By IPS Correspondents
NAIROBI, Jul 28 2006 (IPS)

Are the effects of teenage pregnancy on the education of girls being addressed with sufficient vigour in Kenya? With statistics indicating that pregnancy accounts for 31 percent* of all school drop-out cases among girls, this is a question that begs asking.

A Gender and Education Policy developed in 2003 makes provision for the re-admission of girls who become pregnant while still at school, even allowing them to seek a place at a different institution to the one they originally attended. This is to avoid the girls being stigmatised by their former schoolmates, as a result of pregnancy.

However, the policy does not stipulate punitive measures for school principals who refuse to re-admit the girls.

“Yes, the readmission strategy has been pronounced, but it has been left at the discretion of the head teachers and school boards to decide whether to re-admit the girls or not. In the event that the head teachers or school boards do not value girls’ education, then the girls seeking re-admission suffer,” said Eliud Kinuthia, programmes director at the Kenyan chapter of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWEK). This non-governmental organisation, based in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, lobbies for girls’ education across the continent.

At present, there are no figures for the number of girls who have sought re-entry, only to be turned away; but the Kenya National Union of Teachers does not believe re-admission constitutes much of a problem.

“We believe the government order to readmit girls is being adhered to,” Francis Ng’ang’a, secretary general of the union, told IPS.

“There is no formal information about any teachers refusing to readmit girls. We believe it is their (girls’) duty to continue with schooling, because being pregnant is unfortunate, and not criminal.”

However, Kinuthia’s experience indicates there may be cause for concern in some quarters.

He told IPS that the head teacher of a school in the coastal town of Mombasa had recently contacted FAWEK in connection with a girl whose education the organisation supports, to request that it stop paying fees for her because she had become pregnant.

The pupil later lost the baby, something attributed to abortion. This procedure is illegal in Kenya.

“The (school) board was to meet to discuss the pregnancy and the ‘abortion’, and finally expel the girl from school. I spoke to the head teacher and insisted that this was not a reason to stop paying her fees, and that she had to be allowed (to remain) in school, according to the policy,” said Kinuthia.

Authorities say talks are underway to set policy guidelines for how to deal with teachers who refuse to re-admit girls who have given birth – as well as on how soon these pupils should return after their confinement.

“When discussions are complete, the policy will give guidelines on re-entry as well as on repercussions for teachers who fail to abide by it. We are not only talking about guidelines, but also about implementation strategies,” a senior official at the Ministry of Education told IPS.

“Our hope is to make those pupils in school remain in school, those who dropped out come back – and those who have not enrolled, enrol.”

The discussions are expected to end by September.

Statistics issued by the ministry last year show that the secondary school completion rate declined from 92.1 percent in 2002 to 89.6 percent in 2004, with boys recording a 91.5 percent graduation rate – and girls an 87.5 percent rate. The ministry notes that many challenges, including teenage pregnancy, led to girls having a higher chance of dropping out of secondary school.

It is further hoped that the readmission strategy will be more effective when the Gender and Education Policy is incorporated in education law, apparently in the final stages of review by educationists from government and civil society. Under the revised law, it is expected to be compulsory for parents to ensure that their daughters resume schooling in the event that they become pregnant.

These legal changes may necessitate more intensive awareness campaigns amongst parents.

“There is a need for parents to be educated and sensitised on the rights of girls to education even after pregnancy, particularly in rural areas where many school pregnancies occur,” said Eliud Barasa, assistant director in charge of communication strategies in the policy and planning department of the education ministry.

However, parents who are willing to allow daughters to return to school might struggle to provide care for their new grandchild while its mother was at school – or be hard pressed to feed an extra mouth. And, without family support, a teenage mother could find herself forced to leave school, no matter what the law stipulates.

Little is being said in Kenya at present about programmes to provide financial assistance for young mothers to ensure that they are able to resume their education – and even less about the responsibilities of those who father their children.

Clearly, prevention is better than cure in these instances. Yet, the early onset of sexual activity, combined with a lack of awareness about reproductive health, appears to be creating the conditions for teenage pregnancy.

According to the 1998 Kenya Demographic Health Survey, 44 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 have had sexual intercourse. (The latest Demographic Health Survey, of 2003, does not provide statistics on this matter.)

But, says George Kichamu, senior assistant director at the National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development (NCAPD), teenagers are not prepared for the possible consequences of sex.

“The underlying factor is that young girls lack information. They do not have information about their bodies, and on how to take care of themselves. Without this information, they…find themselves falling pregnant,” he told IPS. The NCAPD is a government body that co-ordinates and implements population policies.

The 1998 demographic survey further notes that sex amongst teenage girls is usually unprotected, giving rise to early pregnancy, unsafe abortions and infection by sexually-transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Awareness of sexual health matters is particularly low in rural areas, says Kinuthia.

“In the rural areas even the parents themselves have a problem with using contraceptives, because the level of awareness of family planning is low. In urban areas, pregnancy among school girls is there, but it is a bit controlled because many girls have information that helps them manage or control pregnancy while in school,” he told IPS.

“The level of education and awareness of urban parents on the matter is higher, and they are more cautious about pregnancy prevention with their girls. Some even put their children on family planning.”

In lobbying for the education rights of girls who do become pregnant, however, perhaps one of the strongest arguments relates to the effect that their continued schooling has on future generations.

“The children of uneducated mothers are more than twice as likely to die or be malnourished than children of mothers who have secondary or higher education,” notes global aid agency Save the Children in a report, ‘State of the World’s Mothers 2005: The Power and Promise of Girls’ Education’.

“Education empowers girls today and saves children’s lives tomorrow.”

* 2003 figures, provided by the Kenyan chapter of the Forum for African Women Educationalists

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