Teen mothers in Kilifi County can now breath a sigh of relief after education stakeholders opened a school specifically for them in Ganze.
The initiative, aimed at helping teen mothers resume and complete their studies, will help in reducing the high school drop out rate in the area.
Kilifi County has been in the news over the ever rising cases of teenage pregnancies. In the year 2019 alone, the county recorded over 17,000 cases, becoming the leading county in teenage pregnancies.
Ganze Member of Parliament, Teddy Mwambiere, says the high number of girls dropping out schools over pregnancies inspired him and other leaders to create a school specifically for them.
The legislator, together with other education stakeholders, reached an agreement to convert Kafuoni Secondary School into an institution specifically to cater for the teen mothers.
The lawmaker further says that the institution will protect the young mothers against stigmatization, offer them parenting advisory and counsel them, as well as play a key role in achieving the government's 100 percent transition from primary to secondary school.
“Girls who decide to go back to school after giving birth are always stigmatized in the mainstream secondary schools. That is why we have built a school where admissions will only be given to those who got pregnant while in school and are willing to continue with their education,” MP Teddy Mwambire told journalists on Friday, August 20.
The legislator noted that most of these girls are viewed as outcasts by the community, a view that dims their hope for a better future.
Besides covering the syllabus, the institution will be pivotal in researching and documenting the causes of the high rate of teen pregnancies and developing mitigation measures.
The school has already started receiving applications.
“Already we have girls who have registered for enrolment. Learning will commence once we officially put everything in place because we want to avoid unnecessary distractions,” the MP added.
Mwambire went ahead to condemn forced and child marriages, saying they have been a stumbling block to the constituency's development agenda.
