Over 8K pregnant learners reported in Mpumalanga including 10 to 14 years olds
Estimated reading time: 4 minute(s)
Photo: Google
Mpumalanga Education Department has refuted claims made by IOL on their digital news platform about a number of pregnancies that were reported in the schools in the Province.
The Department in the Province says the media company got their facts mixed up when they said the Province had a total of 90 000 pregnant learners in their schools.
They said the number represented the national statistics instead of the province’s stats.
“In an article which appeared on IOL on 28 September 2022 it is reported that 90 000 learners fell pregnant in Mpumalanga Province.”
“The headline is false, misleading and mischievous.”
“The 90 000 figure represents the National Statistics which were sourced from the Department of Health and subsequently tabled before the Portfolio Committee on Education by the Ministry of Basic Education.”
They said that according to stats at their disposal from the department of health, they have a total number of 8 840 pregnancies coupled with deliveries in their report.
297 of which were of learner aged from 10 to 14, while remaining number are from learners from 15 to 19 years. The numbers were recorded in health facilities from April 2021 to March 2022.
