Advocates want teenage mothers retained in schools

By Francis Emorut

GIRL child education advocates have expressed concern of teenage pregnancy and child mothers that their prospects of gaining meaningful employment is almost nonexistent after being denied an opportunity to continue with their education.

The advocates explained that pregnant teenagers are expelled from school and child mothers can’t be readmitted for further studies.

They called upon society to stop castigating the pregnant teenagers and child mothers.

Dorothy Muhumure the programme manager of Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) appealed to government to put a policy in place for the education of pregnant teenagers and child mothers so that they can continue with their education.

“There is no legal position that accepts girls to continue with the education after they have been expelled due to pregnancy and they are ridiculed and fear to go back to school and this is our concern,” Muhumure told journalists. She said this during a press briefing at the organization’s headquarters in Kampala on Monday.

She was briefing reporters about the organization’s fifth national girls’ education week which culminates into a dinner to be presided over by the First Lady and the minister of Karamoja affairs Janet Museveni at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala on Friday.

A girl’s conference has been organized at Kamuli district to be officiated by the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga on Wednesday.

The girls’ education week is held under the theme: “Educate a girl, eliminate teenage pregnancy.” 

She argued that denying an adolescent girl education is trampling on her fundamental right of education as enshrined in the Constitution.

She pointed out that the completion rate for girl child is still very low at 44% while for boys is at 50%.

She said according to the 2011 Uganda Population Secretariat survey Uganda was ranked with the highest pregnancy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Joyce Otim the acting chairperson of FAWE-Uganda called upon the schools’ administration to provide conducive learning environment, quality education to prevent girls from getting pregnant.