Kilifi’s first high school for teen mothers raises hopes of dropouts
Former Ganze MP now Kilifi Assembly Speaker Teddy Mwambire.
Teenage mothers seeking to return to school after giving birth face shame, stigma and an unfriendly and unsupportive learning environment. But a new school offers hope to dropouts.
The national government’s 100 per cent transition policy requires schools to readmit all girls who become pregnant and drop out of school to give birth.
One constituency in Kilifi County that has recorded high numbers of early pregnancies and marriages among schoolgirls is Ganze.
To help girls continue with their studies after giving birth, education stakeholders in Ganze resolved to convert Kafuloni Secondary School into a model high school for teen mothers.
The construction is funded by the Ganze National Government Constituency Development Fund.
In an interview with the Nation, Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire said the school will help address the barriers preventing young mothers from resuming their studies.
Stigmatised
“Girls who decide to go back to school after giving birth are always stigmatised in the mainstream secondary schools and that’s why we want to build a secondary school where admissions will only be given to those who got pregnant while in school and are willing to continue with their education,” he said.
The school will offer frequent counselling sessions to girls so they can cope with their new life as mothers and students.
There will also be a breastfeeding centre for nursing young mothers.
“The community has always victimised young girls who become pregnant. This has made them feel like outcasts in the community and hopeless in life as if they do not have a future,” Mr Mwambire said.
Official launch
The MP officially launched the construction of the school in January. The work is supposed to be completed by the end of this month.
“Already we have girls who have registered for enrolment at the school. Learning will commence once we officially put everything in place because we do not want to have anything that will disrupt the classes,” he added.
Moving the Goalposts (MTG), a sports development organisation in Kilifi, observed at a forum that the community lacks information on the education re-entry policy and many parents do not see the value of returning teenage mothers to school.
“There is a need for the information on the education policy to be disseminated to everyone including the girls themselves,” said MTG education and livelihood team leader Doreen Sirya.
Challenges
She cited a lack of resources and poor infrastructure in secondary schools in remote parts of Kilifi as another challenge affecting girls’ education.
Vulnerable girls, she said, need to be given hope in education to achieve their dreams.
“The girls should not be made to feel like giving birth is the end of life. We need to provide a conducive learning environment for them at all levels,” she said.
She noted that a majority of the girls in MTG’s education programme were yet to report to school after giving birth.
Education stakeholders in Kwale have also lauded the programme, saying it will give girls a second chance in a stigma-free environment.
Married off
Many girls in Kilifi drop out of school or are married off at an early age after they become pregnant.
“Some girls are brave enough to become professionals and they can achieve their dreams in a good learning environment though they are mothers. This is a noble idea and it shows that we are now getting to grapple with the problem,” said Kwale County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri.
But he said cultural, religious and political factors are likely to undermine the programme.
“People might not take it positively, as much as it is a noble idea. It is, however, important that different stakeholders discuss and find appropriate ways to curb teen pregnancy,” he said.
Ganze Sauti ya Wanawake chairperson Judith Uchi said the government should invest more in girls.
No support
The constituency, she said, has many girls who dropped out of school due to pregnancy and have not been accorded the necessary support by the government and the community.
“Many teenage mothers are wandering in the society. They have realised that life is not easy without education and they want to go back to school, but the big issue is where they learn without being subjected to victimisation,” she said.
Kafuloni Secondary, she said, will help fight the high level of illiteracy in the area.
She cited the case of a young mother in Mwaeba village who was defiled aged 15 years and 13 years later, she has joined Form One.
“After 13 years of being out of school, the lady decided to go back to school to have a bright future. We have many who might be willing but shame has forced them to stay at home,” she said.
This story is part of a series examining teen pregnancies in Kenya's Coastal counties. Also Read:
