent exit from the education system.

The Department of Basic Education is seeking to change that permanently with new draft regulations that propose an ironclad academic safety net, mandatory reporting laws involving the police and social services, and replace punitive measures with mandatory, individualised support plans.

Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube emphasised that South Africa has made significant progress in protecting the rights of pregnant learners.

"We have moved away from a painful past where young girls were expelled or forced out of school due to pregnancy; these practices contributed to alarmingly high dropout rates. These regulations build on that progress and reaffirm our commitment to dignity, inclusion and equal opportunity," she said.

The government gazetted the proposed regulations on the management of pupil pregnancy in schools on 25 March and is open to the public for comment until 24 April.

A two-tiered blueprint for support

The primary goal of these mandates is to ensure pregnant learners and young mothers can continue their education in a supportive, stigma-free environment.

This article originally appeared on Daily Maverick.