At least 6.85% of pupils in secondary schools dropped out last year, with pregnancy being the leading reason affecting both females and males.
This is according to responses from Minister of Education and Training Owen Nxumalo that were tabled and adopted in the Senate.
The minister stated that currently there are only 2025 statistics available because data is collected annually.
The minister was responding to a question posed by Senator Celumusa Mndvoti, who had asked how many learners dropped out of school this quarter at both primary and secondary school levels, and what the reasons for their dropout were.
This is despite the country having adopted the Eswatini Education and Training Sector Policy (EDSEC) in 2011, which guarantees pregnant learners the right to continue their education and to return to school after giving birth. The policy is supported by the country’s National Gender Policy and explicitly states that schools must not permanently expel learners due to pregnancy.
Instead, school administrators are required to allow pregnant pupils to take time off to care for their babies and then return to the classroom to complete their studies. Government directives issued in 2020 further reinforced the policy by instructing schools to ensure that pregnant learners are allowed to return to class, particularly to sit for examinations and complete their academic programmes.
The policy is rooted in the recognition of education as a fundamental human right, as outlined in the United Nations (UN) human rights framework, to which Eswatini is a signatory.
Despite the policy, pupils are still dropping out of school due to pregnancy or after impregnating others.
Nxumalo said the ministry was strengthening the implementation of the policy on the reintegration of pregnant girls and boys who impregnate girls back into class.
He said their inspectorate also has in place a monitoring plan against dropout across categories of learners with special needs and learners with a low cognitive performance level.
A low cognitive performance level means a person scores below expected standards in mental tasks like memory, attention, problem-solving, or processing speed.
Nxumalo said each regional inspector is monitoring attendance and re-enrolment for both categories of learners at the start of every term. He said where the learner from either group fails to return to school, the regional inspector initiates a follow-up with the family through the school head and community structures without delay, to prevent an absence from becoming a permanent dropout.
He added that reports of the findings are being consolidated on the implementation of remedial support for both categories, along with any resourcing and capacity constraints observed at school level.
“The monitoring process informs whether the current repetition approach adequately serves learners who have effectively encountered two different examination systems, and whether the distinction between special needs and low cognitive performance learners requires more formal recognition in future promotion and remedial policy,” he said.
