Blessers are adult men who shower young girls with gifts but often disappear when the girl falls pregnant.
Last year, the South African Council of Educators (Sace) reported that 11 teachers from across the country were fired after they were found guilty on various charges related to sexual offences.
Most of them, the organisation said, were fired for sexual violence against pupils.
Currently, there are 11 287 pregnant pupils in schools across Limpopo’s five districts. Most of those who are pregnant are said to be between 10 and 19 years old.

Responding to a parliamentary question by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in June this year, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the statistics were taken between April 2021 and March this year.
DA member of parliament and DA Women’s Network Limpopo Chairperson, Desiree van der Walt, said the department of basic education had introduced the basic education pregnancy policy, which compels schools to submit a police report if a girl pupil under the age of 16 falls pregnant.
“This includes rapes of pupils where teachers are the alleged accused,” she said.

The lawmaker said the DA was, however, concerned that many cases were still not reported to the South African Police Service (Saps).
“Only 4 314 sexual offences – rapes, sexual assault, attempted rape and contact sexual offences – were reported in Limpopo, according to the crime statistics release for the same period,” Van der Walt stated.
According to crime statistics provided by the Saps in Limpopo recently, there has been a 6.7% increase in sexual offences during the fourth quarter of 2021.
The province recorded 1 084 sexual offences.

Also read: TZANEEN: Teen pregnancy on the rise

In May, justice minister Ronald Lamola indicated that nationally, only 19% of sexual offences cases were moving through the system, Van Der Walt said. The remaining 15 605 cases, or 81%, were backlogged.
Van Der Walt said her party was concerned that victims who were brave enough to report cases would eventually withdraw these.
Recently, a grade 12 pupil from Mulautsi Secondary School outside Polokwane gave birth to triplets.
The girl was among 28 pregnant pupils at the school. This year, former MEC for basic education in Limpopo Polly Boshielo said the youngest pregnant pupil in Limpopo last year was just 13 years old.

An 18-year-old former grade 12 pupil in N’wamitwa, outside Tzaneen told the Herald that poor background and peer pressure were among the reasons most pupils fell pregnant. The pupil, who asked for her name to be withheld, said she dated a blesser whom she met through a friend who also dated another blesser.
“At first he would shower me with expensive gifts and romantic dinners. But since I told him I am pregnant, he vanished into thin air. At least still sends me some money,” she said.

The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union provincial secretary in Limpopo, Sowell Tjebane, slammed the figures and said yesterday teachers who prey on young girls must know that the law will not be lenient on them and their place is behind bars.
“As schools are compelled to report pregnancies of all girls 16 or younger and rapes of learners where educators are the alleged accused to the Saps, we will ask detailed questions on each age group, how many of these cases were reported to the Saps and what the consequences are for non-reporting,” Van der Walt stated.

“The DA believes that education unlocks opportunities and pregnant teenagers, many of whom were not only traumatised by the ordeal of rape and the stress of looking after newborn babies, are being deprived the opportunity of learning through no choice of their own,” she concluded.
Story was first published in The Citizen.