In mid-March, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced closure of
all learning institutions across the country following the coronavirus outbreak
in the country
Students and pupils across the country have been home for
the past 3 months.
As the ministry of education prepares to reopen schools, we
met with Meline Mathews (not her real name), a 13-year-old class 6 girl pupil
and a mother of a six weeks old baby in Kakamega County.
Meline is among many other young girls in the country, who
gave birth at a young age. Her mother says that she was not aware of the
pregnancy.
“I didn’t know anything about my daughter pregnancy.
She was always busy with school work that we could not notice any new behavior
change in her. When schools were closed in March, it is when I noticed she was
not her usual self,” said the mother Mrs. Grace.
Current reports and studies have shown that there is a high number
if early pregnancies in the country, owing to the school closure. Kakamega County
is among the leading counties with the highest number of teenage pregnancies.
Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha has questioned
the credibility of the figures and saying that the blame goes on the adults.
Speaking to the area chief Mr. Henry Masinde, he said that the
rate at which teenage pregnancies is picking in the country is worrying and
parents should also take responsibility.
Meline Mathews, not her real name. Image|Courtesy
” It’s so sad that children are not safe with their
parents and many parents have obligated the duty of looking after their
children fully to teachers. The fight against early pregnancies cannot be
singly handled by the government. It’s a collective responsibility. Parents
should also be concerned about the whereabouts of their children during this
period,” said Mr. Masinde.
A couples of week ago, a family mourned their 14-year-old, a
form one student, who committed suicide after she was reprimanded by her elder
brother over an alleged love affair.
On Thursday I had to separate two candidates, a form four
and a class eight pupil who had married each other with an approval of both
their parents. We cannot be fighting early marriages as a country and the
people to help are the ones giving full support. It will be difficult to end
poverty in future because the generation we expect to elevate the standards are
rushing into creating families with no future plans, added the area Chief.
He also called on parents to look for better ways to
reprimand and discipline their children to avoid another occurrence of Children
taking their own lives.
Kakamega County women representative, Miss Elsie Muhanda
urged parents to learn to be with their children and protect their girls during
this abnormal times in the country.
Meline prayed that she be accepted back to school when they
reopen, hoping that her light will not be shattered
“The only challenge I have is school fees and I’m
hoping that I can get assistance to further my education again. Many schools
are always reluctant to take girls like me back to class, I hope I can still be
accepted,” she said.
During his speech on Monday, President Uhuru appealed to the
social and religious institutions to help the country bring the unfortunate of
increased teenage pregnancies.
The president directed the education ministry to notify the
country on the reopening of the 2020 academic calendar for schools and tertiary
institutions.
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