News / National
'Expelling pregnant students illegal'
04 Aug 2016 at 13:31hrs | Views
Pregnant students must not be expelled from school but must instead be given time to give birth and continue with their studies, the Education ministry has said.
Primary and Secondary Education ministry's Harare province deputy director Joyce Maposa on Tuesday said "according to Zimbabwe's Education Act, every child has a right to education and should not be discriminated against".
Speaking at the Girl Child Indaba on Tuesday, Maposa said impregnated students can be given three months to rest after delivery and should be "allowed to resume studies at either their old school or another facility".
"This is just an issue of discipline. As a ministry, we cannot go about telling girls that they can fall pregnant and go back to school after giving birth," she said.
Maposa added that parents were, however, the reason why most impregnated girls failed to continue with school.
She said some parents took it upon themselves to force their daughters into marriage, despite them being able to be assimilated into the education system again.
"Parents go behind their daughters' back and start lobola negotiations for their daughters.
"They even become hostile to the school heads who may enquire on when the girl may be returning to school all because they want money," Maposa said.
She further said the reason behind most school dropouts, for both girls and boys, is poverty, which forces them into early marriages and or to be street children.
Unicef representative Saul Marimba added that the second most common reason why girls dropped out of school after failing to pay fees is early marriage.
Marimba said the issue of early marriages has a negative impact not only on girls participation in school, but also her health and life opportunities.
He said the environment is not conducive for girls to learn in the 2 056 satellite schools in Zimbabwe, as they may be too far from home.
"It is not enough for girls to be in school. More importantly, they need to achieve good learning outcomes.
"At Grade Two and Grade Seven, girls significantly outperform boys.
"However, at "O" Level, boys significantly outperform girls. The reasons are, however, not fully known," he said.
Primary and Secondary Education ministry's Harare province deputy director Joyce Maposa on Tuesday said "according to Zimbabwe's Education Act, every child has a right to education and should not be discriminated against".
Speaking at the Girl Child Indaba on Tuesday, Maposa said impregnated students can be given three months to rest after delivery and should be "allowed to resume studies at either their old school or another facility".
"This is just an issue of discipline. As a ministry, we cannot go about telling girls that they can fall pregnant and go back to school after giving birth," she said.
Maposa added that parents were, however, the reason why most impregnated girls failed to continue with school.
She said some parents took it upon themselves to force their daughters into marriage, despite them being able to be assimilated into the education system again.
"Parents go behind their daughters' back and start lobola negotiations for their daughters.
"They even become hostile to the school heads who may enquire on when the girl may be returning to school all because they want money," Maposa said.
She further said the reason behind most school dropouts, for both girls and boys, is poverty, which forces them into early marriages and or to be street children.
Unicef representative Saul Marimba added that the second most common reason why girls dropped out of school after failing to pay fees is early marriage.
Marimba said the issue of early marriages has a negative impact not only on girls participation in school, but also her health and life opportunities.
He said the environment is not conducive for girls to learn in the 2 056 satellite schools in Zimbabwe, as they may be too far from home.
"It is not enough for girls to be in school. More importantly, they need to achieve good learning outcomes.
"At Grade Two and Grade Seven, girls significantly outperform boys.
"However, at "O" Level, boys significantly outperform girls. The reasons are, however, not fully known," he said.
Source - dailynews
