Education gives girls a voice
According to Uncdef, 1.8 million children in Kenya were reported to not be in school in 2021.
Education is both a protective factor against teenage pregnancies and a transformative tool for teen mothers to rebuild their lives, achieve economic stability and contribute to the growth of their children, families and communities.
While there have been efforts to ensure that every child attains basic education, not much has been done to ensure teen mothers resume to school. According to United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 1.8 million children in Kenya were reported to not be in school in 2021, the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2022 report highlight that about 4 out of 10 women aged 15-19 who have no education have ever been pregnant as compared with only 5% of women who have had more than secondary education.
The National Guidelines for School Re-Entry in Early Learning and Basic Education 2020, clearly enshrines the right of pregnant teen girls to continue with their studies and return after giving birth, but the reality of this issue is different.
Pregnant and parenting adolescents often encounter unique social economic challenges including poverty and stigma forcing them to drop out of school. Many times they are forced to engage in negative copping strategies including child marriage and transactional sex exposing them to repeat pregnancies and sexual and gender-based violence.
APHRC’s study in 2023 shows that pregnant teen girls and parenting young mothers aged 10-24 years are at a greater risk of developing mental health challenges because of the increased vulnerability to gender-based violence, stigma; poverty leading to manipulation, unpaid and forced labour.
Kenya cannot achieve Vision 2030 as well sustainable development goals if a significant portion of its population is left behind. The government should prioritise funding for education programmes, school feeding and sanitary towels.
Education gives girls a voice. It is imperative to finance the education of teen mothers.
Ms Anindo is the Executive Director of Community Voices Network