Is it Torture or Help for Teenage Mothers to return to school

Apr 13, 2022 Irene Lamunu Leading Opinions 0

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When the Covid-19 pandemic was declared, schools were closed for nearly 2 years. This record 83-week Covid-19 shutdown from March 18, 2020 till January 10, 2022 leading to suspension of learning, saw an unprecedented rise in the number of teenage pregnancies. “According to data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the number of teenage pregnancies increased by 6.4 percent between 2017 and 2018, then reduced by 2.1 percent from 2018 to 2019 and then about 0.9 percent between 2019 and 2020. Although there is no marked increase in teenage pregnancy between 2019 and 2020, it is worth noting that there is an exponential rise in teenage pregnancy in 2020 (49.3 percent). This signals that indeed the closure of schools for two years led to the surge in teenage pregnancies.” (The Observer February 9-15, 2022).The UN Population Fund also reports that, Uganda registered 551,235 pregnancies between March 2020 and June 2021. While schools were allowed to reopen on 10th January 2022, the issue of pregnant learners (teenage mothers) returning to school became a very contentious matter. The Ministry of Education sent a strong message to head teachers and school administrators ordering pregnant learners and teenage mothers
not to be stopped from attending classes. President Yoweri Museveni in his interview with the New Vision also reechoed that he doesn’t encourage permanent condemnation of pregnant and breast feeding children for mistakes they may have made. Likewise, former Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Hon. Betty Aol Ocan observes that teenage mothers who get adequate support from home and school should be supported instead of being discouraged. However, according to some schools founded by Religious bodies, teenage mothers and pregnant teenagers are likely to be teased by their classmates and also find the learning environments very uncomfortable. A Catholic priest who handles matters of education in
Gulu Archdiocese argued that it should be the interest of these pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers to give birth and take care of their babies and then resume schooling later. Rev. Fr. Ronald Okello, the National Executive Secretary for Education at the Uganda Episcopal Conference also notes that the kind of environments, which they need cannot be provided in boarding schools. He adds that teenage mothers must be given the necessary support from home to cope well in school. It is believed that accepting these teenage mothers in schools could be inadvertently torture to some of them and a bad precedent being set that it is normal for teenage girls to get pregnant and study normally. Bishop Ssebagala while addressing Christians in Kayunga district notes that, “Although it is good for parents to support girls who are pregnant, it is not morally upright to allow them to sit in class with other children.” (The East African January 10 2022) A section of Church of Uganda education coordinators furthered this sentiment while meeting the State Minister for Higher Education, Dr. John Chrysostom Muyingo. “We reecho the differing voices from our Bishops that the pregnant girls be accommodated in areas where they can be comfortable and free from any stigma from the rest of the children,” Rev. Livingstone Mukama said. “A pregnant girl faced with nausea may find it hard to comfortably attend the same class with the rest of the learners. Government should allow other options for the pregnant girls and teenage mothers,” he added. (Daily Monitor February 22, 2022). It is important to note that making it mandatory for teenage mothers and pregnant teenagers to return to school will most likely impact on their mental wellbeing. In fact, if it is not done on a case by case basis with the agreement of the school administrators, it may not have the desired impact and results. On this, Prof. Erisa O. Ochieng notes that, “The lactating and pregnant school girls must be given a ‘dead year’ or more to enable them to take care of their babies at home. After that, they should be allowed to continue with their education. Without engaging the School Foundation Bodies, training and
equipping teachers on the best approach of handling teenage mothers and pregnant learners, creating an environment that eliminates or reduces teasing by

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