School pregnancies probed

THE newly appointed superintendentgeneral of education, Mthunywa Ngonzo, will oversee an investigation into a school that allegedly violated the rights of pregnant pupils in the Eastern Cape.

Five young mothers said that they were forced to leave Mqikela Senior Secondary School in Lusikisiki after teachers subjected them to a humiliating body examination to determine whether they were pregnant.

The investigation follows a report in the Sunday Times last week.

“I will send a team there in the course of the week,” Ngonzo said. “The situation there is just not right.”

There were 144 pregnant pupils at the school in 2006. The principal, Faniswa Daniso, said that no pupils had fallen pregnant this year, a claim that was disputed by the pupils, who said that pregnant teenagers were simply told to leave.

It is unconstitutional to expel a pupil on the grounds of pregnancy. The South African Human Rights Commission said that a pregnancy “examination ” by a teacher would infringe a pupil’s right to bodily integrity.

“The superintendent-general is the one who has the power to discipline a principal, if found guilty. This matter has now been placed in his hands,” said provincial education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima.

The department disclosed that 37 794 schoolgirls had fallen pregnant in the province over the past five years. There were 5 183 pregnant pupils in the 2012 academic year and the highest pregnancy rates were reported in Libode (857), Dutywa (481) and Lusikisiki (422).