The alarming number of pregnant learners in the country has driven Giyani Land of Blood actor, Fumani Shilubana, to produce a mini-series titled Pregnant High.
In the first quarter of this year, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga noted that 90,000 pupils aged between 10 and 19 years across the country were pregnant in the period April 2021 to March 2022.
This was a huge increase compared to the 36,000 pregnancies reported over the same period in 2021.
The series revolves around the main character, a brilliant young girl called Bonolo, who begins associating with the wrong crowd. This eventually influences her to leave her boyfriend and sleep with older men, including a teacher.
An uproar breaks out at school when Bonolo falls pregnant – and she faces criticism when she attempts to prove that she was violated by an educator.
The character is portrayed by Khanyiwe Jiyane, a 23-year-old actress from Daveyton. Jiyane said the character impressed on her never to allow friends to pressurise her into making bad decisions.
Shilubana, the director and producer of the series, told Scrolla.Africa the aim of the production is to document and raise issues affecting society. “The ever-growing teenage pregnancy trend in our schools is concerning.
“Schools teach life orientation, which provides sexual education. The Department of Health also offers condoms and contraceptives for free, but nothing seems to be working,” he said.
He says the series aimed to go beyond focusing on misbehaviour by learners and also tells stories involving teachers, who are sometimes involved in making them pregnant.
“We also want to talk about the unions who represent these teachers and don’t care about the wellbeing of the girls,” he said.
Pregnant High is the first independent production by Yerhu Film Commission, which was started by Shilubana and six associates. The new series will soon be broadcast on the Yerhu YouTube page.
Pictured above: Movie crew during filming with producer Fumani Shilubana
Image source: Supplied
