Create employment opportunities to tackle early pregnancies
By Vincent Munga
Stakeholders in the education sector are appealing to the national and county governments to come up with tenable ways of ending unemployment and break the cycle of poverty in households which, according to them is a lead promoter of early teenage pregnancies.
Led by Forum for African Women Educationalists Kenya (FAWEK), they also urged the national government to come up with better ways of packaging sex education in school curriculum inorder to sensitize school going children on dangers of engaging in early sex which continues to be detrimental to their education.
Speaking at a workshop in a Nairobi hotel under the auspices of Imarisha Msichana which brought together County officials, National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) and Community Health Promoters (CHPs), FAWE Kiambu County Coordinator Pauline Masese decried high teenage pregnancies in Thika and Juja subcounties.
Ms. Masese noted that for Kiambu county to record zero school teen dropouts and zero teen pregnancies, all stakeholders must actively participate.
“This topic should not be left with government alone, let parents and guardians also look for creative ways of engaging young girls productively. Let them understand the child’s sexual behaviour and protect them,” she said.
She said with the support of Kiambu County government, the organization will trace underage girls who have dropped out of school due to early pregnancies with the aim of returning them to school.
“School heads should also allow teen mothers back to school without considering entry exams as KEPSEA (Grade 6) is not an entry exam and should not hinder child’s progression to grade 7,” she said.
In March 2020, when Kenya was struck by the COVID-19 virus, FAWE, Kenya Chapter, started a programme dubbed Imarisha Msichana in 20 counties, Kiambu included, to see all girls receive quality education and put an end to teen pregnancy.
Through the programme, they have supported girls’ education and trained various stakeholders.
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