School pregnancies irk State

By SITEMBILE SIWAWA

THE Ministry of Education has noted with sadness the alarming levels of school girls who are falling pregnant in the country.

Principle education officer AgnessShipanuka said the Ministry of Education has noted with sadness the increasing number of girls falling pregnant while still at school.

"The pregnancy levels for pupils in grades 1-9 stands at 13,769 and 1,817 for those in grades 10-12 and it is higher among pupils from lower grades because they are young and do not have negotiating power," Mrs Shipanuka said.

She said this when she made a presentation at the meeting between members of parliament and children from various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at Parliament Buildings recently.

Mrs Shipanuka also stated that the numbers of pregnant pupils in grades 1-9 in urban areas stands at 1,514 and those in the rural areas at 12,255, adding that those in grades 10-12 in the rural areas stood at 4,348 and those in urban areas is at 1,514.

She said the increasing levels of pregnancies shows that the girls are having unprotected sex which results in unwanted pregnancies and increased HIV and AIDS- related illness.

She said about 541,986 orphans at basic school levels are pregnant and vulnerability has been the major reason for falling pregnant.

She, however, gave the assurance that Government has since banned tutorial classes conducted in homes and school boarding facilities which contribute to school girls falling pregnant.

And Kalomomember of Parliament Request Muntanga said the moral fibre of society has decayed due to the adoption of foreign cultures by school children.

Mr Muntanga said sometimes young girls themselves contribute to the high levels of early pregnancies because they actively involve themselves with male counterparts.