A Uitenhage school is losing the fight against teenage pregnancy, with 11 pupils pregnant and 15 already having given birth this year, the Herald Online reported on Wednesday.
The baby boom has resulted in high absenteeism and failure rates at Nkululeko High School.
Some pupils who were pregnant or had given birth told the Herald they were coping despite the school workload.
However, principal Thobeka Stokwe said the high absenteeism and failure rate was a result of pupils going for check-ups or taking their babies to clinics.
Stokwe said a grade-12 pupil who gave birth during the public-service strike in June had missed almost two months of school because she had experienced complications with her pregnancy.
She said the teachers face a challenge as the pregnant pupils are at times moody and prone to outbursts. ”Last year, a grade-12 pupil was uncontrollably rude to teachers and often misbehaved, but when she discovered she was pregnant she apologised for her behaviour. They think it is fun, and I overhear them joking about natural or Caesarian births.”
Parents meet her weekly to ask for intervention and advice because they have given up on their children. ”Every week a parent comes into my office crying, complaining that her daughter sleeps over at the boyfriend’s home.”
Her main concern is that the pupils who are likely to fall pregnant are from families with no income, often living with their grandparents.
She said some parents are perpetuating the pregnancies. ”The pupils have told me that sometimes their parents ask them to get electricity money from their boyfriends, making them vulnerable.”
Port Elizabeth district education director Sam Snayer conceded that pregnancy is a problem at high schools.
News of the baby boom at Nkululeko High School follows reports in 2005 that 26 pupils were pregnant at Thembalethu High School in George. At the time, principal Norman Cona said the situation had been so alarming he had called the health department for help. — Sapa