38 girls pregnant at Bua CDSS
Bua Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Mchinji has attained the unenviable accolade of probably being one of the schools with the highest dropouts due to pregnancy.
Between September and June this year 38 female learners have dropped out of school due to pregnancy.
Announcing the news during a meeting with parents organised by Women’s Hope for Change, Bua CDSS head teacher Ireen Zimba pleaded with parents and teachers to work together to reverse this trend.
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She asked parents and religious leaders to advise and offer spiritual and financial support to the students to help them realise the importance of education.
“I observed that most of the girls here do not have a vision. This contributes a lot to how they behave in and outside class, they do not respect teachers,” said Zimba.
Mchinji district commissioner Rosemary Nawasha, who was guest of honour at the event, encouraged the students to put God first in their everyday life.
Quoting Proverbs 9 verse 10 that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Nawasha asked religious leaders to consider conducting services of worship every Friday.
Women’s Hope for Change executive director Hellen Makukula pledged that her organisation will continue conducting motivation talks by role models.
She condemned parents who hide the names of those responsible for the pregnancies.
“It is sad that most women do not disclose who has impregnated their daughter when they realise that he is an elderly man. Such cases should be reported to police,” she said.
Makukula promised that her organisation will build a girls’ hostel as one way of helping students who travel long distance to school. n
