- Pregnant learners still face exclusion, humiliation and obstacles to education, even though policies are meant to protect them.
- A joint submission says the draft regulations need to be practical, workable and properly resourced to protect learners’ rights.
- The Department of Basic Education has given the public 30 more days to comment, moving the deadline to 24 May 2026, after calls for broader participation.
Pregnant learners are still being pushed out of classrooms and treated unfairly by teachers, leading to calls for South Africa’s draft learner pregnancy regulations to be made stronger.
The Equal Education Law Centre, Western Cape Children’s Commissioner and Ilitha Labantu recently sent a joint response to the Department of Basic Education’s draft regulations on managing learner pregnancy in schools.
The organisations also asked the department to extend the public participation period, to enable more people to have their say on the proposed rules. The department agreed, giving the public 30 extra days to send their submissions. The new deadline is 24 May 2026.
While these groups welcome the intent behind the draft regulations, they say important changes are still needed for the framework to make a real difference in schools.
Their submission says the regulations need to be made much stronger so they are based on rights, clear in how they work, and can be put into practice consistently in all schools.
It also says the regulations should be rewritten to be less confusing, clarify who is responsible for what, and create practical ways to support learners, ensure accountability and give people a way to get help when things go wrong.
The organisations say these concerns are based on real experiences shared by learners. In discussions with 40 teenagers from Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, they found that how pregnant learners are treated is very different from school to school. Some learners said they got support, but many others described being judged, discriminated against or excluded.
The submission notes that some learners said they were judged and discriminated against and often chose to drop out, while a few said teachers were supportive and patient, encouraging them to return to school after pregnancy. Learners also talked about facing major barriers in getting sexual and reproductive health services.
The submission says most learners mentioned big structural and social obstacles to getting sexual and reproductive health services, such as fear, shame, embarrassment, discrimination because of their age, not having money for transport to clinics, a lack of privacy from healthcare workers and teachers, unfriendly or judgmental attitudes from healthcare workers and teachers, discrimination at health facilities and religious beliefs.
Learners question whether schools will comply
A key concern in the submission is that many schools already do not follow current education policies, which raises doubts about whether new regulations will make a real difference if there is no clear accountability.
One learner said, “They’re already not following the available rules, so what will happen with this one, and why would it be any different? If the current rules aren’t followed, it’s hard to trust that new rules will help unless there is real accountability and support to make sure they are actually used.”
The submission says there must be clear steps for when principals, teachers or school structures fail to protect learners’ rights, and that School Governing Bodies should play a bigger role in making sure cases of discrimination and misconduct are taken seriously and properly addressed.
Unsafe reporting systems leave learners fearful
Learners also raised serious concerns about how schools handle reports of rape, sexual abuse and harassment, saying reporting systems are often unsafe, confusing and scary.
The submission says reporting processes must be private and focused on the learner. Learners should feel safe and supported when they report, not judged or blamed.
It adds that reporting should protect learners and make it easier for them to speak up, not make them feel scared or guilty. Learners also called for proper support after disclosure.
The submission says that when a case is reported, learners should get access to psychological support and counselling so they are properly helped.
Wider protection and practical support
The organisations also said the regulations should recognise all the different experiences related to pregnancy, including learners who end pregnancies, have a miscarriage, suffer a stillbirth, give birth, and learner fathers, so that support systems include everyone.
They also called for every school to have a School-Based Support Team, stronger District-Based Support Teams, clear paths for referrals, ways to complain and get help, practical educational support, realistic budgets, and proper support for teachers who have to carry out the regulations.
In closing, the submission says learner pregnancy is a complex issue that involves the rights to education, dignity, equality, health and bodily integrity.
The organisations add that the voices of the young people who took part in consultations make it clear that real, systemic change based on rights is needed.
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