Kavango East records 225 learner pregnancies in first term

A Grade 4 pupil was among 225 learners who fell pregnant in the Kavango East region in the first term of 2026, education officials say.

Two constituencies – Rundu Rural and Rundu Urban – accounted for nearly six in every 10 teenage pregnancies recorded in the Kavango East region during the term.

Figures from the Kavango East Directorate of Education show that cases were recorded across all seven education circuits, with Rundu Rural and Rundu Urban accounting for 133 of the 225 reported pregnancies.

The Rundu Rural constituency recorded the highest number of learner pregnancies at 67, followed by Rundu Urban with 66.

Mukwe constituency recorded 29 cases, Shambyu 26, Shinyungwe 21, Ndiyona 12 and Kangongo four.

The data reveals that the pregnancies are concentrated at the secondary school level, with 210 of the 225 cases occurring among learners in Grades 7 to 12, accounting for more than 93% of all reported pregnancies.

Grade 10 recorded the highest number of pregnancies at 63, followed by Grade 9 with 45 and Grade 8 with 41.

Together, these three grades accounted for nearly two-thirds of all reported learner pregnancies in the region.

Although cases were significantly lower at primary school level, the report recorded one pregnancy each in Grades 4 and 5, while 13 Grade 6 learners also fell pregnant.

Safety compromised

Kavango East education director Christine Shilima attributed the high number of learner pregnancies to several social challenges, including child-headed households, prolonged parental absence and a decline in community responsibility for children's welfare.

She said many parents spend extended periods away from home during the planting and harvesting seasons, leaving children, particularly girls, without adequate supervision.

She warned: "It is not that the girls are agreeing to the relationship, but their safety is compromised when they are left unattended."

She also raised concern over weakening traditional community support systems, saying communities have become less willing to intervene when young girls become involved with boys or men who are no longer in school.

“In the past, it was every parent’s responsibility to protect the other person’s child. But now that Ubuntu is no more there, the boys that are out of school are now the ones that are proposing to our girls who are in school,” she said.

Shilima stressed that schools remain safe spaces for learners but warned that girls face increased vulnerability when they are at home during weekends and school holidays.

“When they are in school, they are safe. When they are out of school… we need to protect the girls when they are out of school,” she said.

Life skills

Shilima said the directorate has intensified interventions at schools through life skills teachers, who are tasked with educating learners, teachers and communities on teenage pregnancy prevention and learner protection.

"Their duty is to ensure that they discuss this matter and sensitise the teachers, the community and the learners on how we can reduce teenage pregnancy,” she said.

The directorate had not recorded any cases of teachers impregnating learners during the 2025/26 reporting period, following concerns that educators may be among those contributing to the problem.

Shilima warned that any teacher found guilty of such conduct would face disciplinary action, as the practice is prohibited under the Public Service Act and the Teachers’ Code of Conduct.

“We need to act and protect the girls,” she said.