In the corridors of South Africa’s schools, the rustle of notebooks can be joined by the weight of a baby on a student’s back.
More than 60% of pregnant teenagers do not return to school after the two-year period previously enforced by the Basic Education Department (DBE), a study conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council showed.
This policy allows schools to discourage or temporarily prevent mothers from returning immediately, leading to high drop-out rates.
In a move to excise the expulsion and shame pregnant schoolgirls face, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has unveiled the draft Regulations on Management of Learner Pregnancy.
Gwarube, framing the regulations as a critical step in safeguarding constitutional rights, noted in a statement this week that the country is finally moving away from a period where “young girls were expelled or forced out of school due to pregnancy”, practices she noted “contributed to alarmingly high dropout rates.”
The principal’s care
Under the new framework, the school principal is positioned as the primary custodian of the student’s educational continuity.
The draft instructs that principals must ensure that every pregnant student remains in school and, crucially, that she returns to her relevant grade after childbirth without fear of exclusion.
The principal is required to negotiate a formal leave of absence with parents or guardians and ensure that the student’s right to privacy is protected under the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia).
“These regulations build on that progress and reaffirm our commitment to dignity, inclusion, and equal opportunity,” emphasised Minister Gwarube.
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Continued schooling
To prevent pregnancy from becoming a definitive academic dead-end, the regulations detail a rigorous process for “reasonable accommodation.”
Schools are now tasked with ensuring that all formative assessments, including classwork and assignments, are packaged and delivered to students during their absence.
This ensures that a student’s academic progress is not limited solely to her physical presence in the classroom.
Furthermore, for those in grades 4 to 11 who might miss year-end examinations due to medically justified reasons related to pregnancy or childbirth, the regulations allow for promotion based on their school-based and practical assessment marks.
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Reporting pregnancies
The draft also navigates a strict mandatory reporting requirement.
Should a student under the age of 16 fall pregnant, the school is legally bound to report the matter to both the Department of Social Development and the South African Police Service.
“This is meant to protect young children and make sure possible abuse is investigated,” the draft regulations read.
Reporting the father
The regulations leave no room for ambiguity regarding the biological father.
If he is an educator or a member of the school staff, the incident must be reported to the South African Council for Educators and the Department’s employee relations branch.
Even when the father is a fellow student, the school-based support teams must intervene, according to the draft notes.
Public comment
Parents, teachers, and members of the public now have until 25 April 2026 to submit their comments to LearnerPregnancyRegz@dbe.gov.za.
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