At least 6,475 schoolgirls in Tanzania dropped out of school in 2020 over pregnancy,

Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Saturday. Majaliwa said among the girls, 1,135 were from primary and 5,340 from secondary schools.

The Prime Minister revealed the teenage pregnancy figures when he launched the National Agenda for investing in Health and Development for Adolescents in the capital of Dodoma.

In Tanzania, a law passed in 2002 allows for the expulsion of pregnant schoolgirls.

The law says the girls can be expelled and excluded from school for "offenses against morality" and "wedlock".

Women's rights groups have recently been urging the government to change the law.

This comes a time when Non-governmental organisations working on reproductive health have warned that global lockdowns led to rising rates of adolescent pregnancy.